JMW was engaged by the Alliance to support the delivery of the project. Facing an Alliance at what seemed to be an irreversible impasse, JMW quickly realized a powerful intervention was needed to prevent the Alliance from disintegrating.
Through a series of facilitated discussions and leadership development sessions, the Alliance leaders came around to a collective agreement that they would set contracts aside and return to the “win-win” culture they had agreed to at the outset.
With this all-important commitment in place, the work with JMW began in earnest, expanding to include development sessions with middle- and lower-level managers as well as one-on-one coaching of leaders integral to the effort.
Then, with the deadline for delivery still in jeopardy, Partners on the construction side of the project began to advocate for innovations that could accelerate progress.
For example, one construction manager introduced the notion of commissioning the concrete base of the structure one floor at a time, the way it is typically done with structures on land.
Such ideas were initially rejected by the oil and gas Alliance partners, who cited the manager’s inexperience with offshore oil and gas projects. But after facilitated conversations adhering to their Alliance principles, Partners who initially resisted innovations like these and others, were able to look beyond industry bias and agree that the proposals had merit.
In spite of the challenges presented in the wake of such a catastrophic event, the Alliance not only recovered from a daunting setback early on, but proceeded to innovate and accelerate their progress, saving both time and money in ways that could not have been predicted at the start of the work.
Ultimately, the Alliance was able to deliver the project three months ahead of schedule and $50 million under budget. By coming together through a joint decision, the Alliance Partners not only overcame a major setback, they turned it into a watershed moment that fostered collaboration and increased productivity beyond what was thought possible.
In the words of the energy company’s senior executive who took a stand for the alliance and its principles:
“The alliance didn’t start when we signed all the contracts and made the agreements. The alliance actually started when we made the decision to really work together to overcome that initial setback. From that point forward, the culture of the project changed completely—to truly match up with our aspirations to work collaboratively—and JMW really guided us through that defining moment.”
In addition to the immediate rewards for project completion by the Alliance Partners, the project’s success established a standard for the industry, offering a proven example of an Australian alliance succeeding beyond all expectations.
JMW is a global transformation consultancy that empowers leaders to shape the future through time-tested methodologies that have accelerated the performance of more than 75 major projects around the world.
And while the majority of major projects run over budget, have significant delays, or both…it doesn’t have to be that way.
Research shows that 65% of missed targets on major projects originate from people, organization, and governance issues that can easily be avoided through JMW’s proprietary approach to performance.
That approach has enabled JMW to provide over 40 years of high-value support for major project leaders confronting human capital issues that can hinder the reliable delivery of on-target performance.
For example, JMW has had the privilege to help leaders of major projects…
These are just a small sample of the results JMW has delivered on over 75 major projects over the last 40 years. And with...
JMW is Committed to Transforming Major Project Performance and Empowering Leaders to Shape the Future for Many Years to Come.
A member of our team will be in touch to set up an introductory meeting to discuss our proven process for transforming major projects. We look forward to speaking with you as schedules permit.