Why does a new program takesix months to get moving?

In the early part of my career, I was in tech consulting at a large, traditional blue-chip company. My roles differed depending on the client and project. Sometimes I was in the bid team, sometimes I was in delivery, and other times I was in a building full of execs from my organization and the client’s, helping manage the inventories and business processes that impacted our bottom line (and our client’s).

No matter which role or project I was in, one thing was common: the time it took to get important stakeholders in the same room, and to get a full house at that particular meeting. Back then, we were in the office most days, either on-site or next to the client’s office. But even when everyone was in the same building, it was still a real challenge scheduling those crucial meetings.

The second most impactful variable was the true time it took to get major programs under way. Multiply the number of meetings it takes to get something major off the ground, usually with exec sponsors and important stakeholders who have very busy diaries, and you can see the time adding up quickly.

In this piece: what the research says about launch times, what the wait costs, a CMI view of the first weeks of project mobilization, and an example first month you can borrow.

Longer than most sponsors expect. KPMG’s Transforming the Enterprise 2026 survey of 1,750 senior transformation leaders in 20 countries found that only 12% of organizations can launch a new initiative within three months, and more than half need six months or longer.

Some of that time goes on approvals and budgets. Some goes on getting people together, and that part is getting harder. Atlassian’s State of Teams 2026 found 87% of knowledge workers say that, with everyone in execution mode, they lack the time or capacity to coordinate.

The awkward part is who a new program needs. Senior sponsors, busy team leads and partners from outside the company are the people with the least time to spare, and the kickoff can’t happen without them.

Sources: KPMG International, Transforming the Enterprise 2026 · Atlassian Teamwork Lab, State of Teams 2026

Value starts late. Every week between approval and the first delivery is a week the business case isn’t paying back.

KPMG’s report describes the pattern behind it: “execution often still depends on manual coordination and multiple layers of approval.” In the first weeks of a program, much of that manual coordination is finding times for the people who need to agree the plan.

Partners add another layer. Consultants, vendors and agencies run on their own calendars, so every kickoff and workshop needs a time that suits two or three organizations.

In my view, mobilization is the first real test of a program’s pace. The plan can be excellent, but if the first meetings take a month to book, everyone learns that this program moves slowly.

The Chartered Management Institute’s guide to managing projects sets out five stages: initiation, planning, implementation, monitoring and closing. Mobilization spans the first two, from the kickoff meeting to an agreed plan. For a project that’s slipping, the guide notes that “a tightly run meeting with prepared participants is faster than one where people receive the agenda on arrival.”

Here’s one way the first four weeks can run. It’s an example to adapt, not a benchmark. Pick a week to see who needs to meet and what helps.

The detail will differ for every program. The habit worth copying is booking each week’s meetings before that week starts.

Source: CMI, How can you manage processes and projects to get results?

It takes the back-and-forth out of the first meetings, inside and outside the company.

1. 1.Find Time for the core team. See when sponsors and leads are free and book the first slot that works. Find Time is on the Team and Enterprise plans.
2. 2.Group polls and sign-up sheets for partners. Consultants, vendors and agencies vote on workshop times, or sign up for an onboarding session with a set number of seats. Nobody needs an account.
3. 3.Booking pages for program office hours. Questions land in set slots on the program lead’s real availability.
4. 4.Protected time for the day job. Focus time with auto-decline and meeting hours stop program meetings taking over everyone’s week.

What about people working on the program alongside the day job?

Most of them are. The CMI’s guide to participating in projects suggests “setting interruptible and uninterruptible periods”, and focus time does exactly that: a block where clashing invites are declined with a message you write.

For me, that protection is what keeps a program moving once the kickoff energy fades. People can give the program their attention because the rest of their week is still theirs.

Source: CMI, Participating in projects