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Leadership in the Brave New World
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PMI Global Congress 2013 - EMEA
Categories: PMI Global Congress 2013 - EMEA
| The ancient city of Istanbul, Turkey, made a fitting backdrop to discuss the massive social, economic and political shifts roiling across the business landscape -- and what it all means for project and program managers. Free market capitalism no longer dominates, said Nader Mousavizadeh, CEO, Oxford Analytica, keynote speaker at PMI® Global Congress 2013 -- EMEA. Emerging markets such as Nigeria, China and Turkey are redefining power on their own terms. By combining capitalism with strong state support, they are experiencing economic growth and stability while many developed markets struggle. Just as emerging economies are breaking from traditional business models, consumers too are redefining their expectations. "Consumers expect legitimacy and accountability from those in power ... whether it's government or a corporation," said Mr. Mousavizadeh. Consumers are also becoming more global, while demanding goods and services that feel authentic and local. Those countries and companies that bridge cultures and geographies are the ones that will succeed, Mr. Mousavizadeh said. And they will succeed in great part by planning for the long term and setting an agenda that helps others. "Look at where leadership is making decisions that benefit the broader population," he said. "China, for example, has 200,000 Chinese citizens studying in the United States. That's a country focused on developing a high-end talent pool." PMI president and CEO Mark A. Langley shared a similar message on leadership and talent management. "Organizations are not looking for individuals to manage projects; they're looking for project managers to lead projects," said Mr. Langley during the opening remarks. What's clear is that organizations are embracing project management. The EMEA region is expected to create approximately 3 million new project management jobs between now and 2020. The question is whether project professionals are prepared to meet the demands of a new business landscape. "Organizations are not waiting for you to step up -- they're going to expect you to," said Mr. Langley. What are your experiences with leadership as defined during the keynote address at PMI® Global Congress 2013 -- EMEA? If you aren't at congress, how do you define leadership? |
Smart Organizations Sync Talent With Strategy
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PMI Pulse of the Profession
Categories: PMI Pulse of the Profession
| For all the talk of an economic recovery, many organizations continue to obsess over headcount. But a smaller (and smarter) group is focusing on getting the right people on the right projects -- positioning those people and the organization itself to grow. The payoff can be huge, according to PMI's Pulse of the Professionâ„¢ In-Depth Report: Talent Management. On average, 72 percent of projects meet their original goals and business intent at organizations with significant or good alignment between their talent management and organizational strategies. Now put that up against the 58 percent rate at organizations with moderate or weak alignment. Despite the potential ROI, only 10 percent of organizations report significant alignment. That stat takes on added significance when you consider what's shaping up as a true talent crisis. Pulse data revealed four in five organizations report difficulty in finding qualified project management candidates to fill open positions. Some organizations are resorting to some serious poaching -- check the battle for project talent between Silicon Valley tech titans Apple, Google, Yahoo! and Facebook. China Road and Bridge Corporation is adopting a more long-term approach, according to China Daily. Looking to build talent in a strategic market for its projects, the company is sponsoring a group of Congolese students to study engineering and project management in Xi'an, China. In this case, organizations that align talent management and strategy have an edge, reporting less difficulty in filling open positions. Organizations that align talent management to organizational strategy are also more effective at implementing formalized career paths, with 83 percent moving new hires to advanced project management positions. Among organizations with weak alignment, that number drops to 62 percent. The MD Anderson Cancer Center, for example, clearly outlines the path up. It requires 10 years of experience (including five years of project management) and a Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential for senior project managers who manage highly complex strategic projects that span three or more organizational boundaries. Establishing a career path not only makes employees feel like the organization has a vested interest in them, it also helps the organization spot -- and close -- any skills gaps that might prevent it from delivering on its business goals. Recruiting and retaining top talent will only get organizations so far. They need to measure results, too. Across the board, organizations with strong alignment are more likely to measure outcomes such as staff turnover, learning development, and employee engagement, retention and productivity. U.S. space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), for example, tracks the effectiveness of its professional development courses by assessing enrollment numbers and feedback from senior leadership. Armed with that information, the PMI Global Executive Council member knows what's working -- and what's not. No doubt, creating a talent management program comes with a hefty price tag. But consider the danger of skimping: On a US$1 billion project, organizations with significant or good alignment of talent management programs to organizational strategy put US$50 million fewer dollars at risk than organizations with moderate or weak alignment. With those kinds of numbers on the line, the bigger question is: Can an organization afford not to make the investment? |
To Create, Learn to Borrow — and Other Lessons from PMI® PMO Symposium
| The 2012 PMI® PMO Symposium closed with a wake-up call on innovation, delivered by author and speaker Fredrik Härén. People significantly overestimate their ability to create and innovate, he said. So much of what passes for "an idea" isn't really anything new, but rather a combination of things that already exist. In his equation, ideas arise when people combine new knowledge with information they already have. Mr. Härén cited an Estonian innovator who created a combination urinal and sink that saved time, water and space. "If something 2,000 years old like a urinal can be improved," he said, "what else can we improve on?" Yet while most people agree creativity is important in their jobs, Mr. Härén mentioned that only a tiny fraction say their organizations do enough to encourage it, especially at that combination stage. Mr. Härén argued that Asia will driving creativity in the future. "They are better positioned to innovate because they live where the change is happening," he said. There may be some truth to the idea of innovation being based on "stealing," but he reiterated the notion that all creation comes from copying some part of something existing. Instead of worrying about "copyrights," he said, worry about "copying right." The final day of the symposium also featured Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Greg Kenney discussing his organization's new plan for a principles-based, risk-sensitive, results-based management regime. At the heart of the endeavor is an assessment designed to determine each department's project capacity and class. This, in turn, helps the Treasury Board determine the oversight level required on projects within each department. By implementing these new assessments, the board can ensure resources are allocated with consideration to risk and strengthen the link between spending and results. As in previous days, the symposium's last day included breakout sessions. In one, Carol Church, director of the PMO at CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, discussed how her organization used project management software to save US$29 million a year. She also reminded attendees that PMOs can gain visibility and support across the organization by pitching themselves as a partner looking to help people succeed. Though this symposium is done, stay tuned for details on next year's event when PMI is slated to reveal the results of a seminal study on PMOs. |
How Project Professionals Will Shape the Future PMO
Categories:
PMI PMO Symposium 2012
Categories: PMI PMO Symposium 2012
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Executives need the project management office (PMO), according to speakers at the PMI® PMO Symposium. It's the primary enabler of change -- a powerful force in today's constantly shifting marketplace, said Terry Doerscher of BOT International, the featured speaker on Tuesday night. As a result, he argued that PMOs of the future would include all aspects of the business, not just projects and programs. And that could mean a whole new career path for project professionals with the right skills. "It's not a huge leap to go from a portfolio project manager to an executive project manager," he said. But it's up to PMO leaders to take action to fulfill their vision. "The best way to predict your future is to create it," said Greg Miller, vice president of the PMO at CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, during a panel discussion on the strategic PMO. Mark A. Langley, PMI president and CEO, moderated the panel, which also included Human Systems International Limited's Terry Cooke-Davies, PhD, and Microsoft's Bill Dow. Dr. Cooke-Davies asked attendees to remember that portfolio management is about aligning project and program costs with business value, and program management is about delivering strategy. When organizations forget those roles, though, PMOs become nothing but process police. Mr. Miller outlined what PMOs need to show executives to be viewed as a strategic player:
Between the panel discussion and the featured speaker, attendees networked with peers and participated in breakout sessions. At one of those sessions, Jim Furfari, PMP, of Colorado Springs Utilities, led a discussion on how to prioritize projects. At his organization, the process begins by checking the availability of resources. This prompted lively discussion, as many attendees suggested the availability of funds was a more appropriate place to start. "It makes no sense to prioritize projects that you don't have the resources to do," he explained. In another breakout session, Joseph Sopko of Siemens, co-author of The Guide to Lean Enablers for Managing Engineering Programs, said lean principles make "good sense, but they're not common." These principles are often lost in complicated processes and with a "we've always done it this way" attitude. Among the best lean practices he outlined were defining value to the program stakeholder and making imperfections visible while pursuing perfection at the same time. |
Uncertainty Calls for Agility, Courage, Strategy — and Some Fun, Say Experts at the PMI® PMO Symposium
Categories:
PMI PMO Symposium 2012
Categories: PMI PMO Symposium 2012
| Extraordinary, unprecedented change in the business world requires bold new thinking -- with project management offices (PMOs) helping lead the charge, according to opening day speakers at the PMI® PMO Symposium 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. High uncertainty and constant change is the new normal -- and it's here to stay, declared featured speaker Roch Parayre, PhD, teaching fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "We live in a world of high uncertainty." Yet organizations still plan for the predictable -- and then are unprepared for what actually unfolds. Instead, organizations should stick with their core, but always have a "portfolio of micro-investments bubbling away on the back burner so you're ready for changes," he said. Procter & Gamble, for example, may try out a new scent, but it won't roll it out to its megabrands until it's been proven on its secondary lines. "Strategy is about balancing commitment with flexibility," said Dr. Parayre. That delicate balance may require some painful decisions, however. PMOs must be willing to act like venture capitalists, absolutely ruthless about quickly getting rid of projects before they invest too much. "Our inability to kill things is probably the number-one barrier to adapting to change," he said. "Every organization should have a VP of killing stuff." Dr. Parayre pointed to 3M, which actually honors its failed projects at a ceremony, with winners based on how much learning came from the failure. For truly breakthrough projects and programs, organizations must have the "courage to try risky concepts" backed by a belief they will succeed, said keynote speaker Burt Rutan. A pioneering force at Virgin Galactic, Mr. Rutan is also the man behind the legendary Voyager, the first aircraft to circle the globe nonstop without refueling, and SpaceshipOne, the world's first privately funded spacecraft. Yet just pouring funding into a program doesn't ensure innovation. Teams must know that "confidence in nonsense is allowed" -- that they can try things that may not work. Mr. Rutan also suggested:
"It's not enough for kids to look forward to an iPhone with new features," he said. "We need to look forward to real adventure and real discovery." And even in an understandably risk-averse business climate, Mr. Rutan said organizations can't just issue "flowery words" about innovation. "They won't have breakthroughs unless they're willing to take in-your-face risks," he said. Organizations must be able to respond to market shifts -- and PMOs can be the enablers of that organizational agility, said opening speaker Mark A. Langley, PMI president and CEO. "All strategic change happens through projects and programs," he said. Yet despite wider adoption of PMOs, CEOs remain confused about projects and programs. PMO leaders must speak the language of business; instead of focusing on the activity, talk about the outcome. Mr. Langley also called for new thinking on talent. There will be an average of 1.2 million project management positions open annually through 2016, according to the Anderson Economic Group. The result is a massive talent gap that will demand different approaches to talent management. And that should include a willingness to build the next generation of business leaders from the project portfolio management space. Mr. Langley also announced a new seminal research project on PMOs, with the results to be revealed at next year's symposium. |