APM Event held on 25 May 2023, hosted by the Scotland Branch. Speaker: Jakaria Rahman In times of increasing focus on carbon emissions and a pressure to cut project costs, how does a North Sea energy services company ensure that its projects remain viable? In his talk, Jak will demonstrate how a project’s culture is a key project success factor. This event was held on 25 May 2023. As one of the world’s most mature basins, the North Sea has become a test bed for innovation. A recent challenge for industry, backed by a statutory obligation set by the UK government, is to find new ways to extract more oil and gas, in an economically viable manner. As the world drives for a lower-carbon future, this challenge intensifies: recover more, for less money, and with fewer emissions per barrel. This presentation described the current industry context, the challenges faced and prompted a discussion on what the key factors to project success are. https://www.apm.org.uk/news/culture-eats-strategy-for-breakfast/

1. 1
CULTURE EATS
STRATEGY FOR
BREAKFAST!
Jak Rahman

2. 2
What is Culture and Strategy?
“Culture is the behaviours,
beliefs and values of a group of
people”
“Strategy is a plan of action
designed to achieve a long-term
or overall goal”

3. 3
Key issues
Why do
projects
fail?
Lack of senior
management
Unclear
project
objectives
Scope
creep
Poor
communication
Lack of
visibility of
all projects
Stakeholder
conflict
Competing
priorities
Lack of
management
commitment
No
change
control
process
Poorly defined
roles and
responsibilities
Team
weaknesses
Source - Project Failure Case Studies and Suggestion
International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 86 – No 6, January 2014

4. 4
Key factors to project success
Competent
project
teams
Effective
governance
Commitment
to project
success
Project
planning
and review
Clear goals
and
objectives

5. 5
Key factors to project success
Culture
and
Behaviour
Competent
project
teams
Effective
governance
Commitment
to project
success
Project
planning
and review
Clear goals
and
objectives

6. 6
The Journey

7. 7
The Journey
Status Quo
“We Have a Problem”
Pit of Despair
Eureka!
Final
Destination

8. 8
Culture Transformation
▪ Aversion to risk & a fear of
failure
▪ Defer, delay and do nothing
▪ Lack of trust
▪ Reliance on policy, process,
practice & procedure
▪ Micro-management
▪ Focus on management rather
than leadership
▪ Leadership
▪ Sense of urgency
▪ Competence and capability
▪ Devolved decision making
▪ Accountability, authority and
autonomy
▪ Respect, integrity and trust

9. 9
Lessons Learned
Change starts at the top
Identify core values
Establish trust by representing those values
Culture is created by the behaviours you tolerate
Leaders need to recognise that they are ‘a voice’ around the table, not ‘the voice.’
Celebrate small wins on the way to success

10. 10
THANK YOU,
ANY QUESTIONS?