Projects Aid in Strategic Thinking
by R. David Hofferberth, Service Performance Insight
In Part 2, I explained that projects allow companies to do a much better job of prioritizing their investments. It follows naturally that the ability to prioritize work—just like prioritizing any other investment—has strategic benefits.
The detailed information that comes out of the project management process is critical for management and shareholders as well, because it shows how the organization invests resources, and how the investments align with the corporate strategy.
Taking a project-centric approach also provides the management team and staff throughout the organization with the information to show how the company is meeting its strategic goals, and other areas for potential improvement.
There could also be circumstances where the corporate strategy has changed just enough to reprioritize the project portfolio. By taking a project-centric approach to the work, executives can learn the impact the changes in strategy will have on funds and staffing, and ultimately the profitability of the organization. With this information available to all key decision makers, the organization can run more efficiently, and with greater commitment to meeting the overall goals and objectives of the company.
In my next post, I’ll discuss how the strategic thinking, enabled by a project-centric approach, helps the entire organization run more efficiently.
