8 Skills PMs Must Develop to Embrace Innovation

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez is a leading expert in project management and strategy implementation, recognized by Thinkers50 with the prestigious award “Ideas into Practice.” He is the creator of concepts like The Project Economy and the Project Manifesto. He is author of Lead Successful Projects (2019, Penguin) The Project Revolution (2019, LID) and The Focused Organization (2012 Gower). He has been teaching project management for more than a decade to senior executives at Duke CE, Skolkovo, Solvay Business School, and Vlerick. Antonio has held executive PMO positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, BNP Paribas, and GlaxoSmithKline. Former Chairman of the Project Management Institute, he is the co-founder of the Strategy Implementation Institute and the global movement Brightline.

  Career Development   Change Management   Innovation   Strategy  

From the majestic Pyramids of Giza to the awe-inspiring Great Wall of China, projects of diverse nature and scale have shaped human history and civilization. Over the centuries, these grand endeavors have transcended borders and cultures, leaving indelible marks on society.

In each case, whether explicitly acknowledged or not, a methodical process existed, a system that choreographed the unfolding of these marvels—a rudimentary form of what we recognize today as project management.

Fast-forward to the modern era, and project management has evolved into a vital discipline meticulously studied and refined. It has been leveraged across industries and sectors, facilitating impossible achievements such as landing a man on the moon and the creation of monumental structures like the Burj Khalifa. Yet project management's core objective remains: to ensure that projects, defined as temporary endeavors undertaken to achieve specific goals, are executed efficiently and effectively.

However, we now find ourselves on the precipice of a significant shift. We live in what is being termed the project economy. In this era, projects are the primary means of creating and delivering value. This has implications for managing projects and integrating another vital aspect of value creation: innovation.

The Pitfalls of the Disconnect Between Project Management and Innovation
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