At TXM Consult, we don’t see complexity as a risk. We see it as the environment where the best delivery happens, when it’s led with clarity, control, and confidence.

Complex programmes, even those that begin with strong leadership, clear intent, and sound planning, often don’t stay on course. As delivery progresses, the gap between expectations and reality can widen. Milestones blur. Risks compound. The line of sight to outcomes becomes less certain.

And that is exactly when TXM Consult is called upon.

We work with clients at pivotal moments in the programme lifecycle, when complexity increases, and clarity is urgently needed. Our team brings decades of hands-on experience delivering and recovering major programmes across sectors. Combining strategic advisory with embedded delivery to get programmes back on track.

In this second edition of TXM Consult Voices, Mark Cooper, Chief Operating Officer – TXM Group, and Neil Rattan, Digital Infrastructure & Systems Director – TXM Consult, share the critical steps they take when joining complex programmes. These are the actions that help stabilise, align, and deliver success.

What Do We Mean by a Complex Programme?

When we talk about complexity, we don’t mean something theoretical or abstract. We mean the kind of programmes where thousands of people, multiple suppliers, evolving technology, and competing priorities all have to come together, often in environments with political, public, or regulatory scrutiny.

Mark Cooper, TXM Group’s Chief Operating Officer, puts it simply:

Complexity, in our world, doesn’t just refer to scale, it’s about interdependencies, delivery pressure, and risk. These programmes demand more than process. They demand control.

And that starts with the one thing that connects every part of delivery: the schedule.

1. The Schedule: Your First and Most Important Control

In complex programmes, time is money, literally. We have worked on major projects where over £40 million was spent each day, just to keep the operation running. Of that, more than half went to preliminaries: people turning up, equipment in place, activity underway, regardless of whether meaningful progress was made.

The schedule isn’t a report, it’s the control system.
When it is real and trusted, direction returns, risks surface early, and momentum becomes measurable. It’s how programmes move from drift to delivery.

2. Reconnecting to the ‘North Star’

When complexity builds, purpose often fades. People know what they are doing but not always why. And when trade-offs need to be made, that is when programmes suffer.

So we bring leadership back to the North Star, the true objective of the programme. But not as a slogan. As something that’s embedded into the operating rhythm: the schedule, the governance, the review cycles, the decisions.

“It is not enough to have a vision, it has to shape the way people work every day.”

When teams reconnect to purpose, their decisions get sharper. Progress gets cleaner. And alignment becomes a shared habit, not a forced conversation.

3. Creating Clarity Through a Visual Control Room

One of the most effective tools we use in those early weeks is the visual management control room, a single place where the programme becomes visible again.

This is where actual vs. planned performance is laid bare. Critical paths are tracked. Accountability is made visible. And performance gaps are no longer something to be explained away, they are something to be acted on.

“When people can see the same truth, they stop debating the data and start solving the problem.”

It becomes more than a reporting hub. It becomes the space where delivery gets real again. The visual management control room is the place where we clearly see issues (reds) and is the place to start the conversation to mitigate and intervene.

Final Thought from TXM Consult

Delivery is not just about plans, processes, or frameworks. It is about people. And in complex environments, culture and behaviour become the multipliers. In complex programmes, performance must go beyond metrics, it must become culture, behaviour, and performance language.

Even the best designed programmes can falter if behaviours are misaligned, trust is low, or teams are not empowered. That is why we do not just bring structure, we bring leadership coaching, cultural alignment, and behavioural reinforcement from day one.

Because the difference between success and failure in complex programmes is rarely technical.

It’s leadership, discipline, and culture.

At TXM Consult, we bring the expertise and commitment to make complexity work, not as a challenge to be feared, but as a context to deliver real and lasting value.