"The Airport Model™" Article #7: The Control Tower (40% Influence) - The Lack of Airspace Control Leading to Organizational Self-Collapse!
- Shlomi Ozalvo
- Jan 19
- 4 min read
1. Ghost Tower
Imagine standing on the runway of a busy international airport. You are surrounded by dozens of state-of-the-art aircraft (20% Influence), manned by the most skilled pilots in the world (10% Influence), and supported by impeccable ground crews (30% Influence). Everything looks perfect, until you look up: The Control Tower is empty.
In such a scenario, it doesn't matter how fast the planes are or how talented the pilots are:
Aircraft will wait for hours on the tarmac simply because no one told them when it was their turn (Loss of Time to Market).
Two planes will attempt to land on the same runway simultaneously (Conflict over critical resources).
Flights will depart for unnecessary destinations, while strategic targets remain deserted.
Without a control tower, the airport is not a logistical system – it is merely an expensive parking lot. In the world of PPM, the Control Tower represents the 40% impact that determines whether your organization is a thriving hub or one giant traffic jam. It doesn't just "approve flights"; it manages the airspace that allows all other components (The Pilot, The Plane, and the Airport) to deliver real value.
2. The Ultimate Responsibility: Airspace Management
Most organizations manage their delivery by "looking out the window": they only see what is directly in front of them, reacting to planes already on the runway and hoping for the best.
But an effective control tower cannot rely on limited vision.
To prevent crashes and manage crowded airspace, we must ensure our control tower looks ahead using Radar, rather than just peering through the window. This is the only way to prevent systematic resource waste and chronic delays, and to develop the most difficult organizational capability: The ability to decide what NOT to do!
3. The Core Failure (40%): Unbalanced Capacity, WIP Overload, and Blind Management
Why does the PPM system have four times (40%) the impact of the project manager’s skills (The Pilot – 10%)? The answer lies in the scope of influence: the Control Tower affects the entire organizational portfolio. If the Tower approves ten projects that are not strategically aligned, the ROI of every "flight" is immediately compromised, creating a drag that affects the entire organization.
Failed Filtering and Prioritization: The Tower grants takeoff clearance to too many "planes" regardless of the number of available runways. Projects are approved without a holistic examination of Value vs. Complexity.
Blind Capacity Management: The Tower ignores organizational resource bottlenecks (the 30%) and continues launching projects when teams are already at 120% capacity.
Blaming the Pilots: The organization blames project managers for delays, when the real issue is the management's poor handling of the airspace.
How is this prevented? Use the Radar! An organization that only "looks out the window" sees projects only when they create a bottleneck on the runway. Radar-based management enables:
Identifying approaching storms: Using an Intake Questionnaire to pre-define the level of complexity. Are we heading toward Pioneering technology that requires research, or simple Maintenance?
Preventing entry into the "Swamp": Identifying projects with high complexity and low value (e.g., an Efficiency project requiring Pioneering technology) and stopping them before they drain the organization’s critical resources.
4. Critical Relationships with the Control Tower
4.1 Tower ↔ Aircraft: Data Must Flow from the Field
To make navigation decisions, the PPM depends entirely on accurate, real-time data from the Aircraft (Execution Platform):
The Critical Metric: The Tower requires data on flight speed (Velocity), accurate status, and potential risks.
The Platform's Impact: If the execution methodology does not provide an accurate dashboard, the Tower makes decisions based on flawed information.
Example: A pilot reports a "Green" status, but the aircraft's dashboard does not reflect the actual effort required. The Tower authorizes additional flights based on fictional resource availability. The Result: Delivery Collapse.
4.2 Tower ↔ Airport: Connecting Strategy to Execution
The Control Tower is the conduit between Executive Management and the Execution:
Holistic View: The Tower must see all projects in the organization and prioritize them under one roof.
Unified Language: Creating a shared strategic language for ranking projects (e.g., a Bubble Chart of Value, Effort, and Risk) that allows management to make informed investment decisions.
5. From Approval to Flow Management: The Unified Radar Language
To be effective, the Tower must stop "counting" projects and start managing Value. The unified language divides the Radar into four zones:
Diamond: High-value projects (Differentiation or Transformation) with low complexity. The Order: Full throttle!
Strategic: Strategic projects with high value but high complexity (Platform or Pioneering). The Order: Close management and high resource allocation.
Maintenance: Ongoing Efficiency, Survival, and Optimization projects that maintain the status quo. The Order: A reasonable dose.
Swamp: Projects that are too complex for too little value. The Order: Stop! Evaluate for immediate cancellation.
6. Summary: How to Activate the 40%?
To dramatically improve effectiveness, the organization must focus on fixing the 40% before any other investment:
Implement an Intake Questionnaire: Transition to objective documentation based on the Cost of Inaction and the Level of Certainty in execution.
Management by Quadrants: Executive decision-making based on the project's position on the Radar, ensuring "Swamp" projects do not suffocate the "Diamond".
Limit Work in Progress (Limit WIP): The Tower is responsible for ensuring there are always fewer projects in execution than capacity allows, to guarantee flexibility and rapid delivery.
Conclusion:
Capacity management without Radar is blind management. When the Control Tower functions correctly, it transforms from a bureaucratic entity into the organization's central strategic value engine.
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