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Wilson Biz Consulting Wilson Biz Consulting helps project leaders improve outcomes by bringing clarity, structure, and team alignment to the way projects start.

03/03/2026

How many projects fail… because of assumptions no one challenged?

We assume:
- We’re solving the right problem.
- The solution is obvious.
- Stakeholders are aligned.
- Risks will “work themselves out.”
- The lifecycle model will protect us.

But unexamined assumptions are expensive.

That’s exactly why my husband Oz Wilson and I wrote our new book:

“Where Projects Are Lost or Won.”

And I’m so excited to share that it will be published this Wednesday on Amazon.

This book focuses on the first 10% of a project.

The part where clarity is created…
- or confusion is locked in.

It’s a practical guide to:
- Early-stage decision-making
- Opportunity framing
- Using risk and assurance to your advantage
- Setting up gates that protect your investment
- Creating real alignment before ex*****on begins

We wrote it because in workshop after workshop, across industries, we see brilliant teams struggling - not because they lack capability - but because they lack a clear framework for shaping decisions at the start.

A huge thank you to:

David Skinner - Executive, Strategist, Author of Introduction to Decision Analysis - for writing the foreword and for being such a powerful advocate of framing.

Jairo Velasquez - Director of Quality, PMP, PMO Office, thank you for writing the foreword and your support for our courses, workshops and this book.

And big thanks to Akin Oni, Damodaran Raghu and Neil Maxfield for sharing case studies and real-world insights that make this book very practical.

Big thanks also go to the people who had early influence on my approach to framing, facilitation, and governance, including my dear friend Susanna Durston, Karl Nolte and David Newman and to my past, present, and future clients. I have learned the most from you. Every workshop, every challenge, every difficult conversation shaped this work.

This book is for those who have big ideas. It takes boldness to pause, to think differently and to challenge familiar patterns.

Once you realize you can influence project success simply by thinking in a new way - by framing better, deciding earlier, and choosing more consciously - you may discover a new passion and new energy for your work.

Projects are rarely lost in ex*****on - they are lost or won- much earlier.

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On paper, I was killing it.Senior QA engineer by 28.Featured in industry magazines.Leading quality on major oil and gas ...
03/02/2026

On paper, I was killing it.
Senior QA engineer by 28.
Featured in industry magazines.
Leading quality on major oil and gas projects.
But here’s the part no one saw:

The reports I wrote were never used.
The insights weren’t influencing decisions.
Nothing was changing.

Quality had become a checkbox-
not a tool for improvement.
And I knew I couldn’t keep doing it.

So I walked away.
Turned down a prestigious MBA.
Said no to four QA job offers.
And moved to Australia… for a job I didn’t fully understand.

That’s where everything shifted.
In my first week, I sat in a framing workshop.
And in one day, I saw what QA alone could never deliver:
- Alignment between functions
- Clarity on what really matters
- A shared vision
- A clear way forward

That experience flipped everything.

I spent the next decade facilitating framing workshops for major oil and gas projects - helping executives and project teams make the right decisions before committing resources.

Now I live in the US.
I meet brilliant leaders every day.
People with incredible technical knowledge, experience, and ambition.

But too often, I see the same problem:
They’re missing the right support to align, frame opportunities, and move forward with clarity.

And here’s my belief:
Opportunity framing and Stage Gate shouldn’t be reserved for facilitators.
They should be tools everyone working on complex projects knows how to use.

Because projects don’t fail in ex*****on.
They fail when alignment never happened at the start.
👉 If your team is misaligned, overwhelmed by options, or struggling to define success - don’t wait until ex*****on to find out.
Frame it first.

Most project leaders confuse PMI lifecycle, Waterfall, Agile, and Stage Gate.But they solve different problems.That’s wh...
02/02/2026

Most project leaders confuse PMI lifecycle, Waterfall, Agile, and Stage Gate.
But they solve different problems.

That’s why Stage Gate is the missing piece.
➡ Which approach is dominant in your organization today?

Most “facts” in your project aren’t facts at all.They’re assumptions dressed up as truth.The CEO says: “This is a given....
31/01/2026

Most “facts” in your project aren’t facts at all.
They’re assumptions dressed up as truth.

The CEO says: “This is a given.”
The expert says: “That’s just how it is.”
And everyone nods along.

But here’s the reality:
What we think is fact… often isn’t.
It’s bias.
It’s opinion.
It’s yesterday’s truth applied to today’s project.

That’s why in opportunity framing workshops, we use the Decision Hierarchy tool.

It forces teams to ask early:
- Is this really a fact? (and according to whom?)
- Or is it an assumption?
- Which decisions are already made?
- What must be decided in the next phase?
- What can wait?
And the timing matters.
You need to ask these questions at the start - before you choose a solution.

Because these decisions shape:
- Your project scope
- The work you commit to
- The options you explore
- How you measure success
- Even leadership expectations

Run this exercise in a workshop and you’ll see it:
Biases surface.
Assumptions get challenged.
And so-called “givens” are tested - even if they come from the CEO.

That’s when alignment happens.
Not because people shouted louder,
but because the team finally agreed on what’s true.

Harsh project truth:Stakeholder misalignment can stop a project.I’ve seen it in oil & gas.I’ve seen it in city infrastru...
30/01/2026

Harsh project truth:
Stakeholder misalignment can stop a project.

I’ve seen it in oil & gas.
I’ve seen it in city infrastructure.

Not because of engineering.
Not because of funding.
But because key stakeholders weren’t aligned early enough.

Too often, leaders “invite” stakeholders-
but with no clear agenda.
Just fake showing up.

And here’s what typically happens:
- You fall out over commercial terms just before ex*****on, and realize you’ve had different priorities all along.
- Or you discover the decision was made on cost alone - ignoring value.
- And you forgot: costs always go up. Never trust the first estimate.

By then, it’s way too late.

This is where opportunity framing makes sense:

- Engage the right people early
- Separate facts from assumptions
- Force clarity on scope, value, and priorities

Don’t wait until ex*****on to figure this out.
By then, the damage is already done.

Framing is for early planning when you still have the chance to set projects up for success.

👉 Have you ever seen a project collapse because misalignment only showed up at the last minute?

Harsh truth about new tech projects:Excitement can kill them.Whenever a new idea appears - like data centers, AI infrast...
29/01/2026

Harsh truth about new tech projects:
Excitement can kill them.

Whenever a new idea appears - like data centers, AI infrastructure, or next-gen renewables - the pattern is the same:

- Rush to ex*****on to “show we got it”
- Skip the hard questions to beat competitors
- Confuse speed with progress
- Downplay risks and trade-offs

And what happens?

→ Missteps pile up
→ Costs go up
→ Teams lose credibility with leadership and investors

The irony?
We usually know before ex*****on if we’ll miss the market window, misallocate resources, or run into stakeholder pushback.

The real problem isn’t the tech.

It’s that we don’t pause to frame the opportunity.

Before committing millions, we should ask:

👉 What needs to be done now vs. what can wait?
👉 Where is the actual value coming from?
👉 What assumptions are we making?
👉 Who needs to be aligned from the start?

Because when projects are rushed, the project becomes the goal.
When projects are framed, they deliver the goal.

Uncomfortable truth about projects:Inviting people is not the same as involving them.Too often, leaders say: - “We told ...
28/01/2026

Uncomfortable truth about projects:
Inviting people is not the same as involving them.

Too often, leaders say:
- “We told the team.”
- “We sent an update.”
- “We asked for feedback.”

That looks like engagement.
But it isn’t.

Here’s what happens:
- People nod, but don’t agree.
- Problems stay hidden.
- Later, decisions get re-opened.
- Time and money are wasted.

Real engagement looks different:
👉 Invite diverse perspectives early
👉 Involve people who will be impacted by the change
👉 Keep them engaged through the whole project lifecycle
👉 Bring the right process to explore different views and options
👉 Build outputs into the roadmap - not just the meeting notes
👉 Align on value drivers, not just cost and schedule

That’s what facilitation does.
It gives everyone a voice,
so alignment is real,
and projects move forward with trust.

Because when people feel left out,
they resist change.
But when they feel involved,
they own the change.

27/01/2026

Most projects don’t fail in ex*****on.
They fail before they even start.

X 65% of major capital projects miss their business objectives
X 78% of megaprojects overrun budgets or schedules
X 95% of AI projects fail to deliver (Forbes, Aug 2025)

Why?
Because teams jump in without alignment, without framing, and without clarity on success.

👉 That’s where the Stage Gate process comes in.

But here’s the catch: most companies are doing Stage Gate wrong.

In my latest article, I explain:
- How to recognize a broken Stage Gate process
- The biggest mistakes companies make
- 7 steps to fix it - fast

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https://www.wilson.biz/post/revamping-your-stage-gate-process-for-success-common-pitfalls-and-quick-solutions

Last night, I read hundreds of LinkedIn posts on leadership.All inspiring.All well-intentioned.All saying the same thing...
26/01/2026

Last night, I read hundreds of LinkedIn posts on leadership.
All inspiring.
All well-intentioned.
All saying the same thing:
Be a safe leader. Create psychological safety. Listen more. Care more.

But here’s the reality:
- We don’t lack advice.
- We don’t lack definitions.
- We don’t even lack leaders who want to do better.

So why do so many people still experience the opposite?
→ Voices shut down
→ Ideas excluded
→ Decisions made behind closed doors
→ Projects delivered with no value

Because it’s not just about leaders.
It’s about the system they operate in.

If the system rewards speed over clarity,
Certainty over exploration,
Hierarchy over inclusion -
Then even the best leadership philosophy won’t stick.

That’s why the question isn’t:
“How do we coach leaders to be safer?”
It’s:
“What process and governance do we need so inclusion, clarity, and transparency are guaranteed?”

Framing workshops and clear governance structures do exactly that.
They take psychological safety from a philosophy to a practice.

Because your philosophy is never greater than the system you work in.

👉 Do you think psychological safety is more about the leader… or the system?

It’s not the leaders. It’s the system.But here’s the twistleaders build the system too.Every policy, every meeting, ever...
24/01/2026

It’s not the leaders. It’s the system.
But here’s the twist
leaders build the system too.

Every policy, every meeting, every decision
either reinforces clarity or creates chaos.

Strong systems make good leadership visible.
Weak systems make even great leaders struggle.

It’s the numbers game.
Shape the system → the system shapes you.

Maybe leadership isn’t just nature or nurture.
Maybe it’s design.

👉 What system are you building around your leadership?

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