Shadowing Practice: Why Do ERP Software Implementations Fail? [Top 5 Root Causes of ERP Failures] - Learn English Speaking with Video
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It's no secret that most ERP implementations fail.
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However, what is a secret is understanding why those implementations fail.
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That's what I want to talk about here today.
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My name is Eric Kimberling.
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I'm the CEO of Third Stage Consulting.
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We're an independent consulting firm that helps clients throughout the world reach their third stage of digital transformation success.
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And there are many studies out there that show that anywhere between 70 to 80 percent or more of ERP implementations fail.
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In fact, this statistic hasn't really changed much in the 25 years that I've been helping clients with their ERP implementations.
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Technology has changed, the world has changed, and a lot of other things have changed,
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but the one thing that seems to be consistent is that companies still struggle with their ERP implementations.
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So what I want to do today is unpack this a bit more
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and understand what those common root causes are of why ERP implementations fail
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and more importantly help you understand what you can do differently to ensure that your project is successful.
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The good news is that this isn't rocket science, there's no big surprises here, but when you understand what those root causes are
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and you avoid some of those root causes you are dramatically increasing your odds of success
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and dramatically decreasing your odds of failure.
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Now for more information about implementation best practices as it relates to your erp implementation
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when you're done watching this video i encourage you to download
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and read our lessons from 1000 erp implementations white paper it's a ebook
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that we wrote that talks about 20 different best practices
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and lessons learned from helping clients all over the world through their erp implementations
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and digital transformations you can read
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that ebook by scanning the qr code in front of you
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or you can go to the links in the description field below.
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The first common reason why ERP implementations fail is because organizations have unrealistic expectations to begin with.
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And the reason this is so powerful is
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because as fast as technology is changing and as much as technology can do today, it creates this false sense of hope
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that we as an organization can quickly adapt to the software and we can quickly
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realize business value from different technologies that are out there and don't get me wrong
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erp software today can deliver dramatic value to most organizations the
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problem is most organizations don't realize how difficult it is to
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get from where you are today to where you could be with new technology and
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so as a result what ends up happening is not only
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do you have unrealistic expectations of how quick you might get to
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that business value but when you realize
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that a project is going to take longer than you expect it's going to cost more than expected
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and require more resources than expected what ends up happening then is
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that organizations end up scaling back
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and throttling back on some of the key critical success factors
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that are critical to make their project successful for example let's just say we have an organization
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that thinks they can go through their erp implementation in 18 months
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but 18 months was never realistic it was always going to take this organization say 24
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or 30 months to go through their implementation What ends up happening is when the organization gets partway through that project, maybe halfway through or two -thirds of the way through,
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they start to realize that they have compressed a timeline that's just not at all realistic.
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So they have one of two choices.
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They can either delay the project and spend a lot more time and money than they expected,
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which oftentimes is not possible with boards of directors and other executives holding the project team accountable,
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or they can scale back on project activities and just try to force fit the ARP implementation into a shorter duration.
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When they do the latter, what ends up happening is they end up cutting things that are absolutely critical to success.
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They end up cutting things like organizational change management, or they'll cut a couple of iterations of user acceptance testing.
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They might spend a little bit less time on requirements gathering up front
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if they understand early on that they're behind the eight ball on the timeline.
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So these are just a few examples of how organizations end
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up making a bunch of bad decisions later in a project
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because they had unrealistic expectations to begin with
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so one of the biggest things you can do to ensure you avoid this pitfall is to ensure
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that you have realistic expectations and do so by taking software vendor
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and system integrator and implementation partner proposals on a time frame
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and a budget take those with a grain of salt
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and make sure you add your own dose of reality from an objective perspective to ensure
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that you have the appropriate amount of time budget
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and resources dedicated to the project the next common mistake
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that organizations make that lead them to failure is
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that they don't spend enough time and effort upfront in the implementation planning process
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and this is a fascinating organizational dynamic that I've seen time
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and time again throughout my career what ends up happening is you get an organization
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that is committed to a digital transformation and an ERP implementation, they go through an evaluation process and they select the software
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that they are convinced will be the right answer for them going forward
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and it probably is it probably is the right answer
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or a really good answer going forward and it's at
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that point in the project that momentum
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and excitement for the project is the highest it's never going to be
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that high again so the team ends up rushing into the implementation
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because they're excited they want to get started they want to start building stuff they want to see
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and touch and feel the technology
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and that's all good stuff you absolutely need to do that
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but the problem with that is that
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when you jump too quickly into the implementation phase without having a really solid plan
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and a really solid vision of what it is you want to be
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when you grow up as an organization you're going to spend a lot of time
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and money later on spinning your wheels trying to figure out what it is you want to be
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when you grow up when you're in the middle of an implementation
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so the key here is to make sure you dedicate time
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in your project it's sort of a phase zero an implementation
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planning phase that's after the selection phase of the project
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but it's before you get into the implementation and taking that time to really establish a blueprint for the project,
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a blueprint for your business processes and what the organization is going to look like, which modules you're going to deploy and when, how are you going to resource the project,
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mobilizing the resources, getting your change strategy in place, all that stuff, the more time you spend doing that up front,
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you're going to save exponentially more time and money later on.
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So it's critical that you spend time defining this implementation phase.
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And to learn more about what this implementation phase should look like, I encourage you to check out this video right here.
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This video for my YouTube channel dives into the implementation planning
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and implementation readiness phase of the project in a lot more detail.
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If you watch that video, it will describe some of the different activities you should be focused on to avoid this common pitfall.
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Another common reason why ERP implementations fail is
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because executives don't have a clear vision
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or they haven't articulated a clear vision of what it is this ERP implementation is going to be to the organization.
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Another common dynamic within this is that executive teams themselves oftentimes aren't aligned on what that vision is.
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And so when you have an executive team
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that doesn't have alignment amongst themselves and or they haven't clearly defined
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and articulated to the organization what this ERP implementation means to the organization going forward, that's going to create a lot of problems,
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confusion, chaos, and misdirection as it relates to the ERP implementation.
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Now a lot of times executives will say well we're going to go through this ERP implementation because we have to.
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Our software vendor is forcing us off our old legacy system
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and now we need to move to a migration to a newer software.
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Or it could be that our old system is old, it's broken, we can't scale as a company and therefore we need new technologies and tools to help us grow.
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Those are good starting points, but that cannot be the basis and the foundation for the entire justification for why you're going through the project.
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You need to have and articulate a clearer vision of what the ERP implementation is going to do for the organization.
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For example, is it going to help us improve our customer experience?
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If so, how?
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Is it going to improve the employee experience?
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If so, how?
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What are some of the details of how that will look?
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Is it going to help us improve our operations, help us be more efficient help us sell more
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and generate more revenue whatever the business benefits are you want to not only define what they are
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and what the value is to the organization
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but get into more detail and granularity of what that operating model
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and that organizational model is going to be in
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that future state it's not enough to say we're just going to deploy sap
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or oracle or microsoft or whatever it is you need to go beyond
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that and clearly articulate what the vision for the project is.
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And the more time and effort you spend defining this vision and the more effective you are at defining that vision,
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the more tailwinds you'll have supporting you and the project team going through the ERP implementation.
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So one of the biggest things you can do to avoid ERP implementation failure is to ensure
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that before you get started on your implementation, that you have that clear alignment and vision from the executive team.
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One of the most common root causes for ERP implementation failure is a lack of focus on organizational change management.
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Or if there's a focus on organizational change management, it just isn't effective.
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This is one of the root causes that can lead to a lot of other symptoms within an ERP implementation.
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And simply put, if you don't address the people side of change, you don't ensure that your people are fully adopting new processes and new tools,
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you're just going to end up with a bunch of shelfware or investments in technology that is not delivering business value,
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and that has to lead you to the question of why are we doing this project in the first place
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if we're not getting the business value that we could and should be getting from it.
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So the key here is to not get too caught up in the technology pieces and components of your ERP implementation,
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but instead to focus more time and effort on the organizational change management piece.
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Because the better job you do on organizational change management, the more likely it is you are to be successful.
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And when we look at ERP implementation failures, particularly as it relates to lawsuits that we've been hired to testify in in courts,
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we find that the number one most common theme and pattern among those failures is a lack of organizational change management.
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The organization did not focus, for whatever reason, enough on organizational change.
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They didn't address the people aspects of change, and they focused too much time and effort on the technology sides of change.
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So one of the biggest things you can do is ensure
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that you have a solid and effective change management strategy and plan before starting your ERP implementation.
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Now for more advice and tips on how to create that organizational change strategy and plan, I encourage you to check out my playlist, which you can find right here.
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It's a YouTube playlist that has all of my YouTube videos that talk about organizational change management.
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So check out this link right here.
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That'll give you a playlist that you can go through
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and watch some more videos
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that describe how to go about the change management process now the fifth
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and final reason I'll talk about today of why ERP implementations fail is
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because the organization doesn't have a clear definition of success how
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will we define success of our ERP implementation for some organizations it could be
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that we're going to come in on time and on budget
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and that alone is a tricky proposition and most organizations fail at even that most basic fundamental definition of success. But beyond
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that, most organizations don't have a good vision of what it
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is they want to get out of the ERP implementation after they've gone through it.
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In other words, what is our business case?
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What's the ROI?
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Where are we going to get the business value?
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Where are the dollars and cents going to come from?
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Those are all things that need to be defined clearly on, not only so that we can ensure that we maximize the business value post -implementation, but just as importantly, so
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that we have clear direction as we're going through the implementation itself in other words having
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that clear vision of success can serve as a sort of a guardrail for the project
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and a north star
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that guides us in the right direction as we're going through the implementation every erp implementation room requires hundreds
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if not thousands of decisions about how your business is going
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to run how it's going to look what sorts of technologies you will
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or will not deploy whether or not you're going to configure the software
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or customize the software or integrate it to other third -party systems a lot of different decisions
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that materially affect the scope and the cost and the risk of the project.
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And if you don't have
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that clear vision for what it is success looks like for the project
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and what you want your organization to look like on the other side, then you're headed aimlessly into the darkness of digital transformation or an ERP implementation.
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So these are five of the most common reasons why ERP implementations fail.
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And hopefully I've given you some tips and guidance on how to avoid some of these common pitfalls.
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For more information and best practices around ERP implementation, I encourage you to download our Lessons from 1000 ERP Implementation eBook,
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and that eBook will provide a number of best practices and lessons that will help you through your digital transformation, including some additional risks and pitfalls to be aware of,
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in addition to what I've talked about here today.
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So you can read that eBook by scanning the QR code in front of you, or you can click on the links in the description field below.
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So I hope you found this information useful, and hope you have a great day.
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understand why that is I didn't like that some of those pipe pit that now the fifth and final
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fifth and final what oh okay I'm like what are we talking about what's this video about I don't remember
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 180 sentences and 2601 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:44. The speaker talks fast, about 189 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| implementation noun | /ˌɪmplɪmənˈteɪʃən/ | The process of moving an idea from concept to reality. In business, engineering and other fields, implementation refers to the building process rather than the… |
| organizational adjective | /ˌɔː(ɹ)ɡənɪˈzeɪʃənəl/ | Of, relating to, or produced by an organization. |
| define verb | /dɪˈfaɪn/ | To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly. |
| transformation noun | /ˌtɹæns.fɔɹˈmeɪ.ʃən/ | The act of transforming or the state of being transformed. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| resource noun | /ɹɪˈzɔːs/ | Something that one uses to achieve an objective, e.g. raw materials or personnel. |
| expectation noun | /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/ | The act or state of expecting or looking forward to an event as about to happen. |
| articulate verb | /ɑːɹˈtɪk.jə.leɪt/ | To make clear or effective. |
| relate verb | /ɹɪˈleɪt/ | To tell in a descriptive way. |
| realistic adjective | /ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/ | Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic. |
| deploy verb | /dɪˈplɔɪ/ | To prepare and arrange (originally military unit or units, i.e., to array troops) for use. |
| playlist noun | /ˈpleɪˌlɪst/ | A list of recorded songs scheduled to be played on a radio station. |
| unrealistic adjective | Not realistic. | |
| odd adjective | /ɑd/ | Differing from what is usual, ordinary or expected. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). |
| going forward adverb | In the immediate future and beyond. |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | hasn't really changed · has changed · have compressed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is committed · are convinced · should be focused |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 50 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, throttle /ˈθɹɔ.tl̩/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: implementation /ˌɪmplɪmənˈteɪʃən/, organizational /ˌɔː(ɹ)ɡənɪˈzeɪʃənəl/, transformation /ˌtɹæns.fɔɹˈmeɪ.ʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/, rush /ɹʌʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: implementation /ˌɪmplɪmənˈteɪʃən/, organizational /ˌɔː(ɹ)ɡənɪˈzeɪʃənəl/, transformation /ˌtɹæns.fɔɹˈmeɪ.ʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/, articulate /ɑːɹˈtɪk.jə.leɪt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like implementation, organizational, define.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.