Putting the Vision Back into Your Project’s Mission

Ken Whitaker of Leading Software Maniacs (LSM) has more than 25 years of software development executive leadership and training experience in a variety of technology roles and industries. He has led commercial software teams at Software Publishing (remember Harvard Graphics?), Data General, embedded systems software companies, and enterprise software suppliers. Ken is an active PMI member, Project Management Professional (PMP) certified, and a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). Sources for LSM's material come from case studies, personal leadership experience, the PMI Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) and Ken's leadership books: Managing Software Maniacs, Principles of Software Development Leadership and I'm Not God, I'm Just a Project Manager.

  Agile   PMO   Strategy  

How many of us start a project thinking that we understood the reason behind doing the project in the first place? I’d say the majority of us. And then there’s about half of us who never aligned the project’s mission with the overall department or company vision, resulting in poorly made decisions--and possibly a breakdown in team morale and confidence. Providing a project focus that supports a “larger purpose” is particularly important for fast-paced, adjusting agile projects.

Are Company Goals Really Necessary?
If you’re like me (who has participated in dozens of them), mission/vision statement planning meetings feel like an incredible waste of time. According to Ernst and Young, “With a clear goal in mind for the team as a whole, individual members are able to establish a clear line of sight between their specific day-to-day responsibilities and the broader, long-term objectives of the business.”

The Harvard Business School has some rather disheartening statistics that only 7% of employees fully understand their company’s business strategies and what’s expected of them in order to help achieve company goals. A survey by Bersin and Associates adds fuel to the fire with the results of its corporate survey, stating that only 29% of organizations create employee goals that are even aligned to the …

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