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SPM article in the Ivey Business Journal - Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Competitive knowledge is increasingly being outsourced to Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) vendors indicating a shift in the opinion that core business activities cannot be outsourced. The KPO opportunity represents both benefits and risks for organizations and managers must find ways to avoid costly failures. This article describes the benefits and risks of pursuing a KPO strategy.

To view the complete article please use the following link, http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/article.asp?intArticle_ID=905

Catherine is a panelist on future of PM at Project Executive Forum - May 20 - Friday, May 14, 2010

Catherine will be a panellist on May 20 to discuss the challenges and future of project management.  The Project Executive Forum is part of the Project World Canada conference taking place from May 17-20.  The forum is an opportunity for senior leaders and executives to share and discuss key issues and trends with respect to delivering business results and value to corporations.  http://www.projectworldcanada.com/toronto/project-executive-forum.html 

Catherine will be speaking at Queen's Leadership program May 18th - Friday, May 14, 2010

Catherine has been invited to participate as a presenter at Queen’s Executive Development Centre’s first summit for Leaders of Organizational Effectiveness.  She will be speaking to SPM’s Top Ten Trends for 2010 which are centred on issues leaders are facing in the changing landscape of talent management and executive development.  The summit is being held at Queen’s University on May 17/18. 

Why Program Management is an Essential part of Strategy Execution - Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Much has been written about the gap between strategy formulation and strategy execution. Alarming statistics published during the last 6 years of unprecedented growth prior to the recession, assert that 66% of strategies were never executed and of the remaining 34% only 50% were consistently meeting expectations and generating the ROIs predicted.

CSTD Features SPM Article in eNewsletter - Monday, April 26, 2010

SPM is pleased to announce that Catherine Daw's article, Team Learning: A Lead Talent Management Strategy is the feature article in their eNewsletter this month! To read the article click here.

Wall Street Journal Highlights Kolbe's Strengths! - Friday, April 23, 2010

We at SPM Group are certified Kolbe specialists. Contact us to find out what the Kolbe Assessment can do for you and your organization!  Click here to read the article! 

PPM Trends 2010: Presentation - Tuesday, April 13, 2010

 The discipline of project management continues to evolve and develop as businesses select and manage strategic, value creating projects.  The evolving field of portfolio management is even more critical in today’s market.  This presentation looks at the trends, challenges and sustainability of portfolio management.
 

Team Learning: A Lead Talent Management Strategy - Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Today as the world continues to face the challenges of a long, slow and bumpy recovery, talent management is increasingly rising up the CEO agenda.

Top Ten Trends for 2010 - Tuesday, January 12, 2010

2009 was a year of wait and hold as many organizations tried to determine which strategic initiatives to undertake and how much risk to assume with so much uncertainty.  As we neared the end of 2009 we began to see a certain level of pent up demand – many companies had completed any necessary downsizing, finished key projects and programs which still needed to get done and looked for other ways to survive the effects of the recession with minimal downside risk.

Top Ten Trends for 2010 (PDF)

SPM Appoints Lindsay McMurray Vice President of SPM Learning - Monday, December 07, 2009

Lindsay McMurray is Vice President of SPM Learning, a division of SPM Group Ltd.   Lindsay brings extensive experience in training and business development. He brings expertise and unique solutions to help corporations and government navigate the challenges of learning & development within the business and technological landscape of today’s continually changing environment.

Lindsay brings 25 years of experience in training and learning solutions, business development, executive leadership, partnership creation and management, infrastructure technology and telecommunications to every business engagement.  He has a verifiable track record in helping businesses increase performance through dynamic leadership, strategic planning, process design, technology innovation, project and change management, strategic and creative thinking.  Lindsay has a global perspective respecting the uniqueness of regional differences.  Lindsay excels in guiding teams to provide solutions that deliver the greatest business value at lowest cost and efforts.  He is adept at capitalizing on interpersonal and technological skills to create a unique blend of innovative products and solutions while pushing the creative envelope.  

Lindsay firmly believes that learning is the foundation of success and he is committed to supporting individuals, teams, businesses and government with attaining greatness.

Article - The Risks and Benefits of Knowledge Process Outsourcing - Monday, August 31, 2009

Many organizations now consider Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) as a viable option to increase operational capacity, access specific business process knowledge and reduce costs. The evolution of BPO is Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), the outsourcing of process requiring analytical thinking and judgement. Embarking on an outsourcing effort is not for the faint of heart. There could be negative repercussions on employee morale and public opinion and the probability of failure is high. This article describes some of the benefits, challenges, risks and program management aspects you should know before evaluating a process outsourcing effort specifically around KPO.

KPO
Business Process Outsourcing reached mainstream management thinking in late 90’s and it is no longer exclusive to large corporations; small and medium sized companies are also taking advantage of the BPO opportunity to augment their capabilities and allow them to focus on revenue growth. Since 2003 business process outsourcing has shifted from outsourcing back-end, non-core, and repetitive processes such as accounts payables and accounts receivables to outsourcing core processes that require analytical-intensive thinking and judgement like market research and data analysis. This shift has created what is now referred to as Knowledge Process Outsourcing. KPO vendors are typically located abroad in places like India and Singapore usually referred to as off-shore locations. Other countries like Mexico and Chile are providing KPO services and are referred to as near-shoring locations because of their shorter travel times, time zone alignment and culture similarities. Some KPO vendors have operations in the same country as their clients and they are referred to as on-shoring.

Trends
KPO is predicted to grow to anywhere between $10 and $17 Billion (USD) globally by next year [2010]. Areas that are experiencing growth in the KPO arena include: data search, data integration, market research, project management, remote education, radiology, medical transcripts preparation and legal processes. Some of the factors driving the growth in KPO include the adoption of global standards for qualifications, access to a large pool of skilled and experienced professionals abroad and improved remote project management capabilities due to improvements in telecommunications and other enabling technologies. The way decisions are made about outsourcing is also changing. KPO decision making will move from the CIO and COO level to divisional business managers and board of directors.

Benefits
While the main attraction of BPO was improved efficiency and cost reduction, the main attraction to KPO is increased revenue and improved competitive advantages as a result of having access to a large pool of skilled professionals in knowledge intensive industries. Other benefits of KPO include cost savings, converting fixed costs into variable costs, flexibility for companies to add or reduce personnel based on business cycles and the continuous execution of work by taking advantage of different time zones.
 
Challenges
The challenges of pursing a KPO strategy are both external and internal. External challenges of pursuing a KPO strategy include finding a suitable KPO vendor that can offer the necessary skills in a scalable manner. Protecting intellectual property is a challenge since it will have to be shared with the vendor. For some industries, protecting data and privacy as well as abiding to legal and compliance requirements are challenges to overcome. The physical location of the KPO vendor creates challenges from a language and time zone perspective. Internal challenges stem from adapting the organizational and management mindset from managing internal resources to managing the KPO vendors resources situated in a remote location. The definition of quality and performance metrics can pose a challenge since some of them may not exist. Internal processes and managers usually do not have quality metrics in place and will need to be defined before outsourcing the process. In some cases the outsourcing effort exposes inefficiencies and weak areas in the process and a decision needs to be made to outsource the process as is or to optimize it before outsourcing. Technical challenges can also arise so the information technology department must be involved to ensure the infrastructure, applications and data is in place and well protected and that the KPO vendor is using the data and applications as it was contractually agreed.

Risks
Process outsourcing is a risky initiative. The main risks include the impact on employee morale, key talent retention, outsourcing a core competence, negative public opinion, unfavourable currency exchanges, poor program management, poor project management, political instability in the KPO vendor’s location, terrorist attacks, taxing structures, security, privacy, salary inflation, service interruption, technical issues. These are just some of the risks to be considered. Also consider that KPO vendors may experience a labour shortage or may be unable to attract key talent and skills needed and can eventually go out of business. Poor program management, lack of executive support, poor vendor selection, lack of understanding of the company’s core competencies, undocumented processes and procedures are also risks to be considered from within the organization. Based on the business strategy, organizations considering a KPO strategy must first conduct a thorough analysis of their core competencies, process efficiencies and risks. The impact to employee morale and human capital is a significant risk and needs to be managed appropriately.

Program and Project Management Considerations
To increase the probability of success, organizations must use a structured approach to managing the [KPO] outsourcing opportunity. Organizations can pursue a KPO strategy directly without any prior BPO experience although organizations with BPO experience will have a shorter learning curve and less risk.  Outsourcing efforts should start by forming a team that will identify opportunities to outsource as KPO. This team should perform a thorough analysis of the organization to identify opportunities for outsourcing and it should represent all relevant functions of the business. The team must be aware of the organization’s strategic intent and the objectives of the outsourcing effort. The project manager should be someone with prior experience in outsourcing projects and a high level of empathy given the human aspect of the project.  In some organizations a central group is created to oversee the outsourcing efforts. This group can provide consistency in the way outsourcing projects are managed, evaluate adherence to outsourcing methodologies as well as monitoring the on-going performance of the vendor.  Vendor selection must be based on whether the KPO vendor can provide a significant competitive advantage and must be able to provide the required talent and skills. Selecting the process or function to outsource should also be done on a phased approach from lowest risk to highest risk. During the first phase only simple processes can be considered. A second phase can include processes with low cross functional dependencies. A third phase should deal with the more complex processes. 

Conclusion and Recommendations
Knowledge Process Outsourcing can provide value and allow companies to focus on increasing revenue growth while providing challenging and progressive positions to employees that want to move into supervisory and monitoring roles. KPO offers a great opportunity to outsource analytical intensive processes that contribute to the development of new products, evaluate new markets and offer new services. KPO continues to grow and is becoming a core option for business strategists. Large and small organizations can now take advantage of the KPO model since it requires deep knowledge and not the high volume transactions associated with BPO efforts. To increase the probabilities of success a phased approach to selecting the outsourcing candidates must be performed using a program and project management approach with executive buy-in and cross-functional representation. Standard project management methodologies must be followed and most importantly a two way communication with the KPO vendor must be maintained throughout to ensure on-going success. 

About the Author:
Carlos is a consultant at SPM Group. He has over 10 years of experience working in a variety of consulting projects both technical and business. His area of expertise includes Operations, Process Improvement, Project Management, and Supply Chain Management.

Carlos holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Rotman School of Business. He is an active member of the Project Management Institute and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified Management Consultant (CMC).

New Opportunity! Vice President for Training & Learning Solutions - Friday, August 21, 2009

SPM Group Ltd. is looking for a Vice President for Training & Learning Solutions.  An ideal candidate can be described as:

  • a unique person who is able to bring fresh ideas to an evolving organization
  • a person who strives to obtain ongoing personal and professional growth
  • is capable of selling high quality well established training solutions
  • is capable of making a positive impact by contributing to the growth of an entrepreneurial firm

If you feel that you possess the above please read the full job posting here.

Article - Change Management; the Missing Link for PM Success - Friday, August 07, 2009

Whenever I make a presentation on project management best practices, I always point out that if project managers are oblivious of the impact of change management variables on their projects, these projects will be challenged or even fail. Here I am not speaking of the management of change requests from project stakeholders that could result in scope creep or project deliverables that bear little resemblance to original project objectives or scope. This conversation often results in an ah'ha moment for many in the target group because it allows us to recognize one of the key reasons why projects fail - our inability to address or lack of acknowledgement of the symptoms of change that permeate our projects. Even if the project team produces the 'Rolls Royce' of deliverables, guess what? The project may still fail because of such issues as lack of buy-in or resistance to change. So, should we be considering these management disciplines as two disparate areas? What are the consequences for our projects if we do?

Change management is a systematic approach aimed at facilitating the movement of individuals, groups, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. Project management involves the planning, scheduling and controlling of project activities to meet project requirements. It is the application of skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet stakeholders' needs and expectations[1] So should the two be married?

Projects have specific goals and objectives, and therefore must deliver specific results. The implementation of a project management methodology provides some key benefits to any organization. Project management was developed to introduce a structured, consistent approach to managing projects, thus fostering time and cost efficiencies by proactively planning and considering all relevant variables that could impact a successful outcome. Additionally, project management provides coordinated and 'trackable' processes to monitor and control performance. Some people limit these variables to the "hard' factors, such as schedule, budget or scope management, overlooking 'soft' variables such as, the impact of an effective change management execution strategy to successful project outcome - this usually to their peril. Success not only depends on the extent to which the project deliverables meet specifications or requirements but also on the willingness of stakeholders or end users to change the status quo. But these objectives cannot be achieved without the project manager recognizing and embracing their role as a transformational leader and change agent.

Whether this is a small 'c' or a big 'c' change initiative, all project management initiatives are intended to bring about change. While the extent of the change management effort adopted should reflect and be commensurate with the magnitude of the initiative and its organization, the effective management of change should be of primary concern to all project managers. Projects have been widely accepted by management gurus and strategists as key vehicles for achieving transformational change and for executing strategic priorities.

Project managers must ensure their skills extend beyond the technical/application areas, to such competences as general management and interpersonal skills including leading, motivating, inspiring, negotiating, communicating, and conflict resolution. All of these change management skills are critical to project success and influencing stakeholders' acceptance.

The project manager plays a key role as change agent or transformational leader. Change agents 'make things happen.' It is this individual (or team) that drives and supports change efforts, creating buy-in and gaining commitment of stakeholders. Successful and sustainable change initiatives begin and end with an effective leader who can respond to and lead the transformation effort by developing and implementing new systems to drive the renewal process.

Change represents uncertainty, wariness, adjusting the status quo and a frightening prospect to many. In today's world it has become the new norm. It is constant and unavoidable, evidenced by the volatility in global and competitive markets, the tsunami of the information age and social networking, just to name a few. Change management strategy execution has undoubtedly become a critical competency in the enterprise of today. It is therefore essential for us to eliminate the following myths from the project management environment.

Myth 1 - "I'm responsible for the 'hard' side of the project, not the 'soft' stuff."

Project teams are ultimately responsible for delivering value to the organization through their project. If your project requires people to change the way they do their jobs, then the 'soft' side is also your responsibility"

A perfectly designed solution that no one uses is ultimately of little value to the organization.

Myth 2 - "I have a communication plan, isn't that enough?"

While communication is important, change management does not equal effective communication.

Change management also includes sponsorship, coaching, proactive resistance management, training and reinforcement.

Myth 3 - "We are introducing change and managing the project, so aren't we managing change?"

Just because you are introducing a change does not mean that you are managing the people side of that change. Change management is a systematic approach to accelerate adoption and mitigate resistance.

Change management is the process, tools and techniques for managing the people side of change. In the same way that you have tools to manage the project side of the change - issue tracking, documentation, work breakdown structures, design processes - there are specific tools you can use to encourage adoption, to mitigate resistance and to manage change.

Myth 4 - "We don't need change management."

Change management helps to increase the speed of adoption of change, the ultimate utilization of the tools and the proficiency of employees in the future state. Many studies have shown a direct correlation between how well you manage change and whether or not you meet project objectives.This underscores the fact that to deliver the potential value of your project to the organization; you need to manage the people side of change.

Project managers and other stakeholders need to become more educated about change management and the approaches necessary to ensure it is incorporated in all initiatives. Many change initiatives/projects fall short of their objectives because project managers often do not see themselves as changes agents. Even when they do have some appreciation of this concept, there is a disconnect between accepting the project as a mechanism for change and reconciling the necessary steps to implement the change.

There are numerous change models that exist today. Whether you adopt a top down approach, as suggested by Kotter,[2] or a bottom up approach advocated in models like ADKAR[3], it is fundamentally important to project sponsors, managers and teams to proactively plan for and address these variables. The Kotter model, for example, has been widely adopted and proposes an 8-step approach. It ranges from the need to communicate a sense of urgency with realistic and relevant objectives; to making the change stick through reinforcement based on promotion, recruitment, identification of new change leaders. Then the change must be woven into organizational culture. Whether the project is functional/departmentally focused, cross-functional, enterprise-wide or includes external impact, a well articulated change strategy will be required for success.

Projects are often meant to move the organization from a current state to a future preferred state. Uniting the project and change management disciplines allows organizations to adopt a structured consistent process, balanced with active stakeholder engagement, learning, and reinforcement aimed at achieving strategic objectives and organization excellence. Key success factors for project managers - the transformational leaders/change agents in today's organization should include:

  • Beginning with the end in mind[4] - have a vision or understand the vision!
  • Ability to communicate and influence others (both upwards and downwards) in the organizational hierarchy - exert political power
  • Strong executive/leadership support and sponsorship
  • Active involvement and an ability to build a shared learning environment
  • Gaining consensus and alignment of project stakeholders - communicating the message and benefits, the 'what's in it for me' factor
  • Integrating process driven systems with people driven processes to counter fear of change, reduce risk, build momentum and create buy-in and ownership of project deliverables.

The time is now! Organizations, and their CEOs, are hungry for change. It is no surprise that there is now a movement to make change management methodology like Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) standard, recognizing the need for a formalized, integrated process. Change initiatives are no longer viewed as an extraordinary event but as standard components of the business environment. Indeed they may be a necessity to survive the demands our new economy. Agility and vision are key, but they also requires a method amidst the uncertainty. Marrying formal project and change management standards, practices and approaches into an accepted way of executing strategic initiatives will be the way to not only survive but thrive in a changing business world.

Cheryl Francis-Nurse, PMP, MBA is a consultant at SPM Group Limited with over 15 years experience in the fields of project management, education, international development, trade and investment. She is an accomplished Instructor/Facilitator currently responsible for the development and delivery of a range of customized project management training programs in the public sector and private industry. Cheryl gained recognition for her exemplary contribution to the management business skills and process improvement projects in 2002 when she was awarded the USAID's First Merit Award for Exceptional Efficiency in the Management of a Business Skills Training Project. Cheryl holds an MBA with Distinction from Manchester Business School, a Post-MBA Diploma in Advanced Management from York University and the Project Management Professional (PMP) Designation from the Project Management Institute.

References:
1 Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®)
2 Kotter, John P: Leading Change, Harvard Business School, 1996
3 Hiatt Jeffrey: ADKAR: A model for Change in business, Government and Our Community, Prosci 2006
4 Steven R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1989

SPM to Participate at Showcase Ontario 2009, September 21-23rd, 2009 - Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Greg Gavarkovs, Senior Director at SPM Group Ltd. will be presenting a feature workshop.

3 3 4 The Maturity Model - by Greg Gavarkovs, Senior Director, SPM Group Ltd.
In September 2007, an I&IT organization-wide self assessment to measure baseline levels of maturity of portfolio, program and project management disciplines was conducted. Based on the results, ITELC set a three-year target for all clusters and ITS to improve their maturity levels.  Learn what the three-year plan includes: roadmaps that outline corporate support for training, reporting and continuous improvement, as well as yearly reporting to chart and identify progress, accompanied by a continuous improvement rewards and recognition program.

Last year, over 24,000 hours of education training were completed at the conference. Following that success and participant suggestions, an education program was created that adopted the “something for everyone” philosophy.

For more information please visit:  http://www.showcaseontario.com/2009/

SPM to Sponsor International Canadian Society of Training and Develoment Conference, October 19-23rd, 2009 - Wednesday, July 29, 2009

SPM Group is a proud silver sponsor of the Canadian Society of Training and Development conference in Toronto. The Conference takes place on October 19th through the 23rd at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.

SPM has always been a leader in the workplace learning and development field and actively supports the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD) and International Federation of Training and Development Organizations (IFTDO).

Please come by and visit our booth to view our leading edge learning programs focused on leadership development and project management.

We would love to see you there!

Article - Project Management as a Core Corporate Competence - Monday, June 22, 2009

Written by Carlos Sanchez

Envision a corporation where project management is a core skill. Where certified and fully competent project managers successfully execute technical and business strategic initiatives alike while managing large and complex teams. In today's economy delivering effectively on strategic initiatives to gain business results and competitive advantage is not only a survival move but will help a company thrive.

Many organizations are challenged by how to assess competence in a project manager and certification alone may be just one component. But how can your company build project management as a core competence if certification alone is not enough? In this article we explore three components beyond certification that can help assess a project manager's competence and steps to take to start building project management as a core corporate competence in your organization.

According to the PMI 2007 annual report the number of PMPs globally grew over 300% from 2004 to 2007. While the project management field has experienced tremendous growth the focus has been on the standards, the certification process and the recognition of project management as a profession. What has happened for many organizations over this period is the recognition that the certification alone may not be sufficient to measure competence in a project manager, and ultimately gain corporate competence that delivers results.

Competence is defined as a group of variables that can be used to accurately predict successful job performance. Research has shown that 70% of an individual's competence is developed through their own experiences; 20 % is developed through feedback and only 10% is developed through structured training and seminars. Project management competence can be measured in three ways. First, assess a project manager's knowledge of general management combined with previous applications of accepted project management practices. Second, evaluate personal attributes such as: the will to manage and lead others, the ability to manage relationships at all levels, the ability to adapt to different work environments and the ability to influence others. Other attributes to consider are: being results oriented, being proactive, being able to communicate well and being energetic. And third, establish the project management maturity of the individual. Since maturity can only be gained through ongoing experiences and skills development outside of project management, a mature project manager is also a mature individual that may have developed as a project manager after performing in a supervisory or managerial role.

As corporations adopt project management practices as a way to ensure that their strategic projects are executed well and achieve their intended objectives, executives are also becoming more aware of the need for project management competence. We are also seeing a trend to further develop that competence beyond the basics of project management to development of soft skills and people oriented capability. This is a sign of increasing maturity in the use and application of project management within a business environment.

Corporate managers that understand the concepts of project management can increase their probability of success. "Building project management leadership across the organization can deliver significant value when executing strategic and change management projects," states Nick Kuryluk, Director of Strategy and Program Management Office at Amgen Canada. "Executives see the value of applying project management techniques and how it aligns with strategic initiatives to achieve the desired results of an organization." Project management as a skill set is moving out of the project management world and into the corporate core and becoming a subset of a larger set of skills. As individuals progress through their careers they adopt more managerial responsibilities and eventually their technical responsibilities diminish to zero. This maturity is what a project manager needs to excel. Here is where project management partners with corporate management.

To build project management as a corporate competence, project managers need to become a strategic partner with senior management. Janice Thomas, author of Selling Project Management to Senior Executives and Researching the Value of Project Management promotes the view that project managers need to take on a sales role within their organization to promote and encourage an understanding of the value of best practices and project management as an essential competence to execution of strategy. Gaining the support, understanding and engagement of executives helps to better recognize the need for effective and efficient delivery of strategy. Historically, executives have often only used a "Call a PM only in a crisis" approach. In addition, project managers need to understand the concerns of senior management, be able to speak their language and demonstrate value by connecting with the business and building on earlier successes.

Today, project managers need to go beyond simply undertaking an initiative or project when it is handed to them. By becoming part of corporate strategic planning, aligning with project portfolio management and understanding the context of their projects within the big picture of enterprise-wide initiatives will also increase not only individual but corporate competence. In fact, project managers should eventually mature into project portfolio managers aligned with corporate strategic planning and move beyond managing multiple projects to managing enterprise-wide projects as an executive function.

To build a project management core competence, corporations need to identify individuals that have the traits of a competent project manager and develop career paths for them. Today, one such path we are seeing as a trend is moving from a managerial role into a leadership position as a Director overseeing programs or projects and then as head of a Project Management Office, managing a portfolio of programs and projects. Individuals without the managerial experience can enter formal management training or obtain business training to complement their learning. Implementing strategies that develop project managers and promote them as leaders in the corporation will also help to build project management as a core corporate competence.

Dr Jeffrey Gandz, from the IVEY School of Business and a leadership expert, strongly believes that leaders in corporations need project management to be effective; leadership is about getting results from your followers. Project managers and corporate managers have this in common; they both demonstrate leadership qualities such as obtaining buy-in from stakeholders, selling ideas to customers and project teams, earning respect and managing budgets. Project managers also need to understand and interpret the environment in which they operate, develop winning strategies and execute them brilliantly. For a corporation developing project management as a core skill, this means identifying individuals with high potential for leadership and providing them with a path to allow them to grow as leaders and project managers.

In conclusion, individuals developing as project managers need to develop not only the technical aspect of project management but also the attributes of a competent project manager, and combine it with business knowledge and leadership qualities. For corporations, developing project management as a core corporate competence includes making it part of how strategy is executed as well as identifying individuals with the right traits including leadership qualities, then providing them with a career path and a competenc framework. Corporations should start by identifying where they have project management gaps and define strategies to reduce these gaps. Building project management as a core competence is not an ending or a resting place, but rather, a constant journey as we adapt to the changing business environment.

Carlos Sanchez, MBA, PMP, CMC is a consultant at SPM Group Ltd. He has over 10 years of experience working in a variety of consulting projects both technical and business. His area of expertise includes project management, supply chain management, and software selection and implementation. Carlos holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Rotman School of Business. He is an active member of the Project Management Institute and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Management Consultant (CMC).

On Demand Video - the Real News Cafe, Digging into the economic crisis - Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Real News Cafe discusses 'too big to fail' so - nationalize & democratize or renew capitalism?  Paul Jay moderates as panelists Leo Panitch, Richard Kelly and Catherine Daw discuss the economic crisis.

Catherine Daw has been named to the list of Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs by Profit magazine for the past three years. She is the President and Co-founder of SPM - a successful boutique consulting firm who is a pioneer in an emerging field called Strategic Initiative Management. Catherine holds a BSc and MBA from the Schulich School of Busines and Queen's University. Her work at SPM specializes in the public sector, financial services, energy & utilities.

Richard Kelly is Senior Economist at TD Bank Financial Group. Prior to joining TD, he spent over four years at the International Monetary Fund where he analyzed emerging market economies. Before that, he had several years experience working with other non-profit, government, and international financial organizations focused on economic development. As an economist, Rich’s chief responsibilities include analyzing and forecasting international macroeconomic developments, particularly those involving the major industrialized countries and emerging markets. Rich also contributes regularly to a wide variety of TD publications and provides frequent economic commentary to the media.

Leo Panitch is the Canada Research Chair in Comparative Political Economy and a Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science at York University in Toronto. Panitch is also the author of "Global Capitalism and American Empire" and his most recent release "American Empire and the Political Economy of International Finance".

Part 1

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Part 4

Part 5

White Paper: Managing Strategic Initiatives in the New Economy - Thursday, March 26, 2009

By Catherine Daw, PMP, MBA
CEO & President SPM Group Ltd.

Managing strategic initiatives effectively and efficiently at any time can be challenging.  When the economy turns itself on its head it is even more critically important.  This whitepaper will discuss the business context we are currently in, what makes initiatives challenging and challenged and the application of key concepts to manage strategic initiatives now and beyond the crisis.

It’s a New World Out There
Let’s put the current situation into some form of context - a way of understanding what environment we face externally and internally.  Historically recessions are cyclical in nature (this too shall pass).  They tend to occur roughly every 6 years and over time the length of a recession has dropped to an average of 11 months in the past 50 years.  There is a difference this time out.  The situation is far more complex – the impact is global in nature, occurring at lightning speed and systemic.  The tipping point was the financial credit crisis however SPM believes it coincides with an  exponential increase in world change -  technologically, geopolitically demographically, economically and how we view and run business.  And in fact the reality is the recession is forcing all of us – professionally and personally to transform ourselves to survive. 


The unprecedented period of growth we have experienced over the past 6 years has created a number of issues which will require addressing:  redundancies and inefficiencies, complexities, and lack of innovation (just do it because we are making lots money and our clients are demanding speed).   In the new economy these won’t be tolerated.  In the longer term organizations will need to deal with these issues. 

In a 2008 CEO study conducted by IBM CEOs identified 5 core traits on top of their agenda:  change, innovation, globally integrated, disruptive by nature and genuine not just generous.   The key trait focused on the need for change.  CEOs saw significant change ahead and yet 39% felt unprepared to manage the pace of change.   The study indicated that market factors, people skills, and technological factors as the areas where the most change will occur over the next 3 years.  While change drivers are typically the economy, competition, new ideas, profits and losses and regulation today they are all colliding at the same time.  The potential for change at unprecedented speed with maximum uncertainty will create a higher receptivity for change than in the past.  Change management capability and understanding how to effectively introduce change will be essential. 

Human capital is an area where continued challenges exist and will be exacerbated by the recession.  Demographics are forcing companies to look at where they will find or develop leaders.  In Canada immigration is not solving the issue as it is taking longer to get new workers up the curve and capable to take on leadership roles in the numbers required.  The issue for many companies as they deal with the impact of the recession on their business and sector will be how to retain and retool for the new economy.  To retain staff organizations will look for ways to have them do work they weren’t skilled for in the past.  Work may be redistributed or off boarded if there is not a strong business case to continue with a particular line of business or key initiative.

The new economy will certainly create real opportunities for some.  The need to come to terms with the reality of the global recession and its impact will be critical in how to move forward.  Understanding your financial and competitive strength may well guide the overall corporate strategic position, immediate efforts and how leaders should be leading.  While it provides a unique opportunity to overcome organizational inertia and barriers to strategic transformations, the new environment will favour the fast and agile. 
 
Challenged and Challenging Initiatives
Strategic Initiatives are a vital way organizations respond to opportunities and to threats.  In today’s globally competitive, fast changing business climate, effective initiative implementation is a must. Unfortunately, most organizations are optimized to handle Business As Usual – not the change that new initiatives bring. This is why so many initiatives come up short.

SPM’s approach to initiative management recognizes and reduces the tension between Strategic Initiatives and Business As Usual with each implementation cycle.  This gives organizations a faster, leaner, more agile and more effective organization.  We view strategic initiatives as a continuous transformation of the organization.

In the new economy managing this tension and delivering effectively on initiatives will be a critical success factor. 

Over the past five years the number and complexity of strategic initiatives being undertaken has increased significantly.  These initiatives are more dispersed crossing business units, geography, and executive boundaries.  While driven by business needs there has generally been a technology component further increasing the complexity and dynamics within the organization.  Initiatives (and the resulting programs and projects) are how we deliver on corporate strategy.  Therefore, they become drivers of change and a means to remaining competitive and growing.  It is not only essential to select the right ones but do them right (effective and efficient) in order to realize expected outcomes and benefits.  Historically however, organizations are over optimistic in execution – how long it will take to complete, what sales will be achieved, how much costs we can reduce and how much it will cost to execute the initiative, and how much we can deliver once in production.
 
Consistently independent studies have identified 44-47% of initiatives as troubled or challenged.  If we look at that in terms of dollars then for an organization with initiatives on the books costing $60 million itputs approximately $27 million at risk of failing let alone the missed realized benefits and intended strategic results. This can be a significant cost to an organization at any time today it is even more intolerable.
 
How do initiatives become challenged?  What makes an initiative challenging?  Is there a difference?  We define an initiative as challenging under conditions such as:  never been done before, using new technology, creating or driven by innovation.  The biggest issue challenging initiatives face is lack of strong and effective change management.   We believe with the changes in the economic condition we will see a higher appreciation, willingness and adoption of change management best practices.
 
Challenged or in trouble initiatives usually are defined by their overruns on cost, missed or behind deliverables, risks in delivering anticipated benefits and behind schedule (either planned or forecasted).  In the Center for Business Practices’ research report on Troubled Projects they identified primary root causes were related to poor communications and poor project management processes.  Other key causes included:  expectations were too high, unrealistic, not managed or poorly communicated; requirements were unclear, contradictory, ambiguous, or imprecise; lack of resources, resource conflicts, turnover of key resources, or poor resource planning; planning was based on insufficient data, details or poor estimates; and risks were unidentified or assumed and not managed.  The good news is that where organizations either have a standard process for recovering troubled projects or initiatives or where a deliberate intervention was undertaken there was a very high success rate in successful completion (in 80% of the organizations).    Either initiatives were recovered and completed successfully (in 43% of organizations) or by setting new expectations and meeting those new requirements they were successful (in 37% of organizations).  

The unfortunate news is generally crisis occurs late in an initiative as shown in the diagram below.  This means today executives and key initiative stakeholders will need to recognize the symptoms of challenged initiatives earlier and then take immediate action.  Deliberate interventions can result in successful recovery or immediate cancellation saving the organization money, time, competitive advantage and more.  Interestingly the IBM study on Making Change Work identified that Change Masters (those who deliver effective change management on initiatives) have a better record of initiative success (80% compared to the 41% typically reported). 

What makes these initiatives successful?  Change masters have recognized that behavioural and cultural change are crucial.  These factors are considerably tougher to address as they are ‘soft’.  They include: top management sponsorship, employee involvement, honest and timely communication, corporate culture that motivates and promotes change, and change agents (pioneers of change).

Many organizations are finding that the crisis and shifting environment is creating a closing of ranks and silo mentality, a focus on cost cutting, and executives appear exhausted and therefore resistant to innovating or seeking the opportunities that are being created.  This will continue to challenge the ability to deliver on initiatives without deliberate action. 

Moving Forward
In times of uncertainty there is no wishful thinking.  You have to confront reality.  That means it is essential to look for strategic and tactical actions that will provide resiliency as well as them to adapt and change.  Given the type and magnitude of the uncertainty with this downturn and shift to a new economy a need to be agile and change in mid-stream to take advantage of fast paced dynamics externally and create faster learning is necessary.  Tight portfolio management, scenario planning and development of diverse options and initiatives, total risk management, and change management will become necessary components for survival.

Given the lower success track record on many initiatives managing initiative investments judiciously is vital.  Tools that are known to work even at the best of times can be implemented quickly and easily.  There must be a willingness to put rigor, discipline and action to work.  Organizations then have ways to learn faster, shift before it is too late and adapt to an ever changing external environment.  Three key areas to tackle are:

1.  Tighten initiative portfolio management and governance

  • Review your existing portfolio to ensure all of your existing initiatives fit with today’s strategy and continue to have a strong business case; include in flight initiatives as well as those waiting to initiate;
  • Develop scenarios to ‘see’ different futures and determine initiatives for each scenario; if a scenario starts to take shape be ready to initiate quickly; make small tests or experiment with minimal investment or impact; these scenarios will require metrics and measures to determine trigger points;
  • Monitor the external environment to adjust your scenarios and optional initiatives;
  • Identify and eliminate redundancy – there are often similar initiatives executing at the same time;
  • Review risk and returns criteria as part of your initiative selection process to adapt for the new environment;
  • Increase and improve governance – build strong steering committee and ensure active, committed executive sponsorship; allow ‘telling truth to power’ so information is accurate and real on in flight initiatives and their progress.

2.  Utilize audits or health checks

  • Allow for early intervention to catch initiatives at risk of becoming trouble or challenged;
  • Quickly assess initiatives and clear roadblocks;
  • Don’t wait until the end of an initiative or when a crisis occurs, conduct a health check or audit after planning and at key stages of the initiative;
  • Know when to pull plug – if an initiative is failing or if it no longer makes sense because the need/market has changed then stop.  This will free up resources (people and finances) to move to other key initiatives that will deliver.

3.  Tackle complexity before it tackles you

  • Chop and chunk initiatives into small timeframes with intermediate deliverables; they must be able to create value or deliver benefit, this allows for immediate short term value while minimizing risk;
  • Working on less allows the delivery of quality;
  • Go back to basics: program and project management processes work – use them;
  • Deploy skilled practitioners to successfully execute your key strategic initiatives –  availability is not a skill;
  • Implement change management as a core competency; develop sponsor roadmaps to help drive change, create change masters to manage the soft factors that impact results.

Keeping your business in focus on the operational side is important.  Even more important is driving out the right initiatives to deliver the strategy that fits where your organization needs to go not only through the crisis but beyond.  Inertia is not an option and there is no time to waste.  As Darwin stated it’s not the strongest of species who survives but those most responsive to change. 

Resources
IBM’s Making Change Work Study, 2008
Managing Strategic Initiatives in Turbulent Times, Roundtable Notes, SPM Group Ltd., February 2009
Leadership in Uncertain Times,  RHR International, November 2008
Strategy Execution: Managing Strategic Initiatives, SPM Group Ltd., 2004
Troubled Projects:  Project Failure or Project Recovery, Center for Business Practices Research Report, 2006
Why Some Companies Are Making the Wrong Moves, Booz & Company, 2009

"Career-Blazer" - An in depth radio interview with Catherine Daw - Thursday, January 22, 2009

Catherine Daw, CEO & President of SPM Group Ltd was interviewed on Tuesday, January 21st on the program “Career Juice! ™” hosted by Elizabeth Lengyel of PeopleCoach Inc.

The topic of the program was “Career-Blazer” – an invigorating discussion on what you need to know to be successful in Project Management and how building project management competence can boost your career.  If you missed it here's the link for the recorded discussion ... and it's F-R-E-E. http://www.peoplecoach.com/careerconversations.php

Catherine is a renowned leader of a management consulting focused on Strategic Initiative Management which is a blend of traditional project management with advances in strategy execution.  Catherine has written extensively about issues, challenges and trends in project and initiative management.  She is a regular columnist for a number of prominent publications, author of two audio books:  Telling Trust to Power and Creative Conflict Management and contributing author to the book:  Project Management for the Business Professional.  Catherine is actively sought as a keynote speaker and presenter for conferences and industry events.

“Career Juice™” radio made its debut broadcast in 2007.  Primarily a call-in show format, most weeks Elizabeth invites guests who will add another dimension to listeners’ career ambitions. While covering the career and job-search basics she covers the less explored but related impactful topics such as networking, work-life balance, and industry trends.

Host Elizabeth Lengyel has been guiding career breakthroughs for ambitious professionals since 1999.  As a career coach, author, speaker and advisor, it has been her intention to guide and support people with the active career support they want and need – with clarity, energy, and lasting impact.

Please visit Elizabeth's website, www.PeopleCoach.com, to receive her complimentary audio workshop, "Career Boost."

Building an Initiative Oriented Culture - Monday, December 01, 2008

Today’s businesses are pushed and pulled in many directions.   Strategy execution has been recognized as critical by leaders and organizations to give the edge and competitive advantage over competitors and is needed even more in the turbulent times we face.  And yet statistics and results indicate that most organizations do not execute strategy successfully – in fact less than 34% of corporate strategy is ever executed and many initiatives fail to deliver the expected and necessary results.  Common challenges include:  introducing and managing change, rapidly changing landscapes and markets, and the effective use of human capital. 

Role of Culture

One of the critical factors SPM has seen year over year while working with clients on their key strategic initiatives is the impact of culture.  The right culture can overcome gaps in infrastructure and process.  An adverse culture can sabotage even the best process and intent.  In many instances culture is often skirted around than considered an important contributor to more effective strategy execution.  We also see a very strong ‘tension zone’ between executing strategic initiatives and running the day-to-day business as usual operations (BAU).  The ideal culture for ‘business as usual’ may be different than what is needed for initiative execution and can further exacerbate the tension zone between strategy execution and BAU.  A recent study reported that 72% of executives indicate that a culture gaps exists within their organizations and is interfering with strategy execution and goal achievement.  And as Connie Curran wrote ‘Culture will eat strategy for lunch every time’.  All these factors point to the role of culture as a powerful component of an organization’s success, laying the foundation for productivity and progress. 

In SPM’s Enabling the Effective Enterprise model an Initiative Oriented Culture is one of three key underpinnings. The diagram below shows the key components of an effective enterprise and how they interact in a continuous transformation cycle.

Developing an Optimal Culture

So what is culture and what is the optimal culture for an organization?  By definition, culture is a set of stated and unstated, explicit and implicit beliefs and assumptions shared by a group.  It is often invisible and unconsciously at work, yet ever present and lasting in its impact.  Culture shapes and harmonizes behaviours of all members in the organization or group.    There are generally three functions of culture in the workplace:  simplification and adaptation of decisions, integration and affiliation, and member motivation and activation.
 
The culture components to consider in an initiative oriented environment are: 

  1. Values:  behaviours and attitudes have a powerful impact on the outcome by teams charged with strategy execution and  include:  leadership, empowerment, trust, risk tolerance, engagement and results orientation.
  2. Process:  strong, repeatable processes that also address the risk inherent in temporary endeavours (such as initiatives, programs and projects) will play a critical role in strategy execution; best supporting processes should include:  clarity and communications of strategy, knowledge sharing, change management, innovation, and organizational alignment.
  3. Structures: the environmental structure within which work is done for initiatives versus ‘business as usual’ is different and will be a key enabler to success.  Key factors include:  team structures, hhiring practices, alignment of reward and recognition systems, recognition and usage of change agents, and effective use of virtual teams. 

Building awareness and deliberately designing culture appears to provide higher cohesion around priorities and establishes ownership for behaviours and beliefs that impact success, rather than leaving it to chance.  Culture can accelerate getting to the next level of success or just as easily act as a drag.   By recognizing the need to fit culture with strategy and in particular allow for culture to drive execution, organizations can target specific actions to build the culture needed for successful execution of strategy. 

The optimal culture for one organization will not be the same for another.  Each organization needs to recognize its own unique set of culture patterns, strengths and areas of collective practices that represents its culture.  The strategy or combination of strategies for an organization will determine the best culture.  For example, a cultural environment that supports a strategy of innovation may not be the same as one of a high reliability organization.  Culture may need to change over time as strategies shift.  The evolution of the organization and its maturity will also guide the development of optimal culture.

Enabler or Barrier?

At a recent conference SPM launched a national survey to examine culture as an enabler or barrier to strategy execution.  62% of the respondents indicated their organization does not have the right culture to allow for the effective implementation of strategy. 

Surprisingly comments indicated that most people feel culture is a positive factor, in other words an enabler rather than a barrier, despite the response to culture misfit with strategy. 58% indicated there have been attempts by their organization to change or alter culture deliberately.  This demonstrates some level of understanding by leaders of the importance of culture.  As Isadore Sharp states:  ‘If you don’t understand the culture of the company, even your most brilliant strategies will fail. Your vision will be resisted, and all kinds of things will go wrong.’

The survey also tracked key indicators that impact strategic initiatives.  Key positive cultural indicators included: 

  • 66% of respondents felt that they had leadership support for their initiatives and 71% felt that they were being motivated to succeed.
  • Most respondents felt strongly that they understood how their work contributed to the overall strategy of the organization and also clearly understood priorities and expectations of them

Key negative cultural indicators:

  • Only 33% of respondents indicated that they had learned from their past experience – success or failure
  • Majority of respondents felt that they did not have the right mix of people on their team and that conflicting interests of team members interferred with success of initiatives

Conclusion

While the survey results show a certain level of awareness of the importance and positive impact culture can have on strategy execution there is still a need for more deliberate design and implementation of culture.    Building an initiative oriented culture can create a much higher success rate on strategy execution.  It must be deliberate, encourage an appreciation of culture strengths, rapidly focus on culture weaknesses, build cohesion around strategic priorities, and generate high performance results.

Authored by:  Ruchira Chatterjee, Senior Consultant and Catherine Daw, President, SPM Group Ltd.

Catherine Daw named to the 10th Annual PROFIT W100 - Tuesday, October 21, 2008

SPM is pleased to announce that Catherine Daw, President and Co-founder, has once again joined the ranks of other women blazing trails across Canada and globally for a 4th consecutive year.

 

Ranking Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs by the annual revenue of their firms, the PROFIT W100 profiles the country’s most successful business owners.  Published in the November issue of PROFIT and online at www.profitmagazine.ca, the PROFIT W100 is Canada’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement by women.

“I am pleased with our progress over the past year," says Daw. « We are continuing to see the benefits of our market focus on Enabling the Effective Enterprise™.   SPM is having focused conversations with executives on how to effectively execute strategy to achieve significant outcomes. Clients and prospects are excited by our approach and the  tangible results we have been able to achieve,” added Daw.

The 10th annual PROFIT W100 list showcases 100 enterprising women entrepreneurs who are delivering world-class products and services — and reaping the rewards. The average annual revenue of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs rose to $36.8 million in their most recent fiscal year, up from $32 million a year earlier and just $15 million when the ranking was established in 1999. They have achieved average three-year revenue growth of 236%; employ on average 105 staff; and fully 93 of the firms on this year’s W100 turned a profit.

“Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs are stronger than ever,” says Ian Portsmouth, editor of PROFIT. “They’ve continued to grow profitable companies by investing in their people and products while developing new and better ways to do business.”

About SPM Group Ltd.
SPM is a pioneer in Strategic Initiative Management – an emerging field that combines traditional project management with advances in strategy execution.

There are three ways SPM helps their clients to become more effective:
• translate client strategies into executable initiatives
• help clients set up end-to-end infrastructure for Initiative Management, and
• assist clients overcome the roadblocks created by traditional silo-based cultures and reward systems

SPM does this by providing consulting, training and resourcing services. When you put it all together, SPM enables the Effective Enterprise. This gives clients the agility to seize opportunities and respond to changes.

About PROFIT Magazine:
PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success, is Canada’s preeminent publication dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For more than 25 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it’s a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them increase their revenues, boost their profitability and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Published six times a year by Rogers Publishing Ltd., PROFIT is distributed almost exclusively to the chief executives of companies with five to 250 employees and annual revenue of $1 million to $25 million, reaching more than 300,000 readers across Canada. Visit PROFIT online at www.PROFITmagazine.ca.

Strategy Council Session - November 13th - Invitation Only - Thursday, October 09, 2008

Location: 1200 Sheppard Ave East., Suite LLO2
Date: Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Time: Evening Session (Time - TBC)

PMI-SOC Lunch & Learn - Exercising Influence - Nov 19th, 12:45pm-1:45pm - Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Exercising Influence - Building Relationships & Getting Results
Today’s organizations run on influence. As individuals involved in projects, influence enables us to build the relationships we need to get results inside or outside the formal power structure. This learning program helps to develop strength, focus, and flexibility as an influencer.
 
Through a series of exercises, learn how to plan and prepare for important influence
opportunities up, down, across, and outside your organization. This excerpt from the course, Exercising Influence™ is a just-in-time learning opportunity, enabling immediate application of new skills to resolve problems and conflicts and achieve outstanding business results. Learn new skills as you work on real-world business situations.

 

PMI-SOC Lunch & Learn
Location: 89 Conference Centre, 89 Chestnut Street, Downtown Toronto (Lombard Suite, 2nd Floor)
To register: http://www.soc.pmi.on.ca/cde.cfm?event=232536

Article - Telling Truth to Power - Thursday, August 21, 2008

The success of projects and their accompanying business results remains a critical challenge within many organizations today. Over the years, while we have improved in project awareness and the need for effective project management, projects have increased in complexity, diversity and even the sheer numbers of initiatives in any company’s portfolio.

At SPM we believe that project management doesn’t always get the attention it deserves at the executive level. As a result we have become pioneers in an emerging field called Strategic Initiative Management, which is a blend of traditional project management with advances in strategy execution. This is based on the foundation that executives will pay attention and listen to the truth about projects if spoken in their language and a focus on results tied to strategy.

A critical success factor for initiatives has been linked to top management support. This support is of two types – support of initiative management in general and support of individual programs and projects in particular. It is well known that it is usually difficult to tell truth to power and the culture of the organization may not want to hear issues such as ‘red’ flags. The messenger of truth often suffers tremendously.

Delivery of new products, processes and systems through the use of initiative management is a key performance factor for organizations if they are to grow and compete in today’s global economy. Portfolio, program and project managers are entrusted to see that desired changes by top management occur through the delivery of initiatives. Many organizations still use ‘accidental’ project managers who are assigned merely because they are available, have some subject expertise, or are functionally responsible for a particular business area. Management, however, gives these people the task of delivery while often putting up barriers which undermine their ability to succeed. This undermining may not be intentional but, rather, through assumptions and methods typical in a departmental environment, but that do not fit in an initiative environment. This creates significant impact on the initiative and management’s ability to support the endeavour appropriately.

Common Barriers and Solutions
Typically we see a number of common problems that put barriers in the way of supporting these programs and the project manager’s ability to deliver. These are:

  • Not linking the initiative to an overall corporate strategy
  • Setting deadlines based on management objectives
  • Not allowing time for planning and approval prior to beginning project execution
  • Pulling people off the core team (for other initiatives or operational work) without understanding the impact to the particular initiative
  • Changing product specifications due to concern over the ability to deliver or understand overall deliverable(s)
  • Meddling in the initiative, often by adding people, because of concern about the time it is taking to execute
  • Not including customer or end user input
  • Lack of useful information that puts the program, or project manager, in a reactive mode

There are a number of solutions that management can initiate to address these common problems. These include:

  • Upper management must work as a team to support program or project managers; in action as well as words
  • There must be a project selection and review process - typically through effective and proactive project portfolio management
  • Develop process for program or project manager selection - availability is not a skill
  • Commit a core team from the beginning to the end of the initiative
  • Change the reward system and eliminate hero stories
  • Develop an initiative sponsor system
  • Ensure input from customers/users
  • Define project portfolio management information systems to provide up-to-date data
  • Require initiatives retrospectives – lessons learned on the specific initiative and for initiative management as a whole

Telling Truth
Identifying problems and solutions is one thing. Getting management to change their behaviour to support program or project managers is another. To date, training management on challenges, understanding strategic initiative management and their role has often met with mixed or disappointing results.

What happens when program or project managers try to deliver the information to management is that management:
a) attacks the concept – these are not problems we caused, they are caused by factors outside our control;
b) attacks the data – we didn’t do these things;
c) attacks the messenger – who are you to tell us?

This creates a significant reluctance by program or project managers to transmit unwelcome, yet valuable and constructive, information concerning initiatives and their status. Therefore, while evidence of a failing initiative may exist in lower ranks, it may not move up the organizational hierarchy. Decision makers with the authority to change the direction of the initiative are often unaware of its true status.

There is a need to educate management to help get better support, and for program or project managers to be able to speak with them at an appropriate level. Providing management with an opportunity to ‘walk a mile in a project manager’s shoes’ through simulations allows them to experience the frustrations and problems of project managers. These simulations have been delivered with success in a number of organizations.

Program and project managers also need to establish appropriate strategies for communicating with management. What are their preferences, what do they need in terms of critical and must know information? Trust and honesty between management and a program or project manager are critical. Honesty can sometimes be delivered with humour that minimizes the reaction factor. Think of court jesters who had the responsibility of delivering bad news to kings!

 

What Upper Management needs to do
What Program and Project Managers need to do
Be careful not to shoot the messenger (the project manager)
Know management’s level of need for information
Understand the challenges of managing projects in a diverse environment
Offer solutions and what you want them to do
Support project managers in ALL ways
Use honesty and humour from a sensible political approach
Change their behaviour and create a healthy environment for delivering ‘real’ project status
Develop appropriate levels of power and influence even though they may not have the authority

 

Conclusions
Successful initiatives require open and honest communications with upper management. Program and project managers need to be able to deliver status – good and bad - to management without fear. Management will allow them to speak the truth when they provide visible and behind the scenes support, and are careful not to shoot the messenger.
SPM to Participate at Showcase Ontario 2008, September 8-10th, 2008 - Thursday, August 21, 2008

Over the years, the conference has evolved from strictly a technology show to one that encompasses a wide and varied learning experiences.

Greg Gavarkovs, Senior Director at SPM Group Ltd.  will be presenting a feature workshop. The topic will be I&IT Project Management -  3 3 4 The Maturity Model on September 9th from 11:45am - 12:15pm.

3 3 4 The Maturity Model - by Greg Gavarkovs, Senior Director, SPM Group Ltd.
In September 2007, an I&IT organization-wide self assessment to measure baseline levels of maturity of portfolio, program and project management disciplines was conducted. Based on the results, ITELC set a three-year target for all clusters and ITS to improve their maturity levels.  Learn what the three-year plan includes: roadmaps that outline corporate support for training, reporting and continuous improvement, as well as yearly reporting to chart and identify progress, accompanied by a continuous improvement rewards and recognition program.

Last year, over 24,000 hours of education training were completed at the conference. Following that success and participant suggestions, an education program was created that adopted the “something for everyone” philosophy.

For more information please visit:  http://www.showcaseontario.com/2008/

Article - Making Meetings Effective - Sunday, May 06, 2007

More and more CEO’s are leveraging their staff’s ‘smarts’ by empowering them to make recommendations and drive upper management decision-making.  Leaders are learning that it’s impossible to have the depth of expertise that each direct brings to the table. As well, our understanding of group buy-in is that ‘those who came up with the ideas are most likely to execute them.’  It would therefore be a disservice to the advancement of the business by not seeking out their direct’s expertise.

However, beyond the ‘buy in’ and ‘leveraging’ argument, the reality is that some CEOs make bad meeting leaders. So why is it the case that a CEO isn't the best person to lead the meeting? In general, meetings are getting more complex due to the attendance of multiple stakeholders with multiple agendas. Meetings therefore need leaders who are disciplined in structuring the meeting while managing how people interact while leaving the ‘idea generation’ to the group. This poses difficulty for many CEOs because:

  • It’s hard to be neutral due to having a vested interest in the content and outcome of most discussions; CEO’s tend to get involved swaying the group’s ideas by verbally stating their bias or communicating bias through their ‘body language and tone’ (the most significant clues at to identifying the leader’s ‘attitude’).
  • To avoid a CLM (career limiting move), participants may limit their ideas to those they perceive the CEO wants to hear, or they just might shut down if a CEO’s bias is clear.
  • CEO’s typically are drivers and will want to get to solutions quickly.  This may limit a qualitative discussion around what the actual problem really is resulting in more ‘band aid’ solutions.
  • CEO’s, like many managers, lack discipline with structuring agendas and managing participant relations while staying out of the ‘content’ of the discussion. In fact, quite often CEOs can provoke controversy through random questioning, injecting their content ideas and going off-topic at his/her leisure.  Why? Because they can – he/she is the CEO!
  • CEOs though they may want to achieve a consensus through collaboration, may inadvertently try to manipulate the group to his/her thinking by attacking other’s ideas that don’t fall within what she/he feels is right.  This can cause frustration in the team to the extent that participants shut down and do anything to avoid having to attend or actively participate in a CEO led meeting.

Should I or Shouldn’t I?

The CEO right off the top needs to decide if she/he should be facilitating a meeting or not.
You should facilitate if you …

  • Can remain neutral by not injecting opinions verbally or non-verbally
  • Know how to create and focus on a step-by-step meeting process or ‘structure’ (i.e. from problem identification to problem resolution)
  • Are capable of managing member’s participation levels such that they’re interacting respectfully and actively listening to one another

You should not facilitate if you …

  1. Have a strong vested interest in the outcome and need to your ideas to be heard
  2. Have access to an internal or external facilitator
The Virtues of Virtual - Wednesday, March 28, 2007

ProjectsAtWork highlights SPM's work with the Kingdom of Bahrain, and features Husam Sha'ath and Bryan Vermander. Based on their extensive experience managing the development and implementation of a project management system for the Ministry of Works and Housing in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Husam and Bryan provide excellent insights for project managers working with distributed teams.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements - Tuesday, March 13, 2007

SPM professionals are delivering a series of workshops and presentations in March.
 
Project World Canada 2007

Presenter: Gregg Brown, MSc., PMP
Topic: Project Management is not Just About Tools and Techniques: Leadership Skills for Project Managers
Date: March 26, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Presenter: Gregg Brown, MSc., PMP
Topic: Recognizing and Removing Barriers to Performance
Date: March 27, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Presenter: Catherine Daw, MBA, PMP
Topic: Influence Without Authority
Date: March 29, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Presenter: Gregg Brown, MSc., PMP
Topic: Leading Change: Skills for the Project Manager
Date: March 30, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Project Management Institute's Technology Triangle Chapter

Presenter: Debbie Voth, B. Math, PMP
Topic: Project Manager's Role as Effective Change Leaders
Date: March 27th, 5:30 p.m.

 

Women's College Hospital Demerger Experience - Monday, February 26, 2007

In the Fall of 2005, the Minister of Health announced the separation of Women's College Hospital from Sunnybrook Hospital with a new and revitalized mandate. The first order of business was to create the new entity and disengage from Sunnybrook. SPM Group was engaged to lead this mammoth initiative.

Catherine Daw, President of SPM Group and industry veteran, shares the trials and tribulations of managing an initiative of this magnitude against aggressive timelines and with scarce resources.

Event: PMI-SOC Healthcare Local Interest Group Kick-Off
Date: Thursday, March 1st, 2007, 5:30-7:30pm
Location: St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada

For full event details, click here.

Kingdom of Bahrain Ministry chooses SPM Group for PM Excellence - Thursday, December 07, 2006

The Kingdom of Bahrain Ministry turns to SPM Group to achieve Project Management Excellence - SPM Group Ltd. has been selected by the Ministry of Works and Housing (MWH) of the Kingdom of Bahrain to support the development and implementation of a Project Management System to serve the entire organization. SPM in partnership with a local Bahraini firm, LSS Technologies, is providing a comprehensive solution to fulfill the Ministry’s goal of creating an in-house centre of Project Management excellence.

This new operation will enable the Ministry to strategically and proactively manage the numerous business relationships that this rapidly growing multi-billion-dollar organization maintains. SPM was selected for this mission-critical initiative based on its diverse domestic and international public and private sector project management experience and its proven ability to develop customized solutions which recognize the unique nature of a clients’ operating environment.

The award of this globally tendered contract signifies the growing importance organizations around the world place on enhancing their in-house capabilities with global best practices The key responsibilities of this assignment include all aspects of people, process and technology required to form a new Functional Home of Project Management at the Ministry and an improved way of managing its extensive project portfolio for the more than 700 staff managing projects.

A strategy initiated by the MWH to move from an operational role to a more consultative position in public infrastructure projects prompted the ministry to develop this new Project Management Methodology. This new operating model and the processes associated with it will leverage leading-edge technology enabling MWH to build the extensive in-house expertise required to manage both current and future projects and investments. SPM, by providing project management consulting and training services, in addition to managing this 18-month strategic initiative, will enable the organization to move expeditiously to achieving this goal.

“SPM’s consulting and training services and the provision of an on-site project manager have played key roles in the Ministry of Works and Housing’s strategic goal to achieve service excellence and build project management expertise as a core competency,” says Mohamed Khalil Alsayed, project sponsor and Undersecretary of Housing & Management Affairs at the Ministry of Works and Housing. “With the Ministry’s significant operational experience coupled with SPM’s extensive project management capability we are well underway in implementing an impressive project management system.”

Mohamed Al Binfalah, Managing Director of LSS Technologies, says: “Partnering with SPM on this project allows us to transfer its diverse expertise and knowledge to the local talent within Bahrain. By bringing together local knowledge and global best practices we will be creating a unique Project Management model which is truly in alignment with local business requirements and which will be exportable to other potential prospects locally and regionally.”

SPM is currently engaged in the second phase of the Ministry’s initiative. This phase of the project involves: developing and implementing project management methodology, processes, competencies and governance structures and building an on-site Project Management Office. In addition, SPM will be training and coaching approximately 700 project management staff on the new methodology and processes MWH will be utilizing to manage its numerous projects and initiatives. By providing the ministry an end-to-end solution SPM enables its client to maximize the investments it has undertaken in this initiative.

To ensure operational success; the SPM team and MWH have adopted advanced communications and document sharing practices to enable teams in both Toronto and Manama to work seamlessly on this initiative. Time zone differences and the divergence of local business practices, such as the work-week itself, created unique opportunities for both MWH and SPM to develop a global delivery team. SPM’s Project Manager Husam Sha’ath, PMP, CMC balances time between both locations to meet the “face to face” requirements of this initiative. SPM in recognition of its growing presence in the area has created a new subsidiary Global Strategic Project Management Ltd. to conduct its various assignments in the Gulf Region.

Bryan Vermander, vice-president of SPM Group and executive sponsor of the international work also says: “This project represents an exciting move for SPM into the global project management arena, where we are well suited to grow our business and serve clients based on the expertise of our people and the diversity of our existing clients. There are a significant number of key players within the ministry and we are excited to be working with such an enthusiastic group.”

The next stage of the implementation of the project management system is to select and implement an IT-enabled solution. SPM will be involved in the development, review and award of the Request for Proposals. This phase is expected to begin in the spring of 2007.

LSS Technologies is a leading Bahraini technology integration company providing a wide range of business solutions. The company focuses on the provision of telecommunications, security and information technology solution to the private and public sectors.

Imagine Canada - A Caring Company - Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Imagine Canada is a new organization that springs from a simple, yet powerful, idea. 

Every day, charitable and nonprofit organizations work to make Canada a better place to live, supported by forward-looking businesses, foundations, governments and individuals -- all of which have a stake in helping create stronger, more vibrant communities.  

Imagine what Canada could be if these organizations, businesses and people worked even more closely together. Imagine.

Their History
Imagine Canada builds on the proud history of two leading voices of Canada's charitable and nonprofit sector: the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (CCP) and the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations (NVO). 

Founded in 1974, NVO was the national advocacy and public policy voice for the voluntary sector. CCP was created in 1981 to support the work of charities, foundations, socially conscious corporations and fundraisers. In 2003, the boards of both organizations proposed an alliance, recognizing a substantial overlap in membership and advocacy objectives. The following year, their members and stakeholders endorsed a vision of a Canada where "strong and vital charities and nonprofit organizations, the private sector and governments work together for social progress and vibrant communities."

In January 2005, both organizations launched Imagine Canada.

The big picture
Imagine Canada focuses on three key areas:

  • To help charities and nonprofit organizations fulfill their missions
  • To champion corporate citizenship and help businesses partner in the community
  • To help Canadians and their governments understand how the work of charities, nonprofit organizations and community-minded businesses is important to our country and its future

Practically speakingImagine Canada does six practical things:

  • Conduct and share research
  • Develop public policy and advocate
  • Promote public awareness
  • Share practical information, tools and standards 
  • Help people and organizations come together around common issues. 
  • Encourage more businesses to become better corporate citizens

For more information please visit http://www.imaginecanada.ca/

Strategic Execution: The Contribution of Project Management - Sunday, November 19, 2006

Published in the November 2006 Edition of Canadian Government Executive
by Garry Koop

It’s a common misconception that the public sector lags behind private sector organizations when it comes to project management capabilities. In reality governments have made great strides in establishing their strength in project management thanks to important life lessons – sharing and collaboration.

Political and economic drivers now push the public sector, especially provincial governments, away from a policy-based and process-focused approach to projects, to one focused on strategy and driven by results. Consider how provincial governments are approaching today’s healthcare challenges – approximately half of provincial governments’ budgets go towards healthcare, with the health portfolio filled almost entirely with outcome mandates, such as shorter wait times.

In recent years provincial governments have begun to master the art of project management by establishing forums for sharing project management tools and skill horizontally across government departments. These forums often combine the expertise from within government departments with best practices from third-party organizations, like the Project Management Institute and other resources.

This cross-pollination of ideas is an essential ingredient to any project’s success, and is part of a growing trend that leads to achieving project management success across all aspects of government. But this type of collaboration is particularly important when one considers the project management expertise within an IT organization.

Why? In both public and private sectors, the IT group is often at the forefront of project management capabilities. Project management, in its truest form, is associated with delivery, and IT departments have driven the greatest amount of project execution in recent years.

As governments move to this new paradigm of outcome versus policy, decisions regarding which projects get the go-ahead are still made by government ministries, albeit with more input solicited from those who will execute the project, such as IT.

This leads to a public sector that is becoming more flexible and more cohesive, creating new efficiencies via:

  • Increased awareness of tools and resources in place for project portfolio management
  • A more efficient project management structure through the established forums and government’s willingness to look to outside  expertise
  • Government ministries and different IT clusters working together more collaboratively.

Still, as successful as governments are at project execution, there remains some way to go to truly herald a new era in public sector project management. Today’s outcome-oriented project environment demands a greater focus on linking execution to strategy than ever before. This is not to suggest a move back to old school strategic planning that leads to a huge ‘strategy’ binder collecting dust on a shelf. As Arie de Geus observes in The Living Company, strategy needs to be something you do, not something you have.

Government executives who excel at project management recognize a few key success factors:

Good strategy and good execution are linked – and drive outcomes: Surprisingly, this is a shift in thinking for some public sector organizations, where projects have often been driven by policy, with more of an eye on process and less on outcomes. Strategy needs to be more agile, enabling organizations to make intelligent business decisions. More flexibility is needed. Government executives can’t be married to a plan and must be prepared to change. Internal and external mechanisms to identify leading change indicators are needed to proactively develop a strategy and execute it.

Strategic statements need to be articulated with specific outcomes in mind and accompanied by a measurement methodology. Whether you are using a Balanced Score Card or another approach, it is important to establish your strategy and disseminate it to the organization’s senior management to have proper business alignment. This will be difficult and you can expect pushback. But it is absolutely worth doing. The proof lies in the benefits gained by the many private sector companies already doing it today.

Portfolio management bridges the gap between strategy and execution: You have to work with a full view in mind. Project portfolio management (PPM) acts as the framework that connects strategy and projects with bi-directional communications and management. Look at it as a translation stage or intelligent middleware. It takes the strategies, their measures and provides the process for your organization to select, monitor and report on all initiatives. It gives visibility into all undertakings and allows you to understand the impact on the entire business, supplying you with the knowledge to make better decisions. PPM offers the solid bridge between strategy and execution and allows for intelligent business decision-making.

Execution is as important as strategy formulation: A strategy is only as good or as bad as its execution. Bossidy and Charan, in their book Execution, state that execution is the great-unaddressed issue in the business world today. The same can be said of the public sector. Its absence is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of most of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to other causes.

Many executives in both sectors delegate execution to others believing it to be tactical; however, leaders must be deeply engaged. As with agile strategies that are more than road maps, execution is a discipline and a system – one that is built into an organization’s strategy, goals and culture. Strategic project management is a key to ensuring successful execution that is measured against strategic targets.

To successfully execute, organizations need to:

  • Value the importance of leadership: You need someone who has done this before in the public sector, such as a highly experienced and seasoned project management professional who knows how to lead large complex and mission-critical initiatives. By being dedicated to just this initiative, issues associated with internal alliances, or bias to any technologies involved, are avoided.
  • Focus on strategy and position it correctly: Always keep in mind the underlying business objectives and don’t become blinded by bias toward a specific tool. Make sure it is measurable and aligned, properly resourced and supported within the organization. This includes executive involvement through sponsorship with sufficient authority and accountability.
  • Establish organizational structures and support: Ensure you have a culture of project management, and the necessary support and staff in place, as well as the disciplines and processes needed to lead and manage the project’s progress, its risks and the issues that will crop up throughout the life of the project.
  • Communicate frequently: Ensure that everyone is properly prepared and kept apprised of the project’s demands.

A strategic approach to project management ensures doing the right projects and doing them right. It helps eliminate the outrageous burdens associated with failed and challenged projects. Stakeholders, at each level, need to be involved in all stages from strategic development to execution. When government executives consider the generally low success rate of taking strategy to execution, they cannot afford to be anything less than strategic with their approach to project management. Our future successes depend on it.

Garry Koop is vice president of relationship management for SPM Group. An author and well-known speaker, he has over 15 years of experience in various levels of government and industry, including finance, technology, telecommunications, legal, brokerage, insurance, and logistics.

SPM Group named to PROFIT W100 - Monday, October 23, 2006

Catherine Daw named to 8th Annual PROFIT W100 ranking of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs for 2nd Consecutive Year!

SPM is pleased to announce that Catherine Daw, President and Co-founder, has joined the ranks of other women blazing trails across Canada and globally for a 2nd consecutive year.  Catherine showed an impressive leap to  83rd position up from 93rd in 2005.

Ranking Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs by the annual revenue for their firms, the PROFIT W100 profiles the country’s most successful female business owners. Published in the November issue of PROFIT and online at PROFITguide.com, the PROFIT W100 is Canada’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement by women.

“I am thrilled to have been selected again as a member of this prestigious group of woman entrepreneurs.  The award is a tribute to hard work of a committed team who share my vision and drive to deliver quality to our clients,” says Catherine Daw, President, SPM Group Ltd.

The W100 companies continue to shine in industries traditionally dominated by male entrepreneurs, including manufacturing (21), construction (4) and software development (2). Fully 35 companies deliver services to business, and another 18 operate in the consumer-services sector. Twelve operate in wholesale or distribution; eight are in retail.

“The PROFIT W100 are role models for entrepreneurs who lead companies of any size, in any sector” says Ian Portsmouth, editor of PROFIT. “Through effective management, they’ve built profitable, sustainable businesses.”

About PROFIT Magazine:
PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success, offers news, strategies, tips, interviews and other resources to entrepreneurs leading Canada’s fastest-growing companies. Each year PROFIT – which currently reaches more than 400,000 readers nationally – hosts a number of events that bring together business leaders in the fast-growth segment and champions the interests of those leaders. PROFIT was founded in April 1982 as Canada’s first national magazine geared to entrepreneurs. Visit PROFITguide.com.

Execution's Impact on the Organization - Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Catherine Daw, President and Co-Founder of SPM, has been invited to present as part of the leadership series run by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Well attended and informative, these presentations provide practical information for leaders of business big and small.

Execution's Impact on the Organization: Competitive Advantage or Source of Failure 70% of organizations grapple with inability to act upon strategy (Kennedy Information Report, 2004)

Its' not what you say but what you do in business that matters. Ideas do not generate results. Yet the greatest challenge being faced by business today is the inability to turn ideas into action. Learn quick win strategies that will drive results. Through proven techniques and a real life case study, develop the ability to translate ideas into action. Walk away armed with the tools you need to effectively and efficiently execute on your strategy. DO NOT miss - the future success of your business hangs in the balance!

Date: Nov 7, 2006
Time: 11:45 - 1:00 pm
Fee: $10

Accelerating Your Project Portfolio - Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Catherine Daw, President of SPM Group Ltd, will be presenting "Accelerating your Project Portfolio" as part of the PMI Southern Ontario Chapter Fall Event Series.

Date: Tuesday October 26, 2006

Abstract:
PPM (Project Portfolio Management) is a topic of great interest today. Many organizations have woken to the fact that they need a mechanism to link strategy with execution and ensure they are, in fact, investing in the right initiatives.

This presentation will focus on sharing trends and insights about PPM and the current state in the market. Specifically we will address the following:

  • Define PPM and its history
  • SPM research 2004
  • Why is it HOT?
  • What is the research saying today
  • What are the trends, insights and best practices

You will walk away not only fully understanding what PPM is and what it can do for an organization, you will more importantly understand how best to implement given the current trends, insights, best practices and practical application.

About the Speaker:
Catherine is President and Co-Founder of SPM Group. In her role, Catherine provides the vision and leadership needed to evolve the firm. As an executive and entrepreneur herself, Catherine understands, in a unique way, the challenges faced by executives in client organizations, big and small, and is able to include this perspective in her dealings.

Special Address By Catherine Daw - Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Insight Information presents EPC Mega-Projects Conference September 14 - 15, 2006 in Edmonton . Providing updates on the latest industry processes, strategies and technologies, participants will learn the latest best practices for a high pressure, heated business climate.

Catherine Daw, President and Co-Founder of SPM Group Ltd, has been invited to co-chair this important and timely event. Sharing her valuable insights and experience, Catherine will also be providing a special address.

Intelligent Project Governance in a Complex Initiative Environment
Recognize any of these? Many people involved; very few committed. Not clear who can decide on what. Unclear of what “sign-off” really means! Intelligent project governance is critical in a complex large initiatives environment. Through case studies and real life experience this presentation will examine practical models, lessons learned and application in complex environments.

Who Should Attend:
Presidents, CEOs, VPs, Directors of Business Development, Project Management, Strategic Planning, Operations, Finance, Infrastructure, Logistics, Transportation, Engineering, Regulatory Affairs and Consultants from:

  • Construction
  • Energy
  • Energy Focused Law Firms
  • Engineering, Procurement and Construction Firms
  • IS/IT Service and Consulting Companies
  • Municipal, Provincial, Federal Regulators
  • Natural Resource
  • Oil and Gas
  • Oil Sand and Natural Gas Producers
  • Power Generation and Cogeneration Providers
  • Union and Non-Union Labour Groups



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