Behind the curtains of watermelon projects

When I first heard the term “watermelon project” last year I laughed out loud… not just because it was funny, but because it was also sooo depressing at the same time. The truth is: if I hadn’t laughed, I’d probably have cried. Too many times I’ve been part of a watermelon project - a project that is Green on the outside and Red on the inside. A project that repeatedly appears all rosy in its status updates on the project dashboard, portfolio reporting, or the like, but peel back the shiny surface or peek behind the curtains and you’ll see the absolute mess of missed delivery deadlines, and unsolvable data issues, and sabotaging stakeholders, and tech that just won’t talk to each other no matter what the flashy Sales Team promised. I don’t know who to attribute or credit the term “watermelon project” to, but whoever first came up with it - sincerely thank you for finally giving me something to express this oh-so-common experience.

Deception, delusion, or just desperation?

Projects are a funny beast - a group of dedicated people coming together to achieve big things by a certain time frame. At the start there’s enthusiasm and excitement, joy and pride, passion and purpose. Which quickly gets worn down by the realities of trying to do something strategic and innovative, implement new technology, processes and operating models, entice people to come on board the change, and perhaps the greatest destroyer of project lifeblood: get data accurate and get the damn thing to play nice! By the time project reporting comes along, there’s been so much money, time, effort, expense, resource and brainpower thrown at the challenges the project has thrown up, anyone looking from the outside in would literally just pull the plug. 

But that little spark of hope in the project that success is JUST around the corner is still aglow. And maybe that’s where the pathological need for saying a project is Green to the outside world (when it’s clearly and admittedly Red to the inner project world) comes from? Maybe it’s not bred in deception or delusion, but in sheer honest-to-goodness hope. 

The courage of Change

It takes a lot of courage to reset a project, and even more to cancel it completely. Projects and their people are tied to department budgets, and FTE headcount, and sometimes even Executive bonuses. In the most serious cases, it’s tied to government or regulator requirements, or customer or consumer safety and you literally can’t tap out even if you wanted to. So it’s not always easy to share the realities of the project, especially as we’ve grown up in a society that tells us if we put the effort in, we get the result out. Hard work pays off. 

But that’s not the way the world works, and sometimes it’s up to the most unlikely person - the Change Manager - to highlight what everyone else refuses to see and suggest a shift in approach or strategy. You can use your Business Readiness Check, or a Post-Implementation Review, or even a check in against the original vision and benefits and business case to demonstrate clear documented evidence that a project needs some TLC and next level support to get back on track and that sometimes, just sometimes, that means we have to be honest to ourselves and the world external to the project that we’re Red, not Green. When the right people know about the issues, sometimes that's when you can finally get the support and resources and commitment to get back on the path to success.

Ideally the person who's got the authority has enough gumption and enough gall to actually take ownership of the decision. But personally, I’ve been happy to be that person. I’m ok to call it out, call a spade a spade, and advocate for transparency so we can actually move forward. To coax and cajole a project to realise that maybe reporting Amber, even on just a few items, won’t bring the apocalypse but instead could open up the conversation for remediation. Because as a Change Manager I’m neither responsible nor accountable for the project or the business - all I care about is success. So I’m of the mindset where I'm like: “Sure, blame me. It's happened before, and it'll happen again. Go for it.” 

Championing success

I'm ok to be their scapegoat because in the grand scheme of things, even if they shoot the messenger, at least the truth has surfaced. What matters is project success - and I don’t mean reporting Green to the power that be, but delivering real value to people and improving the way they do things for the future. After all, isn't that why we were doing it in the first place?

If you’re a Change Management professional who wants to get a seat at the table, build strong relationships, and lead complex change to success, come to my free advanced-level Change Advisor Bootcamp. I'll be sharing my top consulting secrets to becoming a trusted change advisor with influence and impact, and the confidence to speak the hard truths. It’s on Wednesday 24 May from 6.00pm-8.00pm AEST (Sydney time) and spaces are limited.

CLICK HERE to register your free spot for my Change Advisor Bootcamp

Lata xx