MTDC in press

Project Management Taken Unconventionally

CXO Magazine for Executives, May (4/2002)

The forum was organized by Management Training & Development Center (MT&DC) on the premises of their training center in Falenty near Warszawa. CXO have assumed media patronage over the event because the Forum presents a broad view over project management practice in different industries.

The keynote speaker, who also lead the discussion on politics in project management, begun his speech saying that politics as an art of achieving goals through accommodating and influencing other people is an essential element of any project; very often, expertly handled politics is a critical factor for success.

In order to use politics effectively, a project manager has to be positive about it, specify problems and design a plan for resolving them, identify project environment and stakeholders, and also build sources of authority, which is a prerequisite for influencing.

In general, a project manager is ranked quite low in the organization and, consequently, doesnt have enough formal authority, resources, or rewarding capabilities. However, authority can be built on other foundations, specifically professionalism in project management, knowing the rules and how to move around in the organization, reference to powerful bosses, and own charisma, i.e. persuasiveness. In the closing part of the discussion, the speaker concentrated on winning the support of the board and functional managers who own project team members.

In the informal discussion participants wondered what has changed in project management for the last 30-40 years. The conclusion was that general procedures had not changed but the quality of project management had considerably improved. The main aspects of the change are focusing on the customer needs and expectations, process orientation and resultant quantum leap in the accuracy of planning, and focusing on people.