Beware the White Knight Project

I was reminded the other day of a concept I’ve previously used quite often, but not for a couple of years, however, I’ve just encountered a case of it again and as I discussed it with several people it seems so little has changed over the years. It is a problem that is common in large organisations and can be fraught with risk. It is the White Knight project. Why do we call it this?

Photo by Cas Holmes on Unsplash

There are numerous tales involving or alluding to a White Knight — from mediaeval chivalry right through to corporate boardrooms and takeovers.

If history is your thing there was the 14th Century White Company, a group of English and German mercenaries taking part in battles around Europe. They inspired a novel of the same name by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Then Don Quixote did battle with the Knight of the White Moon. Spoiler alert, the Knight of the White Moon was trying to save Don Quixote.

If you’re the business type, it is a term much used in the corporate mergers and acquisition world, where a company is under threat of a hostile takeover. In this context the White Knight is another company, seen as friendly, who enters the bidding to save the target from the hostile bidder.

So, in summary, the White Knight is someone who will ride in on a steed, in a suit of shining armour, and, to rapturous applause, save the day.

The problem with the White Knight

So what? I hear you ask. Well, the business problem we see occurs when too much store is set on some grand project or programme. It usually has a large budget and an ambitious or influential sponsor or manager.

It was initiated to solve a large problem (even a wicked problem — more on wicked problems another day) along with many smaller problems. The business case made suitably large promises about how this project would “save the day”.

It probably has an evocative name, say, “Project Zeus” — after all, important projects must have important sounding names. Other, smaller, projects will be rejected “Project Zeus is addressing that!”.

When people have the opportunity to address some thorny problem on the ground, they will decide (or be told) to leave it alone since “Project Zeus is addressing that!”.

This is all very well if Project Zeus really is delivering — but in our experience it is usually too big to deliver but also too big to fail. So, it endures despite spiralling costs and little to no actual delivery. If it eventually delivers, the White Knight will arrive on a lame horse with a tarnished suit of armour and a blunt sword.

Therefore, no grand rescue has taken place, the thorny problems remain and have probably become far worse over time. All those simpler things that could have made a real difference never took place. All those projects that were of the right size to deliver benefit in a shorter space of time never got off the ground. The White Knight project effectively starved them of support and resources.

Why is the White Knight so powerful?

The White Knight project often grows as time goes along, although it typically starts out as a large project — but it will soak up more money and soak up more resource as time goes on. People are attracted to the project and suppliers are attracted to the project.

The apparent importance means this project can maintain a standing army, even when little is being done. Counter-intuitively these large and important projects often build up the wrong sort of momentum and become imbued with a false sense of urgency and they charge ahead without doing the requisite analysis and planning. This can result in a sense of activity but too little correlation between the activity and the project purpose.

People within the project become so convinced of the universally acknowledged importance they forget the key stakeholder management activity “Make it Essential” (to use a popular phrase from business change in general and Kotter in particular). It is assumed that the benefits are so obvious to anyone that no further explanation or engagement is needed.

Then there is the final defence of the White Knight project — the company cannot afford NOT to do it. This is the ONLY GOOD solution and alternatives are rejected out of hand. This is probably a good example of the related Nirvana and Perfect Solution logical fallacies. In reality, supporters probably don’t go as far as nirvana/perfect, but the White Knight is definitely seen as far better than alternatives.

What to do about the White Knight project

If you are on the outside of the White Knight project, but still trying to get stuff done this is tough. However, we have found it really important to make a strong business case that resonates at the right level. White Knight projects are often supported at the senior management level. We often see rejected projects making business cases that are aimed at the technical management, so do not resonate at the senior level. In the absence of a White Knight project such business cases often suffice. In the presence of a White Knight project, you’ll have to work that much harder.

Companies with an effective P3M (Portfolio, Programme and Project Management) approach are less prone, but far from immune, to this problem. They might effectively manage the grand and the small projects in parallel. They might even get the large project delivered.

However, there is so much evidence demonstrating that smaller projects are better than big projects. Better to have a cavalry of lesser knights charging in a coordinated fashion than one big powerful White Knight.Companies with an effective P3M (Portfolio, Programme and Project Management) approach are less prone, but far from immune, to this problem. They might effectively manage the grand and the small projects in parallel. They might even get the large project delivered.

Another widespread problem is that big projects become introspective. So much time is spent on managing the project that they lose sight of the problem they are trying to solve. Creativity can be stifled, and simple solutions can be missed. A note of caution — don’t confuse quick fixes / quick wins with simple solutions, they usually aren’t the same thing. The danger of the quick win is a topic for another day.

So, firstly, don’t let a potential White Knight project stifle all other investments and secondly, try to avoid initiating or developing a White Knight in the first place.

The best story to highlight the alternative is the tale of the millions spend by NASA on developing a pen that works in space (works in zero gravity, upside down, low temperatures etc.) in a grand project that took years.

When the Russians were quizzed on how they had solved or planned to solve this grand problem, their reply was that they used pencils. The story is apocryphal — but the point stands regardless.

Beware the White Knight project — don’t design a space pen when a pencil will do!!!

About the author

Peter Stansbury is a Principal Consultant with Version1 focused on business transformation generally and digital transformation in particular.

If you have any questions about White Knights or even the real story behind space pens and why you shouldn’t use a pencil in space, then do get in contact — peter.stansbury@version1.com.