Workplace Engineering

Been having a discussion this week with a couple of Certified Project Managers about the difference between Project Management and successfully managing projects. One of my biggest frustrations is the idea that following the PMBOK will result in a successful project outcome.

Being knowledgeable and certified will not necessarily result in a well managed project. I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked for some project management luminaries, including David Trench and Bernard Ainsworth. Looking back, they clearly understood that the core of managing projects is simply a slight variation of Peter Drucker’s roles of management:

- A start and a finish,

- Setting Objectives,

- Organizing,

- Motivating and Communicating,

- Measuring and

- Developing People

Managing a project successfully requires understanding the first bullet and fulfilling the remaining ones effectively and efficiently. The most sophisticated work-breakdown structure or GANT chart only has value when completed in the pursuit of Drucker’s roles of management…oh…..and a completely unwavering commitment to get the job done!

One of the things I’ve learned about this blogging lark is that it is much harder to keep it going than you might think. After that initial frisson, it’s pretty hard to stay organized, keep pumping out posts (even harder for them to be any good, as anyone who has read this blog has found out).

I’ve come to the conclusion that this site isn’t meeting my needs, so I’m going to disappear back into my cave for a bit and figure out how to reorganize it. I’ll probably change the name too. Workplace Engineering is way too stuffy.