The Most Effective Kind of PM Philanthropy

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

  Career Development  

As project managers, we have a set of skills that are both in demand, and transferable to many different situations. There will always be a need for specialist skills in certain situations—construction, engineering, and so on. But generally speaking, a PM can take on a wide array of initiatives.

That’s what makes it relatively easy to donate those skills and experiences in philanthropic situations. Community groups, charities and the like can always use some more structured assistance in their endeavors.

But I sometimes wonder whether we should be providing that support. I am a firm believer in the idea of philanthropy for project managers, but I question whether direct project management is the best application of those philanthropic efforts.

There is an old adage that goes “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” That’s an approach that I believe is beneficial for PMs in these situations.

Availability of project management
Despite our best intentions, we cannot support all of the philanthropic opportunities that we might like to. There are too many other demands on our time, both professionally and personally. And even if the initiative is supported by our employer, the time available will be limited.

Additionally, project management demand outstrips supply globally, …

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