Series on Knowing What You Don’t Know: The Hidden Variable in Project Success
Part 4: The Myth of the Single Source of Truth — Why Redundancy is Good
In many pharmaceutical organisations, there’s a drive toward a “single source of truth” — a central repository where all data supposedly lives. While this seems efficient, it can become dangerously reductive. In reality, critical insights often reside outside formal systems: in hallway conversations, supplier emails, or the lived experience of project veterans.
Ironically, overcentralisation can mask uncertainty. If a system looks comprehensive, teams may assume it is. This leads to overconfidence in project planning — especially when information is outdated, mislabelled, or politically filtered.
Instead, project resilience comes from triangulation — deliberately seeking multiple perspectives on the same fact. What does regulatory say? What does supply chain know? What is commercial worried about? Where’s the tension?
Takeaway: Truth in complex systems is not monolithic. It’s emergent. Redundancy isn’t inefficiency—it’s insurance against blind spots.
By Mike Florence, Volker Moeckel, Stephen Bingham