ALL MANAGERS must plan and manage projects. You may be in production, trying to determine a better way to cut costs in the plant. You may be in marketing, charged with laying out a marketing plan for a new product. You may have to audit the books in one office of your company, in hopes of improving efficiency. All of these projects, and numerous others in your organization, involve deadlines, particular results, budgets, and ambiguity. They require coordination among numerous people, and they require innovation to solve problems. Indeed, projects are the lifeblood of innovation, and today’s managers must create innovation in order to compete in a changing world. All managers can do a better job of getting innovative projects done on time, within budget, and according to desired quality standards.
Why must we manage projects more effectively? One clear reason is the rapid technological change that we continue to experience. Every year, one of every eight jobs in the United States did not exist the year before; every year one of every nine jobs is eliminated.1 Furthermore, we are not integrating our most vital resource—people—with these new jobs in a way that taps people’s potential. A recent survey revealed that fewer than 25 percent of employees say they are working near full potential. Half of those surveyed do only what is... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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