Program execution success

A brief for boards on what has changed in execution – and why orchestration has become the most consequential, and least recognised, capability gap in modern growth programs.

Most organisations don’t lose value because their strategy is wrong.

They lose it quietly during execution – because delivery has become harder, faster‑locking, and far less forgiving than most execution models assume.

Business‑critical programs today run in environments that are more outsourced, more interdependent, more regulated, and with far less slack than even a decade ago. Early decisions now harden outcomes much sooner than leaders expect.

Yet many organisations are still relying on execution approaches designed for a different era.

That is why integrations and synergy programs so often under‑deliver, even when strategic intent is sound.

The missing capability is something rarely named or deliberately owned: orchestration.

This page sets out what has changed, what orchestration really means in practice, and why it has become essential – particularly for complex Telco integrations where value is won or lost early.

Extensive research* confirms what we’ve seen ourselves – nearly all large-scale change programs run over budget, slip behind schedule, and deliver less than promised.

We’ve seen this play out across 130+ complex programs.

The gap is never strategy. It’s always delivery.

And the root cause is not complexity or cost. It’s our capacity to deceive ourselves.

We tell ourselves targets are plans, status reports are progress, risks are controlled.

An Independent Program Review (IPR) cuts through this self-deception.

Three decades of delivery experience compressed into pattern recognition that surfaces what’s missing before problems become crises…with initial results available in less than a week.

If you’re ultimately accountable for a business-critical program, the IPR Guide might save you months of pain.

*Professor Bent Flyvbjerg’s 2023 research reveals 92.5% of major programs face setbacks in year one.

Consider this: 90% of the 131 programs we’ve rescued in the last 30 years hit a major showstopper within a year. Professor Bent Flyvbjerg, the renowned expert from Oxford University, backs our findings. *

Why? Human behaviour is the culprit.

Our three decades of hands-on experience have provided distinctive insights into how organisations behave under prolonged pressure.

We’ve packed this wisdom into our latest guide – “Battle-tested: Executing business-critical strategy with unshakeable confidence and certainty.”

For any strategic program to succeed, we found that businesses cannot afford to drop 6 critical balls.

We’ve applied the learnings, from decades of experience in strategic program management, to pinpoint what guarantees success – today.

Why the pressure is on to deliver more – better and faster

Why programs miss the mark over-and-over again – with shocking ease

The 6 balls you just can’t afford to drop when running any program

How you can rapidly get relief from firefighting and crisis management

In this Insight Guide, David Hilliard, Mentor Europe’s CEO, reflects on a lifetime in strategy execution, sharing insights and observations gained from nearly 40 years’ experience.

The last forty years has witnessed a digital revolution, the advent of social media, a global pandemic – to name but a few.

Generally, these have improved the way we work, conduct business, and communicate.

Yet, industry still struggles to execute ideas and strategies.

In my nearly 40 years in this business, I’ve witnessed a lot of talk and activity about how to improve strategic program execution. Yet, these fads just tinker with the execution process – they haven’t done much to move the needle.

Research by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner in their excellent book “How Big Things Get Done”, highlights that only 8.5% of all strategic programs come in on time and on budget.

That’s because none of these cosmetic changes get to the crux of the issue – how people think, act and behave under pressure.

In this Insight Guide, I’ll share with you my thoughts and observations as to why this is the case. And how determined professionals can sidestep the most glaring errors of judgment and achieve genuine strategic execution success.

Warmly

David

We help companies successfully deliver strategic transformation programs. Yet, many have failure “designed-in.”

That’s why we’ve spent the past 30 years helping companies to put misfiring programs back on track.

Lack of alignment between the executive team, and those doing the work

 Unrealistic objectives and plans – targets plucked out of the air, with no realistic chance of being met

Poor supplier management, with an “us and them” attitude

Crucial interdependencies completely overlooked

Not enough confidence in people working in other functions

Small wonder so many programs misfire.

Discover how MEI can predict and intercept program failure patterns before they occur – helping to make sure your program succeeds. Something we are prepared to guarantee.

Our Insight Guide has the full set of data and insights.