People, Planet, Profits & Projects

We sometimes blog about subjects that are not strictly project management, but the usually deal with the environment (planet) and will certainly spawn projects in this case, if we are to continue to have something to eat, water to drink, fuel to heat our houses, and electricity to do a lot of things.  One such story in the WSJ the other day caught my eye.  The headline read “China Details Vast Extent of Soil Pollution” by Josh Chin and Brian Spegele.   The sub-heading is About a Fifth of Nation’s Arable Land Is Contaminated with Heavy Metals.  Think about the magnitude for a minute.

There is 3.7 million square miles in China.  Of that, about 522,000 acres are considered arable (fertile, cultivatable) land.  According to China’s Environmental Ministry, 19.4% of that land is contaminated.  More that ¾ of that contamination is from inorganic chemicals, particularly cadmium, nickel and arsenic, all highly toxic to humans.  Can China afford to lose that much land to polluted soil?  The short answer is no and China will have to begin importing food to sustain the amount of food needed for its population.    The other question is how much more arable land will be lost in the future unless something is done about what China puts into their ground?  That is a question for another day.

This is where projects come in.  Besides importing food, one of the alternatives is soil remediation.  While it is a way of purifying and revitalizing land, it is a “technical demanding process that can take decades.”  Another alternative is for the land to be able to increase its yield.  In my Green IT course, I challenge my students to take an in depth look at a Green IT subject of their choice or interest.  In the 42 or so hours we meet in class, I cannot cover any one Green IT subject in that depth, so here is their chance.  One of my students this year picked green IT for sustainable farming.  Not only are there projects that can help the agriculture industry to be more efficient, there are high tech ways to do that.  So, how about this; sustainability (planet), projects, people (food), profits (selling food) and high tech.  It doesn’t get any better than that!

Just to give you a couple of examples from the paper:

1.       Precision agriculture – irrigating specific areas of a field based on the dryness of the soil or fertilizing a specific area of a field based on local nitrogen areas, rather than broadcasting fertilizer or water.  Sensors throughout the field monitor dryness and nitrogen levels and then activate the necessary delivery systems for water and fertilizer.

2.       Integrated management system – using software to provide an end-to-end solution from controlling the precision delivery systems to supply chain management of raw material to transportation of final product.

I don’t mean to imply that IT will be a solution so that we can continue to use our resources in an unsustainable manner.  What I want to offer is high tech farming as a project to compliment to managing our scarce and critical resources.  I’d say eating is a priority!

We're lucky to be in a field, a discipline, a career - whatever you choose to call it - which has a tremendous, rosy, powerful future.  A recent feature in PM Network has this to say:

"By 2020, 15.7 million new project management jobs will be added around the globe, with an economic impact of more than US$18 trillion."  -PMI's PM Talent Gap Report

This actually puts pressure on organizations to find project managers, having to compete for project managers like you.  Not a bad position for you to be in, eh? 

So here's where it gets interesting to us at EarthPM, where we've been pushing for integration of sustainability thinking into project management with books and blog postings for what seems like a decade.  It turns out that project managers WANT (dare we even say need) to be part of the greater effort of their organization.  We mean "greater" in both senses of the word:

• The greater, larger, bigger picture that evokes the bigger, enlarged, longer term
• The "greater good' - that is, doing things that help the overall human family and our environment

And, as you've seen in prior posts, organizations are striving for that same thing; just look at the mission and vision statements of various companies.  Better yet: look at the mission statement of YOUR OWN company.  We just posted a story about this on our own blog.  Have a look.

But right now, back to "Feel the Power".

Here are some outstanding quotes from the April, 2014 PM Network magazine that we found particularly poignant:

"Project managers thrive when they see the larger organizational strategy and understand how their initiatives affect it. “Project managers have a lot of passion for what they do. They like to feel like they’re part of a greater good and can help organizations achieve their objectives,” says Scott Fass, PMP, managing director of advisory practice, PwC, a PMI Global Executive Council member in Washington, D.C., USA."

So here is a reaffirmation of what we've been saying: PMs do a better job, and even enjoy the work better when they see how their project fits into the bigger picture.  Now - how about that greater-good thing?

"SFE Produksjon lets candidates know of its corporate social responsibility program, especially its focus on green, renewable energy. “Many potential applicants view the positive public image of the company as a favorable trait when considering applying for a position,” says Oyvind Huus, PMP, head of project management, SFE Produksjon, Sandane, Norway."

There it is.  Here's a company (and they are by no means alone) stating directly that companies recruit project managers by putting their 'green side up' on the table and communicating their values to PM candidates, with respect to CSR (in this case the environment).

So, you do the math.

1. Organizations are going to need more and more project managers
2. Organizations are giving increasing value to sustainability as a core objective
3. Project managers are increasingly interested in the greater good
4. Organizations understand numbers 1, 2, and 3, above.

It all adds up to this:

Excel at your job.  Add competency in sustainability.  Get in touch with your sustainability-oriented self and develop strategic, long-term thinking capability (without losing that "get'R' Done" PM attitude).    You'll increase your ability to thrive even further in this environment of high desirability for project managers.

And feel the power!  You are in demand.

As we consider how to integrate long-term thinking into project management, one thing we really need to remember is the project manager as an individual.  Lately our focus has shifted to the program and portfolio manager, because that level is closer to the corporate mission and vision statements. 

That's still valid, and we think it's an important shift.

But it made us stop and think: are we doing this because of the positions of Program and Portfolio Management only, or is it because of the people who are at these levels?  Or is it a little of both?

WIth that in mind, we'd like to open a discussion about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and how it relates to project management, and of course how it relates to long-term, big-picture thinking in project management.

This cannot be a thorough treatment of the subject - for that you'll have to wait for our upcoming book and assessment tool (The Sustainability Wheel).  But we want to get our readers and blog followers used to this topic because it's important to us (and we think, to you, too).

Read through the following, adapted from public sources, inlcudig Wikipedia.  Do a little thinking - about yourself, your favorite project managers, your most - and least - successful peers, and how these four sets of Myers-Briggs "temperaments" relate to those projects.

• Artisans (ST) are concrete and adaptable. Seeking stimulation and virtuosity, they are concerned with making an impact. Their greatest strength is tactics. They excel at troubleshooting, agility, and the manipulation of tools, instruments, and equipment.^[3] The two roles are as follows:

·         Operators are the directive (proactive) Artisans. Their most developed intelligence operation is expediting. The attentive Crafters and the expressive Promoters are the two role variants.

·         Entertainers are the informative (reactive) Artisans. Their most developed intelligence operation is improvising. The attentive Composers and the expressive Performers are the two role variants.

• Guardians (SJ) are concrete and organized. Seeking security and belonging, they are concerned with responsibility and duty. Their greatest strength is logistics. They excel at organizing, facilitating, checking, and supporting. The two roles are as follows:

·         Administrators are the directive (proactive) Guardians. Their most developed intelligence operation is regulating. The attentive Inspectors and the expressive Supervisors are the two role variants.

·         Conservators are the informative (reactive) Guardians. Their most developed intelligence operation is supporting. The attentive Protectors and the expressive Providers are the two role variants.

• Idealists (NF) are abstract and compassionate. Seeking meaning and significance, they are concerned with personal growth and finding their own unique identity. Their greatest strength is diplomacy. They excel at clarifying, individualizing, unifying, and inspiring. The two roles are as follows:

·         Mentors are the directive (proactive) Idealists. Their most developed intelligence operation is developing. The attentive Counselors and the expressive Teachers are the two role variants.

·         Advocates are the informative (reactive) Idealists. Their most developed intelligence operation is mediating. The attentive Healers and the expressive Champions are the two role variants.

• Rationals (NT) are abstract and objective. Seeking mastery and self-control, they are concerned with their own knowledge and competence. Their greatest strength is strategy. They excel in any kind of logical investigation such as engineering, conceptualizing, theorizing, and coordinating. The two roles are as follows:

·         Coordinators are the directive (proactive) Rationals. Their most developed intelligence operation is arranging. The attentive Masterminds and the expressive Fieldmarshals are the two role variants.

·         Engineers are the informative (reactive) Rationals. Their most developed intelligence operation is constructing. The attentive Architects and the expressive Inventors are the two role variants.

So here's our take on this:

Although the MBTI is not a definitive science, nor is it a way to definitively decide who can do what jobs, and although it indicates tendencies and not permanent behaviors, it's fairly common experience that certain types (for example, ESTJ specifically, and Artisans in general) do better, naturally, as project managers. 

But these types (and we're in that category ourselves) are NOT great at the long-term, big-picture thinking needed if sustainability is to be integrated in the project.  It's the Rationals that we need on our teams to point us to this holistic, sustainable view. 

We're doers.  We're focused (as we NEED to be) on getting the project objectives done.  But it's in our own best interest (to say little of the organization, the community, and the planet) to have Artisans around to remind us of 'benefits realization' and the steady-state of the product of our project.

We'll be blogging about this and including this topic in our new book.  But for now, we urge you to share your opinions about this.  Who knows, you may end up being quoted in the book!

Further reading:

Good general info on Myers-Briggs:

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/

Nice paper which shows a chart illustrating the "best" PM MBTI types.

http://www.surrex-ps.com/whitepapers/The%20New%20Paradigm.pdf

Nice paper at the intersection of MBTI Typing and Project Management by Susanne Madsen (all of her stuff is good!)

http://www.susannemadsen.co.uk/uploads/6/3/2/3/6323088/pm_recruitement.pdf

Paper from PM Journal, June 2013:

MBTI Personality Types of Project Managers and Their Success: A Field Survey (available on PMI.org) site

I am going to purposely stay away from the polarity of the global climate change debate between the advocates and the deniers.  It doesn’t do much good to politicize the debate.  Individuals need to make up their own minds as to what they believe and what they don’t believe.  The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) out this week certain has caused some polar opposition, excuse the pun.

Should I be asking, as Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood pictured above) did, “Do you feel lucky?”  Are the weather anomalies you witnessed over the past year or so, just that, anomalies?  Or, are they the result of a cycle the Earth is going through right now, just as the Earth has gone through in the distant past?  If they are part of the life cycle of the Earth, is there nothing that can be done?  How about another (compound) question, have we contributed enough greenhouse gases to either; (1) accelerate the cyclical nature of our weather patterns, or (2) are we the direct cause of the global climate change?  And another, if you can do something about what is happening to the climate, would you?

When you think about it, those are some pretty “heavy” questions.  Let’s look at it from this perspective, one which business and we as consumers understand.  That perspective is saving energy, saves money, and, by the way, helps protect the valuable resources of the Earth, like fossil fuels.

How about a win-win for project managers and it keeps us out of the political debate?    I don’t want to sound anti-environment, because I am not.  I am quite the opposite.  What I do want to convey, however, and we’ve conveyed it before, whether you are a skeptic or not, the anomalies seem more to continue, making them the “new norm.”  At least that’s been my observations of the last few years.  According to the entry page http://www.un.org/climatechange/blog/2014/03/31/ipcc-report-severe-and-pervasive-impacts-of-climate-change-will-be-felt-everywhere/ “Observed impacts of climate change have already affected agriculture, human health, ecosystems on land and in the oceans, water supplies, and some people’s livelihoods. The striking feature of observed impacts is that they are occurring from the tropics to the poles, from small islands to large continents, and from the wealthiest countries to the poorest.” 

Think about it, how was your winter, normal?  Mine, in the northeastern United States, sure wasn’t.  Although I have been through worse, winter 1970/1971, it has been over 40 years.  Maybe it is a once in every 40 years.  I don’t think so, and the reason the other observations like, continuing severe drought in areas that produce a lot of our food, “most components of the cryosphere (glaciers, ice sheets and floating ice shelves, sea, lake and river ice, permafrost and snow) have undergone significant changes during recent decades,” and so on. There is too much going on just to ignore it.  The report goes into great detail on the observations made. 

About that win-win.  There will be projects all along the spectrum of green we talk about in our book, from green by intent, those projects like alternative energy resource construction, to green in general, like a software release.  These projects need to be managed, so that both the product of the project and the process of managing the project can utilize the scarce resources (and perhaps begin to mitigate some of the effects of climate change) available to the best of our abilities.  The only thing we need is to be aware of is how we can manage those projects in a responsible way.  I’m not saying that we aren’t managing in a responsible way now; I’m just saying that we need to consider the greenality* of the projects.  It is a continual learning process for all of us.  It takes an understanding of what we can and cannot do to manage with more greenality.  It is an education, but I believe in our 5 assertions on which we based EarthPM.  Two of those are; “A project run with green intent is the right thing to do, but it will also help the project team to do things right” and “An environmental (sustainable) strategy for a project provides added opportunity for success of both the project and the product of the project.”  We can and should make a difference.

*For those of you who may not be familiar with the word greenality, we define it as “the degree to which an organization has considered environmental (sustainability) factors that affect its projects during the entire project life cycle and beyond.”  

One of our reoccurring themes is that we assert projects must be connected to the enterprise’s sustainability or corporate social responsibility mission/vision. Automobile manufacturing projects should be no different.  Most are getting the message, and that is that the mission/vision is connected to the market place, i.e. what the stakeholders are asking for, and that whatever enterprise projects are undertake are connected to that mission/vision.

Take Subaru for example.  "Subaru of America is commited to being a leader in environmental intiatives while continuing to reduce our own footprint.  Being green isn't a trend.  It's who we are and what we stand for." Customer (stakeholder) feedback is driving their sustainability efforts.  It is because the Subaru claims to be “Earth-friendly” and highly community involved.  Those are expectations set for the customer, therefore, the customer expects those, and the feedback will reflect those expectations.  Subaru also claims that it is part of their “DNA"and a Subaru “drives green.”  They set high goals in terms of reuse and recycling at their manufacturing facilities as another example of what they call (and by the way we call when it comes to projects in an enterprise) “where the rubber meets the road.”  Subaru produces, what they call, “eco-performers, offering finely tuned versatile, efficient, and long lasting products without compromising their collective conscience.”  Collective meaning supply chain to customer and beyond (ultimate disposal- an example of life cycle thinking).

Some of the information contained in their latest owner’s magazine (drive Spring 2014) includes:

• Discontinued use of lead in some parts, replaced by recyclable resin
• Reduced CO₂ emissions (down 26% since 1991)
• Reduced VOC (volatile organic compounds) in the painting and coating (down 48%)
• Reduce water usage (down 50%)
• Reduced power consumption (by 61.9%) in parts distribution centers by use of LED lighting
• Almost 34,000 used (damaged or end-of-life) bumpers reused in manufacturing
• More than 14 million tons of end-of-life steel recycled every year

The list goes on.  These are pretty impressive numbers, but to complete the projects and the connection to the mission/vision, we also look to some of the organizations that Subaru partners with.  Subaru partners with United by Blue, a sustainable clothing manufacturer committed to removing 1 lb. of trash from our oceans or waterways for every product sold.   They also partner with Leave No Trace, a center for “outdoor ethics” that strives to “teach people how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly,” using local community involvement, youth education, and multicultural outreach as tools to accomplish their goals.  Subaru also works with Greensgrow Farms, “a nationally recognized leader in urban farming.”  Some of Greensgrow projects include , among other things, “Green roofs on composting toilets, washing machines stripped down to spin-dry lettuce, honey bees perched on top of a biodiesel shed, a neighborhood lawn replaced with an heirloom tomato garden, plants grown to measure lead uptake .”

There are lots of cars and trucks on the road, and a large number of companies supplying those needs.  With more stakeholders (car buyers, company employees, general population) becoming increasingly concerned about sustainability, it only makes sense (cents) that the companies that supply the needs are getting on board.  The hope, and our assertion is that while these companies may be “onboard” with sustainability, all of their projects, not matter the size, need to be connected to that mission/vision by their actions.  If there isn’t a project connection, then not only is the company missing the potential market advantage sustainability will afford, but also the people, planet and profit aspects that being more efficient and responsible would bring.  (Source: drive Magazine, Spring 2014, Subaru: Driving Green by Design.  Through manufacturing.  In Enjoyment – Kristin Terpeza. )