Project Management and The Apprentice: Sound off here..!
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Recently, I participated in the LinkedIn PMO Group Discussion about the television show The Apprentice. The initial post by Peter Taylor posed the question, "what 'One Thing' could the producers do to improve the image of project management in the show?" Perhaps I was just in one of those contrarian moods, but I found the question all too indicative of a problem that many in the formal project management community have. And that is the idea that project management, as described on the TV show The Apprentice, is really not project management at all. Rather it is something else. To not be confused with "real" project management, let's call it task work and let's call the person in charge a task manager or something like that - anything but a project manager. For my two sense, if Donald Trump calls it a project and if he calls the person heading the effort a project manager, then that is what it is. Period.
Within the formal project management community, people seem to hate The Apprentice and have the view that what they do on the show is NOT project management or people seem to love it and see striking parallels between what takes place on the show and what takes place in real life. As in my LinkedIn post regarding The Apprentice, I would suggest that as a prime time television show that you can count on The Apprentice to not only be a very entertaining television show, but also a show that offers very practical insights into challenges faced by just about any business or organization that performs projects. In particular, I quite enjoy the following aspects of the show that I find particularly relevant to both formal and informal project management:
The initial overview of the expected product of the project given by Donald Trump to the project team. Not surprisingly, many project team members fail to grasp what the customer actually wants.
The selection of the project manager. Often, projects teams feel compelled to name as their project manager the team member with the most expertise in the task at hand. Whether in the context of the game or in real life, this is almost always a bad idea. As the saying goes, a lawyer that represents himself has a fool for a client. The same can be said about the high value project contributor that wants to be (or is asked to be) project manager. The SME that will no doubt be playing a major role as contributor may very well do a poor job as project manager. Take the case of last week's episode of The Celebrity Apprentice. When faced with the project to develop a new jingle and radio ad for Chicken of the Sea, Clint Black, an award winning country singer and musician eagerly volunteered to be project manager. Though the customer wanted a upbeat, contemporary jingle, Clink produced an excellent song (not a jingle) in a lazy, slow moving river, country style. Though Clint's project team members advised against the slow pace, Clint refused to change his mind about the song. The other project team that was headed by Annie Duke, an expert poker player with limited, if any, musical capabilities focused on developing a jingle that was fast, upbeat, and contemporary as requested by the customer. The result; the executives of Chicken of the Sea preferred the jingle written by the poker player over the one written by an award winning singer and musician. Wow..! What a lesson to be learned.
The meeting with the customer. It is interesting to see how different project teams make use of the time with the actual customer. Many project teams just listen to what the customer says. Others, asking insightful and probing questions to both understand the product of the project and the intended customer better and to understand the specific boundaries for the project that the customer may have.
The pre-planning activities of the project team. Most project teams on the show quickly agree to an idea and jump right into execution. Some teams, however, actually engage in meaningful research, brainstorming, and sharing of skills, opinions, and experience relative to the project effort. Even on a project of short duration, there is ample time for and value to pre-planning activities.
The planning and execution of the project is also enjoyable and insightful. Some teams do a very good job of resource utilization and time management; others come apart with time pressures and execution difficulties.
Risk management is an area that most project teams on the show do not handle at all. However, every once in a while you will have a project manager and team that identifies a key risk to the project, discusses approaches to handle the risk, and then successfully steers the project clear of the risk.
Watching the teams complete the project is also insightful. Some teams take on too much "scope" and fail to complete the project. Other teams do not take on enough "scope" and complete a project that is missing one or more key customer requirements.
The interaction of the project team with Donald Trump's eyes and ears for the project is also interesting to see. Most project teams ignore or view as an intrusion the visit by Donald Trump's oversight team and they seem oblivious to the fact that the oversight team might not only have an idea or two to help the project stay on track but that they will no doubt be providing Donald Trump with feedback. Some teams, however, make better use of the observing team and do a better job of at least acknowledging their presence during the visit and role on the show.
The performance of the project team and the presentation of the product of the project to the customer is always revealing. The customers are quick to show their reaction, both positive and negative, and to give their feedback, verbally and non-verbally. Always, the customer is keen to see an outcome that meets their stated requirements. And almost always, their is very little appreciation by the customer for project efforts and outcomes that are off-point.
The selection by the customer of which project team did a better job is both exciting and spirited. There is always a reason why the winners won and the losers lost. These reasons are quite applicable to just about any business and project setting.
The critique process with Donald Trump, his oversight team, and the losing project team is very interesting. Whether you like him or not, it is hard to argue with the no nonsense business acumen of Donald Trump. His questions to the project manager and team members about their performance always hit the target dead on. Some participants explain and defend their actions quite well, even when they were wrong, and other participants fail to see the big picture of the project team experience or simply get out competed.
And of course, there is the firing. Some contestants make excuses or complain about being treated unfairly or set up by team members, but most contestants readily admit the fairness of it all and are appreciative for the opportunity to make money for their charity.
I could go on and on. Obviously, I would not suggest that The Apprentice is the show to watch if one is seeking to gain insights into project management best practices and techniques as exhibited by the trained and certified project managers of a formal project management organization. I would suggest, however, that The Apprentice stands out and serves as a much needed and long overdue wake up call to the project management community.
IMHO, project management is ubiquitous. It is not limited to the formal projects of the IT department or PMO. It is not limited to trained and certified project management professionals and those of us in the formal project management community. It is not limited to IT projects or systems development projects. And the practical value of project management as a skill set (relative to the needs of the project at hand) is not limited to PMBOK, PRINCE2, or any other body of knowledge or point of reference. The so called formal project management that we too often espouse as if we are a private society of indispensable practitioners is merely the tip of a very large iceberg. For those that understand this and that care about the rest of this iceberg and the enormous value it constitutes, much can be learned from The Apprentice and discussed and applied in the workplace.
No doubt, project management as a discipline in support of the formal projects of a PMO needs to go deep. However, project management as a practical skill set needs to also go wide as evidenced weekly on the TV show The Apprentice. That is my two cents worth on the subject, but what do you think? Sound off here..!
David MorganProject Manager| Experian PLCGrantham, United Kingdom
I cannot comment on the US Apprentice show, however it sounds like a very similar setup to the UK show.
I'm a fan of the show from an entertainment perspective, however I am not sure I agree with all the lessons that may or may not be learned by a watching PM.
Some random thoughts...
1. The TV show is driven by ratings, and frequently the more professional candidate is fired, unless they are 'good for TV'. Being seen as such, often means being argumentative, loud/brash and being quite the opposite of a team player.
2. The team leaders have no real authority over their team and frequently the fact that despite appearing to be a team activty, the individual nature of the competition (ie. someone gets fired) affects behaviour within the teams, generally as soon as something looks like it may be going wrong, people start planning for the boardroom by ensuring blame is deflected. Whilst this does happen in real life, it usually wouldn't happen quite so early.
3. On a number of occasions the losing team were the better organised, better managed team however because they lost a sale or hit a minor snag they were pipped at the post. I think in the real world, such events could be explained and quality of team recognised.
4. These are not real 'projects' as we know them. Okay, so they are time-limited sequence of tasks with a defined objective etc, but if you call these tasks projects and the team-leader/task-manager a 'project manager' then you could call anyone in any job who does the same thing a 'project manager' which would be crazy. My wife is a marketing officer for a college, and often has to organise marketing events but would never class herself as a PM, even though there are elements of this at play. I think this classification of any task management as project management seriously weakens the role title in my opinion.
5. The board-room approach of Alan Sugar is one which I have seen adopted by middle-level directors/project sponsors and I'm sure is influenced by shows like this. The whole concept of someone being specifically to blame when something goes wrong and the overall aggresive approach is not healthy for 'real' PMs
6. Many of the tasks do not reflect the way a project would be run in the sense that for entertainment purposes, the PM cannot delegate out or sub-contract for specific functions. If I was working for Alan Sugar, and he wanted me to create a jingle and we needed a singer or a song-writer, I would hire one in and concentrate on the message we needed to hit. I wouldn't spend half the time allocated trying to write something or sing something myself!
7. Mosf the tasks are sales-based, with a small amount of time given over to selecting whatever it is you are going to sell. This, to me, shows the importance the TV producers place on project management vs sales.
I think the crux of the problem is that despite the shows claim that the contestants represent the 'brightest business brains' in the country, the opposite is true. Most are not selected due to any great aptitude in management but more on their diverse and conflicting personalities. In the years since it has started I do not remember seeing anyones job being classed as 'Project Manager' although I could be wrong.
I thought it was interesting at the start of this season, that they seemed to be going out of their way to not call the team leader role 'project manager'. This lasted for about 2 weeks but has now lapsed again
Anyway, just random un-joined-up thoughts! Saving Changes...
Mark - I find this post quite timely and insightful. Not long after the startup of our PMO, we quickly saw the value (rather it came to us from the business side) in supporting the myriad of casual projects that just about everyone in our company has from time to time. Of course, these projects are not formal projects in terms of how we view them, but they very much are real projects. Likewise, the workplace professionals managing these casual projects are not project managers by title, but they are the project manager for the project effort at hand.
I think David (and many others) misses this point in his reply and view. David suggests in his point #4 that these are not real projects and you can't call people who manage these things project managers as it weakens the role title. David gives the example of his wife, a marketing officer that manages marketing events. Of course her formal job title is not project manager, but as a marketing officer she no doubt has such casual projects to manage and probably quite often. Additionally, David suggests the following:
"The TV show is driven by ratings, and frequently the more professional candidate is fired, unless they are 'good for TV'. Being seen as such, often means being argumentative, loud/brash and being quite the opposite of a team player."
My take: In the episodes that I have seen, the candidate that was fired was always that right candidate to be fired. They either didn't get the job done or they lost.
"The team leaders have no real authority over their team and frequently the fact that despite appearing to be a team activty, the individual nature of the competition (ie. someone gets fired) affects behaviour within the teams, generally as soon as something looks like it may be going wrong, people start planning for the boardroom by ensuring blame is deflected. Whilst this does happen in real life, it usually wouldn't happen quite so early."
My take: This happens in real life as well, perhaps to different degrees. But, I have seen first hand very politically charged project team environments that often result in this kind of behavior. Again, I am not suggesting the the PM on the show is the formal PM that you find in a PMO, but it does exists elsewhere in the company.
"On a number of occasions the losing team were the better organised, better managed team however because they lost a sale or hit a minor snag they were pipped at the post. I think in the real world, such events could be explained and quality of team recognised."
My take: What many PMs fail to realize is that in business it is all about the end result achieved not the effort expended. Or in PM speak, the product of the project, not the project experience itself. Of course, it is important to manage the project well, but it is actually quite important to win in the eyes of the customer.
"These are not real 'projects' as we know them."
Mt take: WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE...! You can call them what you want, but we all know what they are. They're projects; get over it
"The board-room approach of Alan Sugar is one which I have seen adopted by middle-level directors/project sponsors and I'm sure is influenced by shows like this. The whole concept of someone being specifically to blame when something goes wrong and the overall aggresive approach is not healthy for 'real' PMs."
My take: Even "real" PMs need to be accountable. When something goes wrong, something is to blame for it. Perhaps it is the PM, perhaps it is a team member, perhaps it is something else. Whatever the case, there really should be both a sense of accountability and a sense of continuous improvement to correct those things that lead to the mishap.
"Many of the tasks do not reflect the way a project would be run in the sense that for entertainment purposes, the PM cannot delegate out or sub-contract for specific functions. If I was working for Alan Sugar, and he wanted me to create a jingle and we needed a singer or a song-writer, I would hire one in and concentrate on the message we needed to hit. I wouldn't spend half the time allocated trying to write something or sing something myself!"
My take: Of course you would do that for a formal project where you have time and budget. But for many projects within the business units and teams, you do not have time and budget. Years back, I was asked to manage the summer picknick for my division and this is exactly what we had to put together on short notice. We had about four weeks to organize the picknick and put on the entertainment. And, my team and I had only a few hours a week after work to manage the project. And yes, we called it a project..!
"Most the tasks are sales-based, with a small amount of time given over to selecting whatever it is you are going to sell. This, to me, shows the importance the TV producers place on project management vs sales."
My take: What do you think your sales VPs or CEO care about? How well your sales team managed a sales project or whether or not they made the sale? It is not just TV producers that are focused on achieving the objective of the project at hand - in this case to make the sale. Regrettably, too many PMs have a staff mentality and feel that if they do a good job managing the project then that is how they should be rewarded. And, they should be safe and secure.
"I think the crux of the problem is that despite the shows claim that the contestants represent the 'brightest business brains' in the country, the opposite is true. Most are not selected due to any great aptitude in management but more on their diverse and conflicting personalities. In the years since it has started I do not remember seeing anyones job being classed as 'Project Manager' although I could be wrong."
My take: Project management is not an endeavor that is limited in application or value to people with the job classification of project manager. WAKE UP OUT THERE...!
Mark, I agree with you and I think that the project management community at large needs a loud wake-up call. We are too concerned over our bodies of knowledge, certifications and protecting ourselves and our titles and our PMOs than we are over advancing project management as a valuable skill. That is both short sighted and a missed opportunity.
Our PMO has taken the initiative to provide support and guidance to our casual project managers, ie all of those non-project manager people that have projects to manage. These people don't know and don't need to know about PMBOK, Prince2, SDLC, Agile, EVM, etc, they just want to do a good job with their project.
Regarding the TV show, I find every episode of the Apprentice to be rich in PM lessons learned much like you have described. Any project management professional not able to see how such projects as shown on the TV show the Apprentice are indeed "projects" nor take away lessons learned (whether by good example or bad example) from the show, might well consider a new pair of eye glasses. I hope this post spawns further debate on this subject.
Saving Changes...
David MorganProject Manager| Experian PLCGrantham, United Kingdom
Annie,
Needless to say, I disagree with most of your statements however I would appreciate it if you didn't express yourself in such a rude and patronising way ('Wake up and smell the coffee', 'WAKE UP!', 'Need a new pair of glasses' etc).
We all have different views, and that is why internet forums are so useful (they would be a tad boring otherwise).
As I said, I cannot comment for the US Apprentice, however in the UK, the show frequently fires 'the boring one', rather than necessarily the main culprit for the fail.
I think you are missing my main point too. 'Project Management' as we know it, is a professional vocation - one that has specific and wide-ranging skills and is hopefully a widely respected profession. It does not just mean 'managing a small project', which lets face it - anyone can do without formal training and just a little common sense. My problem with this in respect of the show, is that now many people ONLY know project management as it is represented on the show, and in my opinion, it weakens the role. I am NOT saying that non-project managers do not manage projects, of course they do...but that does not make them formal 'project managers'
I have not said that there are no PM or business lessons to be learned from the show - indeed there are many. I just dislike the term 'project manager' being bandied around so much in a way that de-values the profession.
The key drive of the show is entertainment, not business reality, which is fine. But I wouldn't use it as an example of how professional projects are run. Saving Changes...
David MorganProject Manager| Experian PLCGrantham, United Kingdom
Anne, Apologies for calling you 'Annie' - it was a mis-read on my part Saving Changes...
Hi David, I agree with you totally, almost. I simply do not view project management as 'only' a professional vocation that is limited in use to formal project managers. In a similar fashion, I don't view accounting as only a professional vocation limited in use to formal accountants. While many people may think that we do a disservice to project management when we include informal project management and non-project managers that manage these informal projects as part of project management, I believe that we do a disservice when we don't..! And, I am far less concerned with weakening the role and title of formal project managers than I am with failure to recognize the tremendous value of project management as a business skill and core competence (relative to the needs of the project) that just about every workplace professional should possess and exhibit.
Also, you state that " It [project management] does not just mean 'managing a small project', which lets face it - anyone can do without formal training and just a little common sense." This is where you and I have greatly differing points of view. I do not believe that 'informal' project management is easy or intuitive. To the contrary, throughout my career I have seen first hand the high cost to the company of poorly managed 'informal' projects, from small mishaps that cost a thousand dollars here and there to very large mistakes that cost a firm hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. And these 'informal' projects are not just low level projects handled by secretaries and administrators. These 'informal' projects can also be projects led by VP level functional executives and/or members of their staffs. I could go on and on as examples of what the formal PM community calls 'informal' project management spans a very wide spectrum.
I really don't mean to be rude, though I was, but I just don't see why we in the PM profession have such a cryptonite like aversion to the use of the term project manager. As you said yourself, "I just dislike the term 'project manager' being bandied around so much in a way that de-values the profession." While I can understand not wanting to have the job title of project manager haphazzardly doled out, what is the problem with the term project manager being used to describe the role of a person who is in charge of managing a project effort? If a workplace professional (no matter what their title) has a project to manage, is not that person the project manager for that project? Do we really need to not call that project effort a project for fear of confusing it with the formal project management that is carried out by professional project managers that have a job title of Project Manager? But more to the point, failure to recognize informal projects as projects for most businesses is simply bad business. And assuming that informal projects can be managed without training and with just a little common sense may be a stretch.
Obviously, we both are passionate about project management and see the value of project management. I obviously feel strongly that the value of project management as a business skill and core competence extends to just about every nook and cranny of a business. And, it [project management] shouldn't be limited in application to just the formal projects of an organization or just those with a formal job title of project manager. When I use such rude terms as "wake up and smell the coffee" it is only out of my frustration with the formal PM community for their member-only mindset. After all, if the PM community has such as blind spot for Agile, then I shouldn't be surprised that they have other blind spots as well. Perhaps if PMI can find a way to develop and sell a certification for 'informal' project management, this will all be a moot point. But how about that PMBOK v4, a real page turner and difference maker to today's businesses around the world. I know, now I am being sarcastic. We should be having this discussion over a beer!
While I appreciate the points made by all, I do think Annie is quite right. Projects are not limited to the formal projects of a PMO and project management is not limited to people with a job title of project manager. Acknowledging the universal and wide applicability of project management does not cheapen or do a disservice to the project management profession or any person with a job title of Project Manager. To the contrary, the real disservice to project management, and especially the institutions and people that represent it, is the failure to recognize its many shapes and forms. Whether out of arrogance, stubborness, ignorance, or apathy, as Annie suggests, it is bad business and a missed opportunity. Can very simple projects be managed by anyone with a spoonful of common sense and no training as David suggests? I would say yes. But I would quickly add that the vast amount of informal projects out there are not limited to just simple projects and I would further add that more can be done to recognize and support these projects. Saving Changes...
William WiliamsProject Manager| W3src ConsultingCanyon, Tx, United States
Interesting topic and discussion with excellent points made by many.
In the context of the marketing manager example given, there are a lot of rooms in the program / portfolio / project space. How these things are managed, what they are called, and how they integrate is handled differently from organization to organization.
Many times the functions we associate with the "professional project manager" role are diffused throughout the organization. Those functions are fulfilled in many roles, not one.
Many times projects are actually sub-projects of a larger effort and "project managers" are assigned, largely based on domain knowledge, to those sub-projects. These "sub-project managers" are something like uber task managers with expertise in a specific SDLC, for example, and given some but not all the areas of accountability / responsibility usually associated with a more "pure" project management role. However, the sub-project is no less a project.
An organization may choose to formalize (or not) any or part of their operations in alignment with program, portfolio, or project management best practices. If they do not so choose, those operational efforts still fit the definitions. If it walks, talks, quacks... etc.
Because an effort does not have a "project manager" assigned does not make it any less a project. Conversely, simply because an effort is a project does not mean a "project manager" must be assigned.
There may indeed be someone or a group of people fulfilling the role of program manager, portfolio management, or project manager -- there usually is but they may not have the title or the training. There may indeed be people given the title that are not performing the full range of the role in every detail as defined by PMI or another like organization -- they are very likely performing all significant parts of the role.
PMI doesn't require a minimum budget level or project size as a qualification. Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Ladies and gentlemen, great prespectives, points, and enthusiasm shared by all. I think Anne wins the award for most passionate as measured by being rude and sarcastic (which is entertaining to see from time to time). I hope we continue to hear and learn from others. Thanks. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Once Mark posted the original document, I just knew it would be worth my time to come back to review responses. I was not disappointed! The gantthead crowd is always great about seeing issues from many sides. We all need that. As most everyone in the field has seen, projects need a combination of many factors to be successful. A great project manager (formal or informal), good processes and a skilled team are just a few of those many factors. I’ve seen great project managers struggle because of the total lack of organizational support. I’ve seen great project teams compensate for inexperienced project managers. Every now and then none of the factors are there, and yet the project succeeds. To get consistent good results, you need all of the factors in place and, even then, that still does not guarantee success. When an organization counts on the heroics and subject matter knowledge of the PM as its primary means of project success, like the Apprentice, you get a very distorted view of the role of the PM, which hides the other facets of good project management. People outside of project management usually don’t take the time to understand what solid project management is all about, but will willingly take what they see on television as the truth. Saving Changes...
Gabrielle MaherPMO Consultant| IndependentLondon, London, United Kingdom
Wow - a very interesting posting.
As you will see I am a dreaded PMO bod!!!
The Apprentice undoubtedly provide excellent insight and viewing around business need for project management. What is a bit confusing is that some of the tasks they are asked to do have more to do with Sales than project management - so a bit confusing sometimes (i.e what has selling lots of apartments to do with project management).
Unfortuantely the Alan Sugar version of the Apprentice sends a bad message to potential project managers in the making and the public at large when it comes to exploring the price of failure. A lot of people in the UK - myself included - deplore the tactics of board room bullying employed in these programmes - and particularly when some poor sod gets fired - not because they were not a good team mate - but because they just got outsmarted in the boardroom by an overly ambitious sales person - and not a project manager. Fortunately Alan Sugar tends to see through this - but its a bad message. I also find myself wishing that a few more of these apprentices actually understood project management - some of them are abismal - they are fast talking sales people.
What the apprentice could definely do - is highlight the REASONS projects fail. Sacking the project manager and blaming them is unfortunately an organisational culture that needs to be mended - this unfortunately happens far too much in the real world - and we could seriously do without spreading that message. It sends all the wrong messages. What would also help is that they gain a better understanding of what projects are - as stated earlier selling an apartment is a sales job - its definately not a project management job. Building it would be project management. So again the apprentice is confusing growing a business from a sales perspective - with project management - which is why so many of their so called project manager fail and knife their team in the board room!
- Project management is undoubtedly a professional and I believe is generally regarded as such - more so now than ever.
Nobodby would consider building an Olympic stadium - or making any major investment without realising the need for PMs. Conversely many a house was built without a project manager and many a wedding has happened without wedding planners. Every business without exception manages projects year in and year out - business growth is dependent on project management skills to deliver business objectives. Businesses have been doing project management for centuries - sometimes calling it what it is - and sometime not.
Most businesses undoubtedly these days recognise and value project management as a core skill / requirement. Where companies are involved in extensive, expensive and complex change project management its pretty much a given that its well understood and valued at an organisational level - as business growth depends on it.
Where projects are absorbed into operational day to day busines a crisis management environment emerges. Business leaders involved in that level of project management tend to be people who are used to total autonomy - are directive -sales driven and excel in crisis management.
Organisational culture will determine the value that is perceived of project management - as will their core business requirements .
A true partnership and respect between managing business change and growth - and project management - will exist where one can not exist successfully without the other.
Most companies appreciate that project management is an inherent business skill. They equally understand change management and the value of a business leaders who has the business expertise to lead the change - whether that person has PM skills or not.
The PM accreditation system here in the UK is fundamentally flawed where the best practice framework / methodology for project management has become the industry de facto recognised standard for project managers - the tail is now wagging the dog - and the profession itself is devaluing its own real professions. Unfortunately the mismanagement and wholesale adoption of PM methodology - and misunderstanding of what that means - has actually ended up discredited the 'true' professional.
- Lots of business transformation programmes that I have worked on say to me that they don't have PM skills- the most recent being a world renowned broadcaster. Grabbling with the resistance from business leaders to acquire project management skills - primarily in respose to a painful bureaucratic PMO experience of the past - I explained that their entire business was about project and programme management - they were a TV producer - a radio broadcaster and a news network - they were in fact one of the best businesses in the world at project management. So its horses for courses to me. Great posting - thanks.
