Ok the best line I ever heard from a sponsoring executive of an ERP project was the following:
"We are going to war, make no mistake their will be casualties, we will stop and bury our dead we will carry our wounded and infirm, but now let me be clear success is our only objective so we will shoot the stragglers"
I'm telling you that a benevolent dictatorship is the only way to run projects. Of course you need the input of great people, and the trust that your decisions are well thought out and supportable. This does not means you just satisfy everyone, but it means that you analyzed the pros and cons and gain a level of consensus that you didn't "miss" something...PS this is where your TOP consultants should really pay a dividend they are supposed to "KNOW" from experience.
Great projects are not about lying to yourself about what you can accomplish, its about knowing your limits, and getting to the truth. And trusting consultants who can say "no"..
