Visit other campuses. They invariably spot good ideas and develop common vocabularies. Most of all, the fellow travelers come to know each other better. They come to know what is most important to each other. Benefiting from the catalytic effect of seeing another system, they are to reflect upon the whole range of issues associated with an ambitious technology initiative.
Lucky timing is crucial.
The wrong newspaper headlines immediately prior to a crucial vote can kill an initiative. A new product announcement made only days after commitments have been made to what is now destined to be obsolete before it reaches campus. Extraordinary unhappiness over an unrelated issue by one of the stakeholder constituencies. The death or resignation of a champion for a particular plan or of a key representative in the vendor community. All of these things and more can go wrong.