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Building a coalition is not just about assembling influential individuals—its true power lies in how it consistently drives visible, tangible progress and maintains trust through every stage of transformation. Without this, even the best-designed solutions risk rejection.
Once a strong coalition is in place—complete with a clear purpose and a primary sponsor—the real work begins: making progress visible and measurable. Trust, even within a well-formed coalition, is not automatic. It’s built through shared goals, clear outcomes, and transparent measurement.
Take, for example, a Customer Master (MDM) initiative. Success shouldn’t be abstract—it should look like:
These tangible milestones anchor the change in reality and build credibility among those impacted.
Despite strong intent, change initiatives often encounter technical hurdles—tools underperforming, data inconsistencies, or architectural bottlenecks. These roadblocks must be aired openly and resolved collaboratively within the coalition. Avoiding them or hiding delays undermines momentum and weakens trust.
One striking example is a Customer Master project led by an engineering team at Microsoft. Despite exceptional technical execution, the coalition failed to involve business stakeholders regularly throughout the journey. Their intent was to focus on delivery first and communicate later—believing involvement would slow progress.
The result? A $200 million investment that led to zero adoption. Business users and partner systems rejected the final solution—not because it was wrong, but because they hadn’t seen how it was built. Lacking visibility, they had no trust in the outcome.