The Cherry on Top!

White Elephant Projects: Hunt Them. Win Them. Don’t Build Your Budget Around Them.

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Every sales organization loves the big prize.

The exceptional project.

The international flagship contract that takes years to develop and can transform an entire year’s order intake.

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Depending on the industry, we may be talking about €20 million, $50 million, or considerably more.

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For this article, I call them “White Elephant Projects.” Conventionally, a white elephant describes something expensive with limited practical value.

Here, I deliberately use the term for projects of exceptional scale, complexity, international reach, and uncertain timing.

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Winning one can be an outstanding achievement.
Depending on one to make your business plan work is a different matter.

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1. Keep the hunting instinct alive.

Across more than two decades in interim management, I have seen how much energy a major opportunity can generate.

I welcome that ambition. I want sales teams that pursue exceptional opportunities with determination, intelligence, and stamina.

When we win one, I celebrate with the team.
These contracts can open doors, strengthen our reputation, establish important references, and demonstrate what our organization can deliver.

Go after them. Take them seriously. Earn the win.

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2. Recognize how little you control.

These projects can remain in the pipeline for years. Financing changes. Investment decisions move. Specifications evolve. Political conditions shift. Customers postpone commitments.

Meanwhile, every serious competitor is pursuing the same opportunity, often with substantial resources and considerable determination.

A strong relationship does not guarantee an order. Years of effort do not guarantee a decision. A large pipeline value does not guarantee revenue.

An opportunity is still an opportunity until the customer commits.

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3. Build a business plan that works without them.

Your underlying business must support a credible three-year and five-year plan through a sufficiently broad, repeatable flow of orders.

Revenue, gross margin, and EBITDA targets need a foundation you can explain and defend.

My test is straightforward:

If removing one exceptional, uncommitted project breaks your plan, your plan is too dependent on that project.

Show these opportunities separately, with explicit assumptions about probability, timing, and financial contribution.

Once a contract is secured, incorporate its delivery, revenue, costs, and risks into the relevant forecasts.

Until then, treat it as potential upside above a sound operating baseline.

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4. Look beyond the headline contract value.

Yes! A flagship project may deliver considerable prestige while producing a relatively modest margin.

Competitive pricing, extensive engineering, demanding contract terms, guarantees, and execution complexity can consume much of the apparent upside.
Large projects can also tie up capacity and working capital that the regular business needs.

Reputation has value. It does not automatically translate into profitability.

A spectacular order intake figure deserves a rigorous margin and cash assessment.

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5. Win it. Deliver it. Keep building the core business.

When you secure an exceptional project, execute it exceptionally well. Protect the margin. Manage the risks. Turn the result into a reference that helps win future business.

At the same time, maintain the discipline that sustains the company: customer development, a broad pipeline, regular orders, and consistent commercial execution.

The big prize should strengthen that foundation.

Hunt the extraordinary. Budget with discipline. Deliver relentlessly.

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6. The cherry on top is welcome. Build a business that earns its profit before the cherry arrives.

As said:

Maintain the discipline that sustains the company:

• customer development
• a broad pipeline
• regular orders
• consistent commercial execution

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