All change again!

My current assignment comes to an end in September.

I'm looking forward to a break, because the last two assignments have been a log slog and I've only had a week off all year.

This current assignment has been one of my most enjoyable, probably because the programme was in such a state when I arrived.

The end client had been promised a lot and had received little. The transformation part of the programme was roughly a year behind schedule, with no signs of delivering much in the near future.

Some people on the programme had to be replaced; they were either getting stale and jaded or they simply weren't up to the challenge.

In some cases, the developers had been asked to achieve the impossible, but it took a change of management for anyone to realise it was impossible and so change the way they were working.

Structurally, the organisation's business model did not lend itself to efficient delivery, because people were not necessarily incentivised to focus on one particular account.

The parlous state of the programme was hidden - not necessarily deliberately - because reporting was very subjective.

My first task was to make the reporting objective, based on the programme schedule. This turned most RAG reports red almost instantly, and people began to understand the scale of the problem. Then, we reorganised the way the account was set up, to incentivise people to focus on the one account.

I also replaced people in key positions, created a whole new programme management team below me and restructured the sub-programmes into outcomes-based projects in order to reduce complexity and risk.

Next, I mandated a better governance structure, based on MSP and PRINCE 2, and increased the size of the PMO. Programme and sub-programme boards were dramatically reduced in terms of the number of attendees so they became proper management forums instead of talking shops, and finally RAID management became effective.

All of this, of course, was done against a backdrop of commercial/contractual "discussions" with a somewhat unhappy and tense end-client.

Things are back on an even keel now, but it has become clear that the programme will take far longer to complete than was ever envisaged. Consequently, I've started replacing contract staff with FTEs to reduce burn rate.

With the programme in a far healthier state and on track to deliver, I can hand over to a permanent Programme Director and look for my next assignment - once I've played a bit of golf of course!

Adding Project Management Value

I heard yesterday about an excellent manager who has fallen victim to the public sector cuts. I'm sure he won't be the only one, and anyone who thinks the cuts are an opportunity merely to discard the deadwood is sadly mistaken.

Don't think for a minute it couldn't happen to you.

Now more than ever it's essential for project and programme managers to demonstrate that they add value for organisations.

It's not enough to merely maintain marvellous governance documentation. Documentation and methodologies are only enablers to help deliver programmes and projects effectively.

Project professionals need to be able to show their worth by bringing projects in on time - or sooner - and on budget - or below it! They should also always be looking for ways to cut project spend without compromising quality. In austere times especially, organisations often want to see "Good enough" for purpose, not all-singing, all dancing deliverables that cost the Earth.

Striving to identify ways in which your project can reduce your customer's operational costs is also something good project professionals do as a matter of course.

There will always be sceptics out there who believe project management is an unnecessary overhead. We know they're wrong, but we have to demonstrate it in our behaviours.

My contract at IBM is in a highly competitive market and there is always tremendous pressure to drive down costs without compromising quality for the end client.

Similarly, I'm currently helping with the next edition of the APM's BoK as well as being an assessor for the new project professional standard, due to launch in March 2011. I'm sure the quest for value for money will loom large in both activities.

Make sure that your customers recognise that you add value to their organisations to strengthen your position in these difficult times.

Never underestimate the importance of Stakeholder Engagement

I've always considered stakeholder engagement to be one of the primary skills I bring to the table on any assignment, which was why I volunteered to write the Stakeholder Management section of the upcoming revision of the Association for Project Management's Body of Knowledge.

Stakeholder engagement loomed large on each of the programme rescue assignments I undertook over the last five years, and it's playing a large part in my current role.

People are newly TUPE'd over to a new organisation, and so are understandably nervous and concerned for their futures, even though their futures can be very rosy in the new organisation if they embrace it.

The retained staff too are inevitably struggling to come to terms with the changes. There are new processes for them to learn, they can no longer "call in favours" from colleagues to cut the bureaucratic corners because those colleagues now need a Purchase Order, and some of the retained staff feel that the new outsourcing arrangement is a judgement on their past performance.

Add to the mix the fact that this is quite a political working environment and you can see why careful stakeholder engagement is so important.

Fortunately, I have an excellent programme sponsor, so, whilst my stakeholder engagement skills have brought most people on board with the new proposals, the sponsor's experience in dealing with one or two stragglers has been invaluable.

I'm always careful to remember that:

1. People must be won over
2. Logic alone won't do it
3. Neither will adhering slavishly to a methodology
4. Often the most sceptical once won over become the most evangelical.

Have a good day and keep that "Can do" attitude!

http://www.stevesyder.com

Green Shoots of Recovery?

Maybe the jobs market really is beginning to look up. I'm at least finding more appropriate contracts to apply for this month.

I'm waiting for the result of an interview I had yesterday, and expect to hear today if I have been selected for interview for a second role.

Both opportunities are roles I would relish.

Having said that, I'm not easing up on my search for an assignment; competition is too tough out there to take anything for granted.

When I'm not job hunting I'm now busy working on the Stakeholder Management section of the APM's next edition of the Body of Knowledge (BoK), so at least I'm keeping my brain ticking over.

The Power of the Internet

The internet seems to be an integral part of most people's lives these days. I know that I and most of my friends, family and colleagues are connected to it most of the day.

This gives the worldwide web great power, and sometimes I wonder if that is necessarily a good thing.

My wife and I went away for a golfing weekend last weekend. We booked it through our usual golf trip arranger, so we were confident it would be OK. I then did a bit of research about the hotel at the golf course, and, much to my dismay, I found one very damning review.

The writer clearly felt very strongly, as she had written a very long review, listing a whole catalogue of things wrong with the hotel, not least the lack of hygiene.

In counterbalance to that review, I read many that praised the hotel, its staff, the food etcetera, but needless to say, we arrived at the place somewhat concerned about what we would find.

We need not have worried. It was, as one reviewer said, a place of "faded grandeur", but the cleanliness, size of the rooms and quality of the facilities was absolutely fine.

More than absolutely fine was the service given by every single member of the staff, who were very impressive.

The food was a little mixed, dinner and lunch being very good while breakfast was less impressive.

The only point of agreement I found with the damning review was the poor quality of the mattress, and we were assured that is due for replacement.

So it just goes to show - one damning review could spread like wildfire and damage that hotel for years to come, and yet we had a great weekend.

It takes a long time to build up a good reputation but only moments to build up a bad one. Never was that saying more true than in these internet days.

Stuttering Job Market

I'm seeing some improvements in the job market for interims.

The financial services sector has been busy for some time and now other areas of the economy are waking up to the fact that they cannot stagnate because times are hard.

I expect to see some areas of the public sector become more buoyant as the extent of Government intentions becomes clearer, whilst other areas, of course, will retrench.

One area that will come on strong will be online gaming

PWC recently forecast that annual gambling revenue will top US$155 billion by 2012 and a survey conducted by TNS and Gamesindustry.com estimated that there are 13.3 million Britons playing on various games portals, spending £280m on online games and £170m on mobile games last year.

I believe that more and more of that will be generated by online gaming as governments, strapped for cash, realise that, by softening their stance to online gambling they can generate massive new tax revenues.

This will inevitably benefit interims and freelancers as companies scale up their development operations. Bring on those better times!

MSP Advanced Practitioner Exam

I'm sitting the MSP Advanced Practitioner Re-registration Exam today.

It doesn't seem like five years since I first attained the qualification, but in these hard times I think it's important to keep your core qualifications current.

The public sector in particular insists on freelance programme managers being MSP qualified, and it's also a useful addition to my Continuing Professional Development Log to maintain my standing within the Association for Project Managers (APM).

I'm confident the exam will go well; I've used MSP in practice solidly since before I qualified, so if I don't know about it by now I never will!

Hard Times Indeed!

Proof if it were needed that times are hard; I was just called by one of the best agents I have ever worked with who told me his company has folded.


To add insult to injury he was given no advanced warning and arrived to locked doors one morning. What a bad way to treat loyal members of staff.


Things really are bad if people like this cannot sustain business. I wish him well for the future.

Lessons from the recession

I was approached today by a senior manager I worked with some years ago, asking my advice about freelancing.


I suggested that now was not the best time to leave the comparative safety of a permanent job. A combination of the recession and the impending - and somewhat unpredictable - General Election makes an assured monthly pay cheque something that should not be abandoned lightly.
But I did advise him to increase his networking activity and his web presence.


One thing I have become firmly convinced of over the last fifteen months or so is that the interim market will never be the same again. In my experience, freelancers fall into one of two categories; they either select a handful of reputable agencies and rely on them to come up with suitable contracts, or they spray their CV around like confetti, forging no lasting relationship with any agent and being content to take work from anyone who can deliver it.


Both models, I would suggest, are now fatally flawed.


If the hard times brought on by the recession have taught us one thing, it is the value of networking. Of course, recruitment agencies will always be major players in the interim/freelance market, but when times are hard the pressure increases to get appointments right first time, and the value of personal recommendations comes to the fore.


I've always tapped into my personal network to learn of potential assignments for myself or to pass on potential assignments to others. Now, even that is not enough, and the interims who survive are those who up their networking game and build solid business relationships.


I've dabbled with various networking groups over the last nine months, in a bid to find one that is right for me. Some were dominated by small, local businesses, so I felt they were not the best place for me to commit time and money. Others seemed more like money-generating schemes for their originators. Not scams - that would be too harsh by far - but perhaps a little opportunistic.


I've now settled on two where I feel I can forge the most promising business networks - the Institute of Directors and the Interim Managers' Association. I've yet to attend an IMA networking event, but the IoD ones have started to yeild results, with people I have met really "getting"networking.


I've also, with the help of a handful of like-minded colleagues, started a micro-consultancy - The Freelance Network, www.freelancenetwork.org.uk which is designed to be in part a networking community but, more importantly, it affords each of us the opportunity to add more value for our clients because of the collaborative nature of the organisation and the good blend of skills and experience within the membership.


I firmly believe that the business relationships forged now, while the going is tough, will be the ones to endure, and as the economy revives more and more interim assignments will be carried out by people introduced through personal recommendation.