Comments for e8 Consulting http://www.e8consulting.com/blog e8 Consulting blog Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:41:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Comment on Is change or transformation viewed as a ‘problem’ to be ‘solved’? by jamie showkeir http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/communicatecollaborate/is-change-or-transformation-viewed-as-a-%e2%80%98problem%e2%80%99-to-be-%e2%80%98solved%e2%80%99/comment-page-1#comment-624 jamie showkeir Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:41:12 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=651#comment-624 well done. couldn't agree more. check out our book, "authentic conversations: moving from manipulation to truth and commitment". it is dead center for your remarks here. love to see others working this very important issue of changing the conversations to transform the culture. well done. couldn’t agree more. check out our book, “authentic conversations: moving from manipulation to truth and commitment”. it is dead center for your remarks here. love to see others working this very important issue of changing the conversations to transform the culture.

]]> Comment on Is change or transformation viewed as a ‘problem’ to be ‘solved’? by Paperless Environment Resulted From The Electronic Document Management System. | Any Article Blog http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/communicatecollaborate/is-change-or-transformation-viewed-as-a-%e2%80%98problem%e2%80%99-to-be-%e2%80%98solved%e2%80%99/comment-page-1#comment-622 Paperless Environment Resulted From The Electronic Document Management System. | Any Article Blog Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:18:57 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=651#comment-622 [...] e8 Consulting » Blog Archive » Is change or transformation viewed … [...] [...] e8 Consulting » Blog Archive » Is change or transformation viewed … [...]

]]> Comment on Bridging the top management conceptual divide by Raymond Young http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/strategicprogrammes/bridging-the-top-management-conceptual-divide/comment-page-1#comment-286 Raymond Young Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:14:30 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=621#comment-286 David, I'm really pleased you've kicked off the discussion. You may be right by focusing the discussion around 'Investments'. My only reservation is that in my mind a discussion of investments conjures up the idea of selecting the right investments and delegating the execution to someone else. If we were to steer the discussion towards 'execution of strategy through programmes of work', it seems to me that the concept is less passive with the suggestion that senior managers have a strong role in monitoring and actively interceding as necessary. David,

I’m really pleased you’ve kicked off the discussion. You may be right by focusing the discussion around ‘Investments’. My only reservation is that in my mind a discussion of investments conjures up the idea of selecting the right investments and delegating the execution to someone else.

If we were to steer the discussion towards ‘execution of strategy through programmes of work’, it seems to me that the concept is less passive with the suggestion that senior managers have a strong role in monitoring and actively interceding as necessary.

]]> Comment on Bridging the top management conceptual divide by David Seward http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/strategicprogrammes/bridging-the-top-management-conceptual-divide/comment-page-1#comment-217 David Seward Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:04:11 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=621#comment-217 Raymond, I would agree with your comments on "Project" Portfolio Managment, I think the correct level and language at which to consider Portoflio Management is Investments. So think in terms of an Investment Portfolio not a Project Portfolio. Investments will result in Programmes or Projects, depending on their size, complexity, etc. The language of investments is then the right one to engage senior exectuives. Following some of your earlier articles and blogs I have been reading the State of Victoria's Investment Management Standard Overview (http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/CA25713E0002EF43/pages/gateway-reviews-and-best-practice-guidelines-investment-management-investment-management-standard). It seems to me that if you took the guidelines and approach documented here and then manage the full portfolio of investments using portfolio managment techniques you have the right approach. While I see your point about Programme Management vs Project Management as indeed the OGC MSP standard is all about delivering benefits etc. while PRINCE2 is about delivering an output. I would argue that Programme Management is still the wrong language to use with top managers and one should focus on Investment Management. If really practiced, the process that the State of Victoria Guidelines document surelly give you exactly the right means of engageing senior managers. Raymond,

I would agree with your comments on “Project” Portfolio Managment, I think the correct level and language at which to consider Portoflio Management is Investments. So think in terms of an Investment Portfolio not a Project Portfolio. Investments will result in Programmes or Projects, depending on their size, complexity, etc. The language of investments is then the right one to engage senior exectuives.

Following some of your earlier articles and blogs I have been reading the State of Victoria’s Investment Management Standard Overview (http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/CA25713E0002EF43/pages/gateway-reviews-and-best-practice-guidelines-investment-management-investment-management-standard). It seems to me that if you took the guidelines and approach documented here and then manage the full portfolio of investments using portfolio managment techniques you have the right approach.

While I see your point about Programme Management vs Project Management as indeed the OGC MSP standard is all about delivering benefits etc. while PRINCE2 is about delivering an output. I would argue that Programme Management is still the wrong language to use with top managers and one should focus on Investment Management. If really practiced, the process that the State of Victoria Guidelines document surelly give you exactly the right means of engageing senior managers.

]]> Comment on Bridging the top management conceptual divide by Tweets that mention e8 Consulting » Blog Archive » Bridging the top management conceptual divide - e8 Consulting blog -- Topsy.com http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/strategicprogrammes/bridging-the-top-management-conceptual-divide/comment-page-1#comment-147 Tweets that mention e8 Consulting » Blog Archive » Bridging the top management conceptual divide - e8 Consulting blog -- Topsy.com Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:28:53 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=621#comment-147 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Raymond Young, Raymond Young. Raymond Young said: project and programme managers have to learn engage at the strategy level and focus on achieving strategic goals. http://tinyurl.com/yj2dnpl [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Raymond Young, Raymond Young. Raymond Young said: project and programme managers have to learn engage at the strategy level and focus on achieving strategic goals. http://tinyurl.com/yj2dnpl [...]

]]> Comment on Governing programs for strategic success – implications from Victoria by Timo Wiander http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/governing-programs-for-strategic-success-implications-from-victoria/comment-page-1#comment-78 Timo Wiander Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:27:09 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=536#comment-78 Wow, Raymond has done incredibly work once again......! Wow, Raymond has done incredibly work once again……!

]]> Comment on How much governance is enough? by Magnus Mähring http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/how-much-governance-is-enough/comment-page-1#comment-43 Magnus Mähring Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:12:12 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=460#comment-43 This is a nice summary and a strong (but soft-spoken) argument for increased attention to the business impact of IT by corporate boards. It is peculiar to note that, according to current research, boards seem to know less and care less than the investment community. One way to explain this could be that directors are members of a rather close-knit community of practice, and that the priorities and work practices of boards are governed by the sense-making of this community, rather than by the task of safeguarding the owners' interests or adherence to regulations and codes of conduct on board work. This is a nice summary and a strong (but soft-spoken) argument for increased attention to the business impact of IT by corporate boards. It is peculiar to note that, according to current research, boards seem to know less and care less than the investment community. One way to explain this could be that directors are members of a rather close-knit community of practice, and that the priorities and work practices of boards are governed by the sense-making of this community, rather than by the task of safeguarding the owners’ interests or adherence to regulations and codes of conduct on board work.

]]> Comment on Deficiencies with programme/portfolio management? by Raymond Young http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/deficiencies-with-programmeportfolio-management/comment-page-1#comment-22 Raymond Young Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:54:17 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=418#comment-22 Jed, You raise a number of good points but I really have to take you to task for a couple of comments: 1. Your research could not possibly have been conducted over “the past 20 decades”. I think you have slipped into marketing speak and distorted by a factor of 10? :) 2. I think you will find that the project investments in the Victorian and NSW public sectors were made with real money on real projects. I include references to the seminal articles in the field because I want to provide common reference points to advance the discussion. Academic rigour has value in this particular case because the problem has persisted over a long period. Rigour is needed to cut through hype and find the underlying causes and solutions to a problem. I have my doubts whether another methodology is the solution but I remain optimistic and open-minded. What I do know is that MSP is actually very good. It acknowledges that flexibility is required to implement strategy. The weakness is that the detailed techniques recommended by MSP seem not to be flexible enough to handle a strategy evolving over time as the business environment changes. For the rest I agree with you that the processes in most organisations destroy more value than they create. Jed,

You raise a number of good points but I really have to take you to task for a couple of comments:

1. Your research could not possibly have been conducted over “the past 20 decades”. I think you have slipped into marketing speak and distorted by a factor of 10? :)

2. I think you will find that the project investments in the Victorian and NSW public sectors were made with real money on real projects. I include references to the seminal articles in the field because I want to provide common reference points to advance the discussion. Academic rigour has value in this particular case because the problem has persisted over a long period. Rigour is needed to cut through hype and find the underlying causes and solutions to a problem.

I have my doubts whether another methodology is the solution but I remain optimistic and open-minded. What I do know is that MSP is actually very good. It acknowledges that flexibility is required to implement strategy. The weakness is that the detailed techniques recommended by MSP seem not to be flexible enough to handle a strategy evolving over time as the business environment changes.

For the rest I agree with you that the processes in most organisations destroy more value than they create.

]]> Comment on Enterprise 2.0 for knowledge management? by Leanne Fry http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/enterprise-2-0-for-knowledge-management/comment-page-1#comment-21 Leanne Fry Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:48:28 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=365#comment-21 Hi Paul, Thanks for the comment and the reference on your blog. One of the guiding principles we had is to target business processes. I've always used this when implementing toolsets that have broad general applicability - I established it as my mantra when I worked on an intranet development and rollout many years ago. It keeps you grounded. It's a rare person who won't give you a hearing if your objective is to save them time, cut costs, prevent them making errors, and simplify their activities. As I've run a profit centre it resonates with me! And interestingly enough, even with such a focus, plenty of 'soft' benefits around culture, transparency and communication are well served. So I've worked with web tools to drive improvement in a number of teams over the years - finance, legal, customer service, HR, IT, communications, marketing, product management. I'm currently working with Raymond Young on the governance area. Cheers Hi Paul, Thanks for the comment and the reference on your blog.
One of the guiding principles we had is to target business processes. I’ve always used this when implementing toolsets that have broad general applicability – I established it as my mantra when I worked on an intranet development and rollout many years ago. It keeps you grounded.
It’s a rare person who won’t give you a hearing if your objective is to save them time, cut costs, prevent them making errors, and simplify their activities. As I’ve run a profit centre it resonates with me! And interestingly enough, even with such a focus, plenty of ‘soft’ benefits around culture, transparency and communication are well served.
So I’ve worked with web tools to drive improvement in a number of teams over the years – finance, legal, customer service, HR, IT, communications, marketing, product management. I’m currently working with Raymond Young on the governance area.
Cheers

]]> Comment on Deficiencies with programme/portfolio management? by Jed Simms http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/practiceareas/deficiencies-with-programmeportfolio-management/comment-page-1#comment-18 Jed Simms Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:05:03 +0000 http://www.e8consulting.com/blog/?p=418#comment-18 The new Project Delivery Science™ addresses the issues above; tightly linking strategy and projects/programs, building the necessary governance, portfolio and program skills within the requisite processes. Our research over the past 20 decades, conducted on real projects not articles, has found that the processes currently in use by most organisations destroy more value than they deliver. They are just not value delivery focused. We cannot blame the project managers as the organisations themselves need to take the lead and manage their portfolios, programs and projects effectively to directly implement strategy. But Prince2, MSP, PMBOK and other methodologies do not deal with these aspects and leave huge gaps in the processes that allow the available value to fall through. The new Science, to be launched in September 2009, addresses these concerns and, for the first time, fully equips all levels of the organization, up to and including the Board, to perform their roles effectively, knowing what to do, when and why. Using the new Science we have consistently doubled the realised returns from projects. Now that's a start! The new Project Delivery Science™ addresses the issues above; tightly linking strategy and projects/programs, building the necessary governance, portfolio and program skills within the requisite processes.
Our research over the past 20 decades, conducted on real projects not articles, has found that the processes currently in use by most organisations destroy more value than they deliver. They are just not value delivery focused.
We cannot blame the project managers as the organisations themselves need to take the lead and manage their portfolios, programs and projects effectively to directly implement strategy. But Prince2, MSP, PMBOK and other methodologies do not deal with these aspects and leave huge gaps in the processes that allow the available value to fall through.
The new Science, to be launched in September 2009, addresses these concerns and, for the first time, fully equips all levels of the organization, up to and including the Board, to perform their roles effectively, knowing what to do, when and why.
Using the new Science we have consistently doubled the realised returns from projects. Now that’s a start!

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