This post is being updated

Many projects go over budget. I once had the pleasure of working “undercover” on the production line for a large Swedish equipment manufacturer. We wanted to see what the real reasons were for higher production, delivery, and quality  costs, from the ground.

In brief – lack of honesty. Call it benefit misalignment. Or communication bottlenecks. Or culture of fear. Groupthink is another term often brought up.

If managers from the top down do not see benefits to the end user as everyone’s core responsibility, and do not empower all employees to deliver these benefits, expect missed targets, deadlines, and lack of product quality.

The toxic corporate culture as experienced by the “bottom” workers perfectly reflected the larger logistical and customer retention issues the company was facing.

Groupthink and confirmation and positive cognitive biases during development, followed by the Dunning-Kruger effect and the planning fallacy.

And that is only to start.

If you care about Your customer, You want employees that care. And that means employees that speak up.