This book is about changing the way you look at projects, sharing a completely new way of running them. A way that focuses on people and leadership rather than the nuts and bolts of tasks. That approach was fine in the past, but now, with the rapid changes in the working environment and the technology supporting it, we need a less complex way, a way that values people. Before the industrial age changed how we lived our lives, people were still able to build great cathedrals, they made tremendous leaps in scientific understanding. From biblical times, there's a great example of project management, in Noah's Ark. Noah was given a crystal clear purpose and detailed specification, with the "how" left up to him. In this post-industrial age, perhaps it is time to return full circle, to emphasise the value of leadership, providing space for the project team to deliver. As you read, you will learn about the really important stuff of leading a project, a simple three step process to get you from A to Z. You will discover what should be taken care of at each step on your journey. You'll find out about the tools and techniques, along with how to use them, at each step along the way.
People who have been involved with projects consistently say they struggle to get to grips with the nuts and bolts of project delivery. Is there a fracture between the theory of project management and the reality of working in a project organisation?
The field of project management is considered by many to be a maturing discipline. There are several professional organisations around the world that have developed detailed methodologies to manage projects along with certification programmes for their use. The number of books written on the subject would fill many, many book shelves, mainly focussing on the technical aspects. There are conferences, webinars, journals, industry interest groups and numerous training courses available for the interested person.
More and more, the projects we all work on involve several organisations. There is an accompanying increase in the reliance on external partners (or suppliers) for expertise and knowledge that isn't available within the company initiating the project. In tandem with this changing landscape, there is pressure to "get more out" of suppliers, for lower investment (financial, resource and technical). This is the case for organisations small and large, public and private sector. The need for strong, honest relationships has never been more acute, yet the drive to reduce costs and "manage the supply chain" pushes us towards lowest up front cost solutions and neglects the human element that is vital to any business relationship.
When you're in the thick of it, working across departments and organisations, how often has someone said to you that a document must be completed, but they can't tell you what purpose that document really serves? Do projects feel to rush headlong into "doing something, anything" maybe even taking extreme tactics to avoid thinking and talking about what the project is there to do, and how you could sensibly deliver it? Do you feel a push back from suppliers (or clients) to skip over these "soft" steps? Are documents being written because the process you're following says they're needed, but it's not clear how they help you deliver what's been asked for. Are they thought of as an end in themselves? Do you sense there's a missing link?
There is often a focus, some might say over-reliance, on sticking to the letter of methodologies. Certainly these have their place as a framework around which to build an approach to delivering a particular project. But, and this is a big but, they aren't the be all and end all of delivering a successful project.
The entrenched way of managing a project is one that emphasises command and control, policing and punishment. This way of working typically involves a maze of measures (KPIs), progress reports, Gantt charts, documents. It is all too easy to lose sight of what the project is there to achieve, getting sucked down into the details of navigating the project processes, playing the system. Much energy is devoted to checking up on what has (or hasn't) been done, beating people up for missing often arbitrary dates. Is it surprising that people are motivated to meet KPI targets, leaving little space for getting on with the people they're working with, and even (dare we say it) having fun?
Why do projects fail?
So, given the environment in which projects live and breathe, what is it that leads 83% of them to fail in delivering expectations, budget and/or on time? We were curious to pull the covers off this topic, so invited more than 20 organisations to take part in research to establish the common themes of project failure.
