"The Airport Model™" Article #2: The Hierarchy of Influence on the Delivery Ecosystem Reveals that 70% is Systemic Failure
- Shlomi Ozalvo
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
Introduction: The Myth of the Star Pilot
Imagine an accident investigation team arriving at your Airport (Organization). Over the past year, five flights (projects) have crashed or landed dramatically late. After a thorough investigation of each incident, the team announces: 'The Pilots (Project Managers) were skilled, procedures were maintained, but there is a critical problem recurring in all five flights: Control Tower overload (Projects Portfolio) and an organizational culture disrupting Airport operations (The Organization).
Do you address the five Pilots, or do you change the system?
This is the choice facing every organization. As long as we focus on improving the individual performance of the Pilots (Project Managers), we will continue to ignore the crucial fact: 70% of project delivery failure is a strategic and systemic failure.
In the introductory article (Link to article), we presented the four components of "The Airport Model™": The Pilot, The Aircraft, The Airport, and The Control Tower. Many organizations invest most of their effort in cultivating Project Managers (The Pilots) and the Execution Platform (The Aircraft), yet continue to experience serial delays.
Why?
Because, in practice, Project Managers (The Pilots) and the execution platform have only a 30% influence on the organization's overall delivery capabilities!
This article reveals the practical distribution of the four model components, showing how 70% of project delivery success in the Delivery Ecosystem is the responsibility of management. Understanding the influence of each element is the critical first step in transitioning from reactive project management to leading delivery management (Link to my blog article that explains the difference).
1. The Decisive Rule: 70% of Failures in the Delivery Ecosystem Are Systemic
The 40/30/20/10 influence levels are not based on mere theory, but on the strategy-execution gap – the central failure highlighted by PMI and Gartner research. To establish the hierarchy of influence, we distinguish between two critical dimensions of success: Doing the Right Projects (strategic selection) versus Doing Projects Right (effective tactical management).
In the illustration of the influence distribution of each "The Airport Model™" element, it can be seen that the three systemic components – PPM, The Organization, and The Execution Platform – determine the boundaries of the organization's project delivery success, not the project managers.
The Causal Link: Upstream Failure Sets the Limits of Success
The model's hierarchy establishes a causal link where failure upstream restricts success downstream. Our analysis establishes that the influence of the strategic dimension (PPM) is significantly greater than the tactical dimension (Project Manager):
Control Tower (40%, Prioritization and Value Definition) → Limits The Airport (30%):
The Failure: Poor PPM (The Control Tower) approves incorrect project starts or overloads the system, thereby creating a failure in prioritization and Value Definition.
The Impact: This immediate overload paralyzes the Organization’s ability to provide Resources and Infrastructure (The Airport).
The Result: The 40% failure causes Systemic Failure and Internal Friction (30%), as the organization is flooded and cannot support projects due to a lack of active Executive Sponsorship and synergy.
The Airport (30%, Systemic Failure) → Limits The Aircraft (20%):
The Failure: As a result of the 40% failure, The Organization (The Airport) suffers from instability and chronic "firefighting" efforts.
The Impact: This instability renders the methodology of the Execution Platform (The Aircraft) useless. No Agile or Waterfall will work when teams are forced to switch between tasks (High WIP).
The Result: The 30% failure leads to a Measurement and Execution problem (20%). Governance and Project Management Office (PMO) collapses, and reliable data becomes unavailable.
The Aircraft (20%, Measurement Failure) → Limits The Pilot (10%):
The Failure: When the Execution Platform (The Aircraft) fails to provide accurate data and process stability.
The Impact: The Pilot (Project Manager) is forced to navigate the project with a "broken dashboard." They cannot make sound tactical decisions or manage risks because the information is corrupted by the systemic chaos (90%) above them.
The Result: The 20% failure severely limits the Day-to-Day Tactical Management (10%) skills of the Pilot, resulting in diminishing marginal returns from investing in Project Managers.
2. Detailed Influence Breakdown
The Control Tower (Portfolio Project Management (PPM) – 40%, Portfolio Control): This is the most influential factor, focused on selecting the right projects. The analytical argument centers on Strategic Alignment and the fact that it is the only mechanism that ensures investments aim for maximum organizational value.
The Airport (30%, Resources and Infrastructure): This factor focuses on creating a supportive execution environment. Research shows that Active Executive Sponsorship alone is the strongest predictor of organizational delivery success and outweighs the Project Manager's skills. A lack of organizational synergy leads to the Project Manager (who is responsible for only 10%) being unable to secure the necessary resources in time, or to management bypassing the Control Tower, undermining order.
The Aircraft (20%, Execution Platform): This platform deals with execution efficiency, providing stability and transparency through governance and project management maturity. Methodology and processes provide efficiency, but they only function after the right projects are selected (PPM 40%) and receive a supportive environment (The Organization 30%). If the Execution Platform is flawed, the Control Tower makes decisions based on inaccurate data.
The Pilot (10%, Execution Decisions and Tactical Leadership): The Project Manager is a critical factor within the project, but their influence is curtailed by the 90% of structural failures above them. Investing in the 10% without addressing the rest brings diminishing marginal returns.
The Clear Conclusion:
The two major systemic components – The Control Tower and The Airport – together account for 70% of the influence. 70% of success lies in the organization's ability to select and prioritize projects (PPM) and create a supportive environment (The Organization). Only 30% depends on the efficiency of the Execution Platform (20%) and the individual execution skills of the Project Managers (10%).
This reinforces the model's fundamental premise: Delivery fails due to the organization's prioritization and cultural conduct.
In Summary - The Reality Every Organization Must Recognize:
Focus on the 70% if you want real delivery improvement. It's time to stop focusing on training new Pilots and start institutionalizing a resilient Delivery Ecosystem.
