I
The Situation
SJCPL, an infrastructure and construction company, was growing in terms of project wins — but profitability wasn't keeping up. Cost overruns were routine. Three departments operated as separate kingdoms with no shared ownership of project outcomes. Site managers waited for instructions. The owner was the only person who felt responsible for results.
II
Root Causes
- —Silo culture — procurement, operations, finance not aligned
- —No ownership mindset on the floor — "not my problem" attitude
- —Cost overruns never formally tracked or owned by anyone
- —Owner the single decision-maker — massive bottleneck
- —No performance accountability framework existed
III
Athena's Intervention
- ✦Ownership Maturity Diagnostic — full organizational assessment
- ✦3E Ownership System: Engagement → Empowerment → Excellence
- ✦Cross-functional project ownership model designed and deployed
- ✦Cost accountability framework — every overrun owned by a person
- ✦Silo-breaking workshop series using MBTI and Belbin profiling
- ✦GM coaching programme — second-in-command developed
IV
Results Achieved
- ✦₹5+ crore in cost savings identified and implemented
- ✦Owner escalations reduced to near zero within 6 months
- ✦Cross-functional project teams now operating independently
- ✦GM capability built — owner freed for strategic decisions
I used to think the problem was my people. Vishwanath helped me see it was the system — and then he fixed it.
— Owner, SJCPL Construction