Todd Williams

Gaps in your organization inhibit its ability to implement strategic plans. Daily, executives, middle managers, and project managers wrestle with “the big six”—executive sponsorship, alignment, change management, governance, leadership, and common understanding. Improperly addressing any of these gaps will hex any project. Regularly they destroy hundreds of companies’ ability to turn their corporate vision into business value. Filling the Gaps between Strategy and Project Execution addresses… Show more

Gaps in your organization inhibit its ability to implement strategic plans. Daily, executives, middle managers, and project managers wrestle with “the big six”—executive sponsorship, alignment, change management, governance, leadership, and common understanding. Improperly addressing any of these gaps will hex any project. Regularly they destroy hundreds of companies’ ability to turn their corporate vision into business value. Filling the Gaps between Strategy and Project Execution addresses the sources and how to fill these gaps.

Absence of an organization-wide understanding of goals and the value connoting success undermines communication. Projects fail and goals are missed. Without change management, adoption suffers. Value is lost, projects fail, and goals are missed. Absence of vertical and horizontal alignment degrades teams and confuses targets. Projects fail, and goals are missed. Poorly engaged executive sponsors allow scope to creep and goals to drift. Chaos reigns, value is lost, projects fail, and goals are missed. Insufficient governance impedes creating critical connections. Steps are skipped, value is overlooked, projects fail, and goals are missed. Excessive governance slows progress, lengthens customer and business response time. Value drowns in bureaucracy, projects fail, and goals are missed. Lastly, weak leadership is unable to define vision and value and guide the customer. Teams founder, decisions languish, projects fail, and goals are missed.

Using decades of experience, years of research, and interviews with hundreds of business leaders, the author illustrates how to tackle these problems, meet corporate goals, and increase value. Show less

Lack of executive project sponsorship is seen as an issue for many projects. Corporate leaders routinely lament about the definition, responsibilities, and traits of executive sponsors. Recently, eCameron surveyed numerous organizations across a variety of business domains to determine how executive sponsorship is viewed, how challenges are faced, and how organizations have addressed issues. Multiple problems were uncovered and enumerated in a prior paper titled Challenges in Executive… Show more

Lack of executive project sponsorship is seen as an issue for many projects. Corporate leaders routinely lament about the definition, responsibilities, and traits of executive sponsors. Recently, eCameron surveyed numerous organizations across a variety of business domains to determine how executive sponsorship is viewed, how challenges are faced, and how organizations have addressed issues. Multiple problems were uncovered and enumerated in a prior paper titled Challenges in Executive Sponsorship. These problems included inconsistencies in the definition of the role, poor sponsor selection criteria, inadequate training tools, and obstacles in prioritizing sponsor’s duties. This paper, the second in a multipart series, is the result of that study and follow-up research into the effectiveness of executive sponsorship, project adoption processes, and governance structures. It extends the prior paper by offering in-depth discussion and solutions to the challenges uncovered. Show less

eCameron took a serious look at project sponsorship by conducting a series on non-scientific interviews. Initially the focus was the healthcare industry. As patterns started to emerge, however, others outside of that industry expressed serious interest. To address that interest and better understand the larger issue we expanded the interviews to outside healthcare. Candid and confidential interviews were conducted with project related personnel including executives, sponsors, project managers,… Show more

eCameron took a serious look at project sponsorship by conducting a series on non-scientific interviews. Initially the focus was the healthcare industry. As patterns started to emerge, however, others outside of that industry expressed serious interest. To address that interest and better understand the larger issue we expanded the interviews to outside healthcare. Candid and confidential interviews were conducted with project related personnel including executives, sponsors, project managers, and Project Management Office (PMO) managers. In summary:
* Sponsorship is an issue in all business domains.
* Good sponsorship is an essential component in creating successful projects.
* Many issues are pervasive across industries.
* Sponsors need to work with project managers to design a successful project outcome.
* Sponsor roles are neither properly defined nor supported.
This white paper presents the results of the research and highlights areas where organizations need to improve to change their project success rates. Show less

Value. Rather than scope, schedule, and budget, value is the lynch-pin of project success. Although the former three constraints are key factors in project success, there is no guarantee that meeting these constraints will result in a positive outcome. Instead constantly tracking the value of the project and making adjustments to the triple constraints to attain sufficient value is critical. Arguably this is the project managers most critical deliverable in the project. It requires significant… Show more

Value. Rather than scope, schedule, and budget, value is the lynch-pin of project success. Although the former three constraints are key factors in project success, there is no guarantee that meeting these constraints will result in a positive outcome. Instead constantly tracking the value of the project and making adjustments to the triple constraints to attain sufficient value is critical. Arguably this is the project managers most critical deliverable in the project. It requires significant insight into the project’s customer and a thorough understanding of their needs versus their wants. Project managers have to be leaders (leading subordinates, leaders, and customers), be able to assign priorities based on a critical, objective view. Show less

Gartner predicted a massive sea change in the world of project management—a change that is forcing project managers into a greater leadership role and requiring them to work closely with senior executives.

Many project teams are being asked to lead change, not just timelines and milestones. This forces project managers into greater leadership roles where the rewards can be significant.

David Rogelberg, from Studiob, with the support of AtTask, asked 40 top Project and Portfolio… Show more

Gartner predicted a massive sea change in the world of project management—a change that is forcing project managers into a greater leadership role and requiring them to work closely with senior executives.

Many project teams are being asked to lead change, not just timelines and milestones. This forces project managers into greater leadership roles where the rewards can be significant.

David Rogelberg, from Studiob, with the support of AtTask, asked 40 top Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) professionals to share their secrets for strong project leadership. Their insightful answers depict an industry in transition. Show less

Project management has been accepted in many businesses as a discipline critical for continued growth. To improve project performance, companies have levied rules on how projects should be run, defined common reporting requirements for all projects, and pooled and shared their project management resources. Even with these functions, projects still struggle to meet the needs of the customer. In order to improve project outcomes, the way in which they are managed must change. Project managers… Show more

Project management has been accepted in many businesses as a discipline critical for continued growth. To improve project performance, companies have levied rules on how projects should be run, defined common reporting requirements for all projects, and pooled and shared their project management resources. Even with these functions, projects still struggle to meet the needs of the customer. In order to improve project outcomes, the way in which they are managed must change. Project managers must become leaders, paying more attention to soft skills, managing their stakeholders, and identifying solutions to organizational issues that are limiting project success. The following paper discusses techniques developed by the author to address these needs and improve project success rates. Show less

Todd was invited to write articles for the American Management Association starting in December 2013. His articles relate to improving leadership and management techniques in order to improve how companies implement new capabilities to achieve their strategic goals.

Turning vision into profitability takes equal parts of leadership and management. Understanding which parts to use is the challenge. As leaders we set the vision and define the corporate culture. If we do not imbue the qualities that build trust within our company and with our customers, growth will be elusive. Nowhere is this more evident than when your company’s capabilities need to change and you start a corporate wide initiative. In these projects everyone must be aligned, communication… Show more

Turning vision into profitability takes equal parts of leadership and management. Understanding which parts to use is the challenge. As leaders we set the vision and define the corporate culture. If we do not imbue the qualities that build trust within our company and with our customers, growth will be elusive. Nowhere is this more evident than when your company’s capabilities need to change and you start a corporate wide initiative. In these projects everyone must be aligned, communication and process is critical, yet you need to be innovative and push the envelope. Show less

Project success rates for many companies and government organizations are dismally low, yet executives never seem to look at the big picture. They continue to make adjustments in the way projects are run by addressing isolated problems. However, projects are part of a much larger system and should be addressed in that context. To do that, companies must define how their strategic plan will use people, projects, and technology to achieve their goals. This paper discusses one approach to make… Show more

Project success rates for many companies and government organizations are dismally low, yet executives never seem to look at the big picture. They continue to make adjustments in the way projects are run by addressing isolated problems. However, projects are part of a much larger system and should be addressed in that context. To do that, companies must define how their strategic plan will use people, projects, and technology to achieve their goals. This paper discusses one approach to make this happen. Show less

Contributed Chapter 2: Success and Failure of People in Projects

Modern projects are all about one group of people delivering benefits to others, so it's no surprise that the human element is fundamental to project management. The Gower Handbook of People in Project Management is a complete guide to the human dimensions involved in projects. The book is a unique and rich compilation of over 60 chapters about project management roles and the people who sponsor, manage, deliver, work in or… Show more

Contributed Chapter 2: Success and Failure of People in Projects

Modern projects are all about one group of people delivering benefits to others, so it's no surprise that the human element is fundamental to project management. The Gower Handbook of People in Project Management is a complete guide to the human dimensions involved in projects. The book is a unique and rich compilation of over 60 chapters about project management roles and the people who sponsor, manage, deliver, work in or are otherwise important to project success. It looks at the people-issues that are specific to different sectors of organization (public, private and third sector); the organization of people in projects, both real and virtual; the relationship between people, their roles and the project environment; and the human behaviours and skills associated with working collaboratively. Thus this comprehensive and innovative handbook discusses all the important topics associated with employing, developing and managing people for successful projects. The contributors have been drawn from around the world and include experts ranging from practising managers to academics and advanced researchers. The Handbook is divided into six parts, which begin with management and project organization and progress through to more advanced and emerging practices. It benefits hugely from Lindsay Scott’s expert knowledge and experience in this field and from Dennis Lock’s contributions and meticulous editing to ensure that the text and illustrations are always lucid and informative. Show less

A failing project’s fate is destined long before assigning a project manager. Its doom is sealed from the time the customer envisions the idea. Traditionally, project inception is defined as when the customer comes to a solution provider (internal or external to their organization) asking for a product or service. In actuality inception is much earlier. It starts when someone says, “Wouldn’t be neat if I could...” From that point forward the customer’s exceptions are set, changed, and reset… Show more

A failing project’s fate is destined long before assigning a project manager. Its doom is sealed from the time the customer envisions the idea. Traditionally, project inception is defined as when the customer comes to a solution provider (internal or external to their organization) asking for a product or service. In actuality inception is much earlier. It starts when someone says, “Wouldn’t be neat if I could...” From that point forward the customer’s exceptions are set, changed, and reset as the process of discovery refines the concept. The customer’s ideas change from what they want to what they need, while continually constrained and formed by the realities of an ever-changing business environment. Although people cite unrealistic expectations as major problem during inception, the constant change in expectations causes the real issue—misalignment. For project managers to make a significant difference in a project’s success, they must use a new paradigm. Show less

Think it can’t happen? Think again. Some two-thirds of all projects—even well-designed initiatives that get off to a flying start—are bound to go over budget, blow their schedules, or otherwise fail to live up to expectations. A whopping 25% will get canceled outright, and you know who will be on the hot seat. Your reputation, your job, your career, and your entire organization could be at risk if a major project fails.

Don’t let it happen.

At last you’ve got a real defensive… Show more

Think it can’t happen? Think again. Some two-thirds of all projects—even well-designed initiatives that get off to a flying start—are bound to go over budget, blow their schedules, or otherwise fail to live up to expectations. A whopping 25% will get canceled outright, and you know who will be on the hot seat. Your reputation, your job, your career, and your entire organization could be at risk if a major project fails.

Don’t let it happen.

At last you’ve got a real defensive weapon against failure. With nearly 70 real-life examples of project rescue methods in action on the job, Rescue the Problem Project is the book to use before—or while—you’re in full-blown emergency mode. Project recovery expert Todd Williams presents a proven approach to identifying problems and creating and executing a targeted, effective recovery plan. Show less