Project Entrepreneurs

Catherine Rezak - April 19, 2010

Career Development Change Management Decision Making Leadership New Practitioners Stakeholder Management ProjectsAtWork

Today’s successful project management practitioners must add value to the business by offering solutions supporting their company’s strategy. Those who cultivate and apply these four key skills can effect “change without apology” and become more meaningful contributors to their organizations and clients.

Here’s the scenario: In Chevron Corporation, a project team was commissioned to manage the design, funding and construction of a large plant to manufacture a product that was in great demand and offered significant margins. After many months of work, the project team finally completed the project — ahead of schedule and under budget. The plant was opened to much fanfare, and the project team celebrated its achievement.

Here’s your one-question quiz: Was the Chevron project a success?

By now, you may have suspected that the question contains some hidden trick. You’re right. The fact is, you haven’t been given enough information to evaluate the success or failure of the project. A correct answer in this case would have been to ask for more information about the larger organizational context or to inquire about what happened next.

Okay, so the above exercise was a little manipulative. But it illustrates a common trend in project management: the tendency to evaluate project success too …

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