Recent headlines from Sweden tell a cautionary tale: the rollout of a new IT system, Millennium, at one of the country’s largest hospitals has reportedly led to significant disruptions. Staff have been forced back to pen-and-paper methods, patient care has been delayed, and frustration has boiled over into public protests. While I don’t have specific insights into this situation, my experience tells me that when system implementation projects falter on such a scale, the root cause often traces back to one fundamental issue: complexity.

In the realm of system implementation, complexity is both inevitable and manageable. Understanding how to navigate it can mean the difference between success and failure.