What Separates Project Leaders from Managers?

  ProjectsAtWork  

ROI skills and people savvy are a good start.

Project managers are "the Kings of Process living in a world of chaos." That's how one Fortune 500 CEO defines the title. If so, the 2002 Project Leadership Conference (PLC) was an oasis of professional development amid the chaos, providing three days of discussion, debate and demos for hundreds of project leaders. The three-day event, held in Orlando in March, included in-depth workshops, 20-plus sessions and 12 keynote speakers, culminating in an address by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. Among the many insights and ideas presented, several themes emerged, particularly the need for project leaders to hone their ROI analysis, prioritization and team management skills.

Live-Or-Die ROI

In today's economy, where caution has replaced hype, projects live and die on ROI, according to David Gilmour, president and CEO of Tacit Knowledge Systems. "You will be expected to justify projects and persuade others to support them by how credible your ROI projection is," Gilmour told attendees.

Credible ROI takes into account all of a project's direct and indirect effects and consequences, including-but not limited to-impact on cash flow and risk probability adjustments, which often is ignored, Gilmour said.

But the "Herculean, if not impossible task" of credible ROI …

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