Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Churchill: The Agile PM (Part 10)
Most people are very familiar with Winston Churchill but may not be familiar with his “agile” approach to project management and his skills as a PM in summer of 1940. Part 9 looked at how Churchill laid out a strategy with short- and long-term objectives. This article discusses how he set up a governance framework to transform the United Kingdom. The term governance as used in industry (especially in the information technology sector) describes the processes that need to exist for a successful project.
Churchill inherited a governance framework but knew it was flawed, as he faced insistent criticism that there was no central direction of the economic effort. His disparate organizations consisted of government, military and civilian groups, which were well-organized and highly institutionalized structures but had unique cultures, acted autonomously and were used to working in their own ways.
The armed forces had evolved independently without much need to interface with each other, were jockeying for resources and even had their own lexicons. The Royal Navy considered itself unique, and was reluctant to closely cooperate or share resources with the British Army or its junior partner, the Royal Air Force.
Following Dunkirk on June 6, Churchill wrote to Eden: “We are indeed the victors of a feeble and weary departmentalism.” This…
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
"If you think you've hit a false note, sing loud. When in doubt, sing loud." - Robert Merrill |