I was hired to lead the roll-out of a big multi-site service delivery contract. Not because I was a specialist in the specific industry, but rather because I had my track record in large and complex projects.

The roll-out was going to take multiple years and started with a detailed due diligence.

After 6 months of due diligence, I presented the findings to the higher management. I showed the high level project plan, the risks involved and especially also the financial side. The due diligence had shown that the price quoted would not be sufficient to cover all costs, let alone to make profit.

But given the high profile customer and the large uplift potential, I just reported as asked, without putting any judgement on the expected loss.

As soon as the financial slide was shown, I got many questions from the Steering Committee. Everybody was convinced that the project had to be profitable, and that if it couldn’t be done for the price quoted, the project would come to an end.

Since I had done the calculations in different scenarios, knowing it could never be profitable, and that I was specifically hired for this project, I thanked the audience for their feedback, and added that it would probably be the end of my contract.

I got a totally different response. 

Yes, the project was cancelled shortly after, but the company never had a consultant that had been so thorough and open on the actual situation, actually providing very honest and useful information for the company, that they immediately asked me to review some other contracts on which the reporting had been somewhat obscure to their feeling.

As a Bayard consultant, you don’t deliver what the customer wants; you deliver what the customer needs. There is a subtle difference which is a key part in our DNA.