Your Most Successful Projects Aren’t About the Scope – They’re About the Dynamics
A colleague recently shared a great presentation about defining your ideal consulting client. It was thoughtful, practical, and honestly, the kind of advice most people skip when they’re building a consulting business. And it reminded me of something I learned the long way around—usually while sitting in front of a whiteboard thinking, “Okay… what exactly is going on here?”
When I started Mosaic BizOps, I defaulted to describing what I do—change management, employer branding, operational clarity, project management systems, hiring process design, workflow optimization, digital marketing strategy…the whole “Jessica buffet.”
But I didn’t often pause to define who I did it best for. And honestly? Skipping that step made everything a lot harder than it needed to be.
Because here’s the thing (and this is the soccer mom in me talking): it’s a bit like agreeing to play on a team without checking whether the other players even want to pass the ball. Technically, yes, you can run. You can even score. But the game feels very different when everyone is aligned, communicating, and actually wants to play the same style of game.
That willingness for stakeholders to show up for the team (and the vulnerability it sometimes takes to do so) is, I eventually learned, what makes an ideal client.
Similarly, your most successful internal projects aren’t defined by budget, headcount, or software selection. They’re defined by the dynamics of the people who show up to do the work.
When the Right People Are in the Room
Earlier this year, I jumped into a project with a firm that needed to redesign their marketing workflows. Their tools were solid. Their talent was strong. Their intentions were good.
But things weren’t clicking. You could feel the friction.
When we kicked off, it was clear the CEO knew what they wanted, but they couldn’t get everyone aligning to a single North Star. (If you’ve ever worked in a cross-functional team, you can probably feel that sentence deep down in your soul.)
Then something shifted. Once we brought everyone together (e.g., HR, operations, communications, executive team members, even a couple of “quiet influencers”) the whole project changed shape. People named the real blockers. They were open to short-term experiments. They weren’t precious about “how we’ve always done it.”
And suddenly, everything started flowing:
Not because the plan was perfect.
Not because the tech was flawless.
But because the internal dynamics became healthier.
That’s when I realized: finding your “ideal client” as a consultant and finding your “ideal conditions” as an organization are two sides of the same coin.
Because here’s the truth: my ideal clients, and your ideal projects, share similar DNA. They’re not defined by size or function. They’re defined by the kind of work dynamic where
your frameworks land,
your creativity sparks,
your problem-solving thrives,
your energy stays intact, and
your expertise makes a disproportionately positive impact.
For me, that’s almost always:
Nonprofits
Small-to-mid consulting firms
Teams navigating change, tech adoption, hiring challenges, or operational chaos
Those are the environments where my people-centered, process-savvy, “let’s connect the dots” mindset can create real lift.
And once I owned that…once I named it, defined it, and paid attention to what made those engagements successful…everything else got easier.
Marketing. Content. Sales conversations. Scoping. Creating value. All of it.
The Real Fit Check: Who Makes Progress Possible?
Whether you’re leading a nonprofit team, steering a membership association, or running a small consulting firm, the success of your next big project depends on one thing:
The dynamic between the people who need to work together.
And in my experience, the projects that truly thrive share a few common threads:
There’s openness—not perfection.
People don’t have to agree on everything. But they do have to be honest about where things stand.There’s clarity on what progress looks like.
Not every task…just the direction. That shared “North Star” (aka why this matters) fuels momentum.There’s a willingness to change what’s not working.
Tech. Process. Communication patterns. It all counts. Rigid teams stall; flexible teams experiment and evolve.There’s respect for both people and process.
Not one over the other. Great systems only work if they fit real human behavior.There’s at least one stakeholder who can say, “Let’s try this.”
A little “yes, and…” improv comedy energy goes a long way in unlocking solutions. When those five elements are in the room, everything becomes more possible:
Hiring becomes smoother.
Tech adoption becomes sane.
Onboarding feels human.
Cross-functional projects stop feeling like group therapy.
And real, lasting change actually sticks.
So What Does This Mean for Your Organization?
Instead of starting with questions like:
What’s the right tool?
How long will this project take?
Do we need an outside consultant?
Try starting with these instead:
Who needs to be in the room for this to work?
Do we have shared clarity on why this project matters?
Which stakeholders consistently help us make progress?
What dynamics help us work better together?
Where do we get stuck—and why?
Because the real answers…you know, the ones that determine whether a project thrives or stalls…are always hiding inside the people, the rhythms, and the relationships that shape how your team actually works.
That’s where your highest-impact work is waiting.
A Quick Reflection for Leaders
Think about a project your organization completed in the last 12–18 months; one that genuinely felt like a win.
What made it successful?
A candid champion who kept the goal visible?
A cross-functional partner who stepped up at a critical moment?
A moment of psychological safety where someone finally named the real blocker?
A willingness to experiment when the first plan wasn’t quite right?
A process that wasn’t perfect, but it fit how your team naturally operates?
Those patterns reveal your ideal project conditions.
They show you where and how your team does its best work. They tell you which dynamics support momentum, and which ones quietly erode it.
And, they help you design your next initiative with a clearer sense of how people, process, and platforms can align in a way that actually creates lift.
If This Sparks Something…
If you’re planning a:
change initiative
workflow overhaul
tech adoption
hiring or onboarding refresh
cross-functional project
or any moment where collaboration really matters
…and you want support identifying:
the right people to involve
the dynamics that matter most
the process that will actually stick
and the clarity that keeps everyone aligned
I’d love to talk. This is the kind of work I love most, and it’s where Mosaic BizOps shines: people-centered systems, practical clarity, and awesomely aligned teams.
