Dennis DavisConsultant| Davis ConsultingAntioch, Ca, United States
OK, I'm totally perplexed here. Maybe I'm in a unique position from other PM's out there and maybe not. As a PM in the Financial Services industry, I see myself as having 3 faces or 3 areas of knowledge where I'm supposed to be an expert or semi-expert. The first is PM methodology, 2nd is IT knowledge and the 3rd is knowledge of the financial services industry itself. I have a pretty decent handle on the first 2 areas, but the 3rd area remains elusive. I came into this industry as a PM and so I have never worked in a Fixed Income or Equity or Operations unit per se, and so I am not as strong in this area as I feel that I need to be. Aside from 1 book on the subject large enough to sink a battleship, I can never find any good material either online or offline. Having said all that, I guess my discussion point is twofold; first, for any PMs in the financial arena, are there any good sites or resources for gaining specific industry knowledge? Secondly and more philosophically, do other PMs experience this same issue of not having a full grasp on an industry that they've moved into as a PM and not grown up in i.e. from daily operations to projects? Saving Changes...
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I have been both a IT Product Manager and a Project Manager in industries where I had no practical experience including Financial Services. So, yes there are other PMs out there like this and I am sure that's not too unusual. I think the strength you have to bring is the ability to absorb as much industry specific knowledge as you can very rapidly. Use your company's products/services to help you learn the specific industry. Based on your question and reflection of the issue I think you are on the right track to find resouces.
However, your question of Financial Services is a bit broad. I majored in Finance in College which provided the broad textbook knowledge you mention. I have managed products/projects related to fixed income- Muni Bonds, Foreign Exchange & IR Derivatives. Each segment of these Financial Services have their own distinct characteristics. So, you need to focus on which specific product you need to delve into to help you add product knowlege to your Project Management toolset.
After working in those areas you might think I would stick with Financial Services. NOPE. Went to a Dotcom as Sr Proj Mgr to help organize and manage a newly setup Development Dept. Product is centered on B2B procurement of printed materials. Since then I have moved up to be head of Product Management. Another case of managing IT projects/products in an unfamiliar industry. I used the companies products and services to teach myslef the business. Saving Changes...
Don't under estimate what you can gain from having "gurus" in all three facets of this job close to you - the second two facets you've mentioned in particular. I too am an IT manager in the Financial Services industry. I too grapple with this issue. Compared to the lead developer I've employed recently, I'm technologically challenged, compared to the managers in the business, I know nothing. The truth is probably that I know enough about both topics to have an intelligent conversation with either. So I focus on the first facet you mentioned - PM methodology, and keep reading about the rest. Probably the semi-expert part is the key. Saving Changes...
Mike Cooper PMPPrincipal Project Manager (retired, sort of)| New England Project ServicesWestford, Ma, United States
I'd say that the most important skill you can bring to the table is your ability to organize and lead people, dealing with the issues that are raised in getting people to work together to a common goal. And what is that goal? How well understood is the project?
Having taught project management classes and coached project managers for years, I try and distill project management down to:
lead the people
manage the work
manage your stakeholder expectations
For me these are not cute catch phrases - they are the essential foundation of solid project management.
So I believe that if you can bring to bear skills in getting people organized, driving to a know goal with a well defined schedule, then you are bringing real value.
Another catchphrase I use a lot is that most organizations I have come across stand most to gain by just doing the basics well. And again, if you are a good PM, you can help your organization do the basics well.
You don't necessarily need to be a subject matter expert, in fact it can get in the way by taking you down into too fine a level of detail. But you do need to be valued by the subject matter experts.
Hope this helps,
Mike Cooper
Saving Changes...
Mike Cooper PMPPrincipal Project Manager (retired, sort of)| New England Project ServicesWestford, Ma, United States
And by the way, I have managed and helped others manage projects in industry sectors where I did not have subject matter expertise, including financial services. So you really are not alone doing this!
Mike Cooper Saving Changes...
Dennis DavisConsultant| Davis ConsultingAntioch, Ca, United States
Thanks everyone for the great advice, it definitely helps! Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Hi Dennis, your post and the replies are great. While I agree with all that has been said, I would add that in addition to PM skill and IT skill, industry skill and knowledge really is important. At the end of the day, businesses do not exist to manage projects and implement IT, they exist to serve customers and compete effectively. Industry skill enables the PM to more effectively manage industry oriented project efforts and communicate with stakeholders, executives, vendors, consultants, etc. It also enables the PM to more effectively contribute in other areas of the project office such as benchmarking processes, best practices, and service delivery architectures to "best-in-class" industry competitors. Consider this, would an IT director hire a construction PM to manage an SAP implementation? Would an A&E firm hire an IT PM to manage a construction project? Most likely, no. Regarding your questions, there are a number of good sources for FSI news and information from online sites to conferences and monthly breakfast meetings, especially if you are in New York City. The online Financial Times at www.ft.com is a particularly good information source. Philosophically, do PMs need a full grasp of the industry? Maybe, maybe not. I would tend to ask, philosophically, why would a PM not want to have a full grasp of the industry? Nice post, I hope to read and learn from others. Thanks. -- Mark Perry, VP of Customer Care, BOT International Saving Changes...
Well, I guess it is time that you hear from someone without as much PM experience, but more industry experience.
My history has been primarily in application development. In addition to developing, I always seem to find myself guiding management with regard to technology, helping with estimating, scheduling, and various other PM tasks. The reason I have worked on the non development tasks is because I have only ever had "ONE" manager that has any real life experience and knowledge in IT. Sure, others have claimed it, but as the person who lives it, it is easy to see through the smoke screen.
What I am getting at is that you are not alone. Additionally, I hope you can do what the management that I have worked with in the past has done (the successful ones anyway), that is align yourself with someone who actually knows the ropes, and buy them lunch occasionally (a little plug for the layman :-) ).
Now that I am moving more and more into the PM roles and further away from the development side, I am constantly having the debate about "industry kowledge." Personally, I think it helps, as do most of the others that I debate with. However, I will play the Devil's Advocate whenever possible due to the fact that I have seen difficult projects come through simply because the PM was a good manager, and aligned himself/herself with the people who are in the know.
I know this really isn't the exact answer you are looking for, but I hope it will help you realize that you can succeed while learning rather than having to always learn, then succeed.
