Dianne Semmens: 4 Essentials for ERP Success – and How to Avoid the Trough of Disillusionment

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Food For Thought:

1. Have you underestimated the disruption an ERP system can cause your team?
2. Are you setting your business up for ERP success, or walking into a trap?
3. What’s the real cost of dirty data and unclear processes?

If you’re about to implement an ERP system in your business, this episode is for you.

In this episode, John Downes speaks with Dianne Semmens, founder of Acacia Consulting Services, an ERP specialist for mid-sized Australian businesses. John and Di cut through the jargon and get real about why most ERP projects fail, and how to avoid the common pitfalls. This is essential listening for any CEO planning to invest in integrated systems to improve performance, visibility and control.

What You’ll Learn:

== Why your ERP project must start with the end in mind

== Why process clarity beats system functionality every time

== The critical human factors that will make or break your rollout

== Why dirty data guarantees ERP failure — and what to do about it

== How to avoid the “Trough of Disillusionment” after go-live

Highlights

00:00 What makes ERP implementation so risky

03:45 The four big mistakes most CEOs make before they start

06:25 Why dirty data will quietly kill your implementation

08:10 The one thing most CEOs forget to test before go-live

14:00 How to deal with the “trough of disillusionment”

22:00 How Acacia applied these principles to their own business

26:00 #CriticalFewActions™ for Senior Leaders

The #CriticalFewActions™ You Can Do Today:

When I work with successful business leaders, I often see them treat ERP as a tech upgrade. It’s not. It’s a major business transformation. What can you do to set yourself up for success?

1: Get the right people on the bus. Too many CEOs delegate ERP to IT. That’s a mistake.

= Involve cross-functional leaders from the start

= Give them time, ownership, and real decision-making power

2: Start with clean, usable data. Garbage in, garbage out. Poor data undermines trust and outcomes.

= Begin data clean-up before implementation

= Use small test runs to validate new data structures

3: Plan for the emotional drop after go-live. Everyone hits the “trough of disillusionment.” Don’t panic.

= Prepare staff with training, expectation-setting, and visible leadership

= Offer immediate support post-go-live — especially in the first 60 days

If you found this conversation valuable, please hit Subscribe / Follow, leave a comment, and share this episode with your peer business leaders. Your support helps us reach more CEOs who want to improve organisation performance and value.

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Final Thought

If you’re leading a medium-sized business and thinking about ERP, don’t just buy a system. Build readiness. Use this episode as your checklist. Start with people, clean your data, be realistic about change. Your ERP won’t save you — but your #CriticalFewActions™ will.

References:

“More than 70% of large-scale transformations fail.” — McKinsey

🔗 https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/why-do-most-transformations-fail-a-conversation-with-harry-robinson

“Building a strong ERP project team across departments is key to success.” — Gartner

🔗 https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/4-ways-to-build-a-high-performing-erp-project-team

“Data quality issues are the silent killer of ERP implementations.” — Forbes

🔗 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/04/why-clean-data-is-critical-for-successful-erp-implementation/

“Most ERP projects enter a dip after go-live: the ‘trough of disillusionment’.” — Gartner

🔗 https://www.gartner.com/en/research/methodologies/gartner-hype-cycle

If you liked this,

you might also enjoy these related #CriticalFewActions™ episodes:

(EP21) Rob Olver – Forget Evolution! When Should You Revolutionise Your Business Model? https://www.criticalfewactions.com.au/podcast/rob-olver-business-transformation/

(EP19) Unlock Business Success with #CriticalFewActions™: Prioritise What Truly Matters https://www.criticalfewactions.com.au/podcast/the-opv-get-focused-stay-focused/

(EP14) Peter Westlund – What Could Possibly Go Wrong https://www.criticalfewactions.com.au/podcast/peter-westlund-scenarios-015/

#CriticalFewActions #CEOMasterclass #ERPimplementation #LeadershipStrategy #MidMarketCEOs #BusinessSystems #DigitalTransformation #CleanData #BusinessProcess #OrganisationalChang