Finally made it home from the HR Technology Conference in Chicago and still trying to process all the information from meeting vendors, attending sessions, and talking to old and new friends.
And recovering from Thursday night's Epic HR Happy Hour show.
One thing I noticed as I walked the massive Expo hall that in the Taleo booth (and I suspect a few others), there was a giant prize wheel that prospects, customers, or random passers-by could spin for the chance to win items like Subway gift cards, Amazon.com credits, or free stays at a popular resort.
You did have to get your badge scanned and listen to the 10 minute overview of Taleo 10 for the chance to spin the wheel. It did seem a bit too 'time share presentation-ish' for me, but I get the need for vendors to capture prospect information at the show.
After the demo I attended was completed, and one lucky attendee spun the prize wheel, (I think he won a free Quiznos Sub), I thought a more fun 'prize wheel' would have all the possible outcomes of a major talent management implementation project.
Maybe the wheel would look something like this:
Technology projects, especially large complex ones, are tricky undertakings. So many things are needed to hit the sweet spot on the wheel, and achieve enduring organizational transformation. Correct understanding of the important business issues, selection of the correct tool to address these problems, effective project management, executive support, a vendor not only committed to customer success, but also one with a sound and perhaps even visionary product strategy, and managers and users that see the value the real 'What is in this for me' of the solution.
Missing any one of these key factors might be enough to scupper the project. But without them, your chance for success are dicey at best, and indeed you are just spinning the wheel of technology fortune and you may not even realize it.