Context Matters Most
- JD Solomon
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Two organizations can adopt the exact same risk framework, prioritization method, or facilitation approach. But both come to different conclusions. Same tool. Different results. It’s because the variable was never the method. It is the context surrounding it.
From the Real World
The medium-sized water utility was seeking to implement a second attempt at a formal asset management program. Their leadership and the CEO made it clear to our advisory team that they want something practical.
“The first things we need to do is convince them to use the ISO 55000 framework,” explained one of our global experts. “There are so many best practices and tools they can use. Within a few years, they are going to start seeing a big change in their organizational culture.”
The only thing wrong with that is that we don’t have a few years to show results.” I responded. “I know you don’t like it, but we are going to have to scale some of the tools and probably skip a few of them.”
That set off a round of pointed discussions about best practices and our role as a leading consulting firm. I was starting to lose the battle (maybe the war) despite the client being clear on their expectations.
“The big difference here is that we are not working on a billion-dollar, 10-year consent degree program,” I explained. “There the utility has five percent budget for management improvements and is forced to show progress. These guys have a fraction of the budget and are doing it voluntarily.”
The client’s interests won the day but I lost a couple of internal techy allies. Years later, I still had a valued client and the client had a highly regard asset management program. It started with empathetic listening and getting the context right.
Both ISO 31000 (Risk Management) and ISO 55000 (Asset Management) specify “establishing the context” at the beginning of their processes.
The Tool Rarely Changes. The Organization Does.
One organization has clear definitions, a culture of open communication, and leadership that reviews risk on a regular cadence. The other has none of these things. One has the staff capacity to sustain a new plan through implementation. The other is stretched thin before the plan even launches. In both cases, the method was fine. The fit was not.
This is not a minor caveat to ‘best’ practice. It is the actual determinant of whether ‘best’ practice works at all.
We Check Context Once. We Should Check It Continually.
Most organizations do acknowledge context, but only at the start. They document it during planning, then move on. Priorities shift. Staff turnover. Six months later, the plan is running against a context that no longer exists.
This article on asset management makes the case for revalidating context at each stage of implementation. Context changes as organizational politics change. The bigger point extends past asset management. Context is not a box to check once. It’s the variable that should drive every decision about method, pace, and rigor, for as long as the work continues.
“Politics is the means by which civilized people settle their differences; violence is the means used by the uncivilized.” - Plato
Read the Situation Before You Reach for the Method
Technical training teaches methods first. Almost none of it teaches how to read the organization the method is about to land in.
That gap matters. Before choosing an approach, the better question is what this group already understands, what has failed here before, and how much change this organization can actually absorb right now. Those answers determine which method is right, not the other way around.
More From the Real World
“I don’t understand,” shrugged the department manager. “It’s not a lot of money and we really need to make some changes to our team and the vendor. The Board made a bigger decision two years ago on another matter, and didn’t hesitate.”
“The bigger situation has changed,” I stated. “They will get it right. It will just take some time.”
As the Interim Town Manager, I went on to explain the four other big decisions that the board was dealing with and how several of them related to one another. This one was important, but timing and sequence were important, too. For everything there is a season.
Context First, Method Second
The professionals who consistently produce good outcomes are rarely the ones with the deepest toolkit. They are the ones who read the room before selecting from it.
The next time you reach for a familiar framework, pause first. Does it actually fit what is in front of you? That question matters more than the framework itself. Context matters most.
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