“For Want of a Planning Officer…”

I was reading the news the other morning over a strong coffee, and a headline caught my eye: The UK government’s housebuilding plans risk collapse due to a shortage of planning officers.

It stopped me in my tracks.

Here we are, setting one of the most important goals for the country—tackling the housing crisis—and yet the whole thing could come undone because we don’t have enough qualified people in planning departments. Not because of budgets, bricks, or public opposition, but simply because there’s no one to say, “yes” or “no” to applications.

And it immediately reminded me of that old proverb:
“For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost…”
...you know how it goes. Until finally, “the kingdom was lost.”

All because of one, tiny, overlooked detail.

And I found myself wondering how often do we let something seemingly small scupper something hugely ambitious?

We’ve All Been There, Haven’t We?

Have you ever run a project or been part of a transformation where it wasn’t the big, obvious challenges that tripped you up—but the tiny, irritating, overlooked detail?

I’ve seen it. Too many times to count.

A dependency that was “definitely covered” (but wasn’t).
A single team member who didn’t quite understand the mission.
A process no one realised was still running manually until it failed.

And suddenly, the whole timeline slips. The budget swells. The stakeholders lose faith. And the transformation gets quietly downgraded from “essential and urgent” to “let’s pick this up again next year.”

In transformation work, our Trailblazers often remind us that everything touches everything else. That means the stakes are high, and the margin for error? Tiny.

No wonder almost 90% of transformation programmes don’t hit their intended goals.

What we’ve Learned (Sometimes the Hard Way)

Over the years, at Malikshaw, we’ve seen transformation programmes of all shapes and sizes—digital overhauls, operating model redesigns, massive recruitment drives. And I  can tell you this with confidence:

Success doesn’t come from just having a great strategy.
It comes from spotting the nails.

The person no one invited to the early workshops but who holds the keys to adoption.
The platform that’s running on outdated tech but quietly underpins your entire process.
The middle manager who's drowning in BAU and can’t cascade the change message.

That’s why our Transformation Trailblazers—interims, execs, programme leads—aren’t just domain experts. They’re the people who’ve been through it enough times to know what to look for before it breaks.

If You’re Staring Down a Big Change…

Maybe you’re in the early planning stages. Maybe you're knee-deep in delivery and feeling the pressure. Or maybe there’s something keeping you awake at night, and you’re not sure how big it’s going to become. AI comes to mind for some reason ;)

Wherever you are, I’d love to hear your story.

And if there’s a gap on your team, or a blind spot in your plan, we might just know the person who can see it clearly and help you close it. And please do share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.