Just before I left the AP Moller Maersk Group as an employee, my last project was managing the integration of Sealand into the Maersk world in Eastern Europe back in 1999. This was the way things were done then: I had absolutely 0 experience in the field and was only given the responsibility because it seemed like the sort of thing that was pretty close to the BPI projects I was already doing...plus the fact that I was a lot cheaper than actually getting some experienced consultant in to get the job done competently ;-).Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have a superb mentor during the process, an ex-Sealand exec called Mike who proved to be the one reason why the actual project went well. I could come up with the plans and the system, but it was Mike who made it work in the real world: he warned me of my approach, of cultural issues, of the importance of listening between the lines and how to tell people they were wrong, but making it seem as if they were the ones correcting themselves. He warned of the risks and how to address them, along with calming me down when the 90+ hour weeks began to make me wish I was back in Alaska...
Now, I have the fun job of acting as a consultant of the Maersk and P&O Nedlloyd merger / integration fun and games - whilst still running an even higher stakes gamble with another project for my client. There is a lot I will need to keep confidential of course, but in any game such as this, it cannot be stressed enough that early planning with a core strategy in mind is vital, along with timely crystal clear communication, lots of holding hands and not leaving people guessing. It's going to be exciting, scary and busy - am much looking forward to being a mid-wife again! :)
