How to best utilize project management tool to support the change?
Fast growing enterprise must easily deal with a full portfolio of various kind of projects from process modelling and competence development to IT related ones. All of these need to be steered to the same direction within the given strategic premises.
How to ensure the link to the chosen vision and strategy?
Prioritization of development needs and initiatives is always a challenge but in booming business situation they tend to stream in from doors and windows. Everybody is adamently voting for their own ideas and company’s leadership team can have a tough job to select the most business critical ones. Nevertheless – to avoid rushing and bouncing back and forth – the prioritization must be done based on value driven basis. What is estimated to have real value added to the business and what not?
How to build a well-functioning project management office?
Projects are a strong strategy implementation tool which requires common management model and practises. The most crucial aspect however is to guarantee constant collaboration flow and assured common understanding of the change success cornerstones between the business and the project office on all possible levels.
Project office cannot be a separate island! If business states to the IT “just fix the application, we will take care of the business” – it means sailing in dangerous waters. Believe it or not, this still happens which I’ve come across during my own career and which came up in one seminar I was attending just for a while ago.
How to ensure the right project excellence on every level?
It seems that the significance of projects as foundation of companies’ development and prosperity is underestimated even today. Projects are considered as “extra work” which disturbs conducting “the real work”. This is quite a paradox as the more effective our project implementation is, the easier it is for us all to deal with the daily responsibilities and the more secure is the company’s future – both on the short and long term.
On the other hand and luckily, the importance of project management and leadership competences have recently increased and are in strong focus both internationally and in Finland. The rapid change speed demands continuous development and project knowledge should be one of the general competence areas of every enterprise. Growing company which struggles in the sea of multiple changes, is as a rule lacking these capabilities.
Utilizing external project directors and managers is one way to ensure targeted results of strategic programs and projects. Extensive project excellence gained by versatile project leadership is an excellent support and coaching opportunity both to company’s leaders and specialists. Project always means creating something new and is therefore an optimal Learning by doing experience of daily business and especially of project competences.
