A company came to us wanting a custom platform to replace five tools. Budget approved, leadership aligned, real enthusiasm in the room.
We said no.
Not because it was impossible. Because in three years they would own software, and nobody in the building wants to own software.
Here is what the conversation actually turned on. I asked which of the five tools was blocking them. Answer: one, the quoting system, which cannot be reached from outside at all.
Then I asked what the other four cost in frustration. Answer: not much, they mostly work, they just do not talk to each other.
So the project was never a platform. It was one tool to replace and a thin layer to move data between the rest.
That version took six weeks instead of nine months. It cost roughly a fifth of the original plan. And when their accounting vendor ships an update next year, it is the vendor problem to fix, not theirs.
I lost a large invoice by saying that out loud. Two referrals arrived from the same client within a quarter, which was not the plan but is how this tends to work.
If you are about to commission something big, ask your supplier one question. What would you tell me not to build?
Anyone who answers nothing is selling. The useful ones have a list, and they will give it to you before you sign.
Originally posted on LinkedIn.
