Monday 25 October 2010

Are you adding value?

There was lots of press this weekend about job stability in the UK. Many people working in the service industry (public and private sector) are concerned about losing the jobs or not having their contracts renewed. It has made me think about the criteria I use for continuing to use contractor resources.

The harsh reality is that doing your job is not enough. Fulfilling the job description is just the minimum requirement that I expect from everyone, its what I am paying for. It's the added value that makes you indispensable. To me, added value means delivering new ideas, improvements to existing processes and the way in which business is conducted. Its an attitude of continual improvement of what you deliver and how you deliver it. It implies a forward momentum in the role, and a commitment to the future.

These innovations and improvements are delivered via projects, so alongside the skills and experience for which you were originally hired, there is an implied demand for project management skills. Your ability to deliver improvements on time, on or under budget and in a way that meets or exceeds requirements makes you an invaluable resource. If you want to keep yourself up to date on what is happening in project management, have a look at the white papers on www.mavencapability.co.uk/resources.html - I hope you find the information helpful, and please email me your comments and views.

Monday 18 October 2010

Focus on Portfolio Management

Portfolio management is the new arrival in the project management world. Portfolio management provides the structure for merging all projects, programmes and change initiatives at the organisational level, so that the total impact of change can be understood and the total cost and overall level of risk can be calculated.

This is certainly an idea whose time has come as the volume of projects and changes taking place in any organisation at any one time has grown to such a level that everyone is involved in projects to some degree.

The October edition of Project magazine is dedicated to portfolio management and there are some useful articles. One of the most interesting comments was that "A portfolio management role is a great way to get a broader perspective on your company or business activities; understanding 'what' you deliver and 'how' it is delivered really contributes towards your business goals, objectives and success."

Maven are often asked by Project and Programme managers how they can develop their careers and understanding portfolio management is a relevant starting point. There will be a new course and set of exams available in the new year but if you want get ahead of the curve, download our paper on portfolio management and let us know what you think - www.mavencapability.co.uk/resources

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