People... They can make a project successful, or they can make it a certain failure, without intentionally trying to do either. The history of project management is filled with case after case of project failures. Poor sponsorship, unclear objectives, lack of commitment, employee resistance to change, unprepared business users, weak project leadership, poor team dynamics, and poor planning for the change management activities are the top reasons why projects fail. How do you navigate a project through organizational politics? How do you effectively work with key stakeholders? How do you implement effective project governance? How do you engage and work with the project sponsor? How do you get the business ready? How do you become a credible leader? How do you get the project team to work like a team? How do you deal with conflict? How do you plan for project resources, and bring them on board? How do you understand and capitalize on people's motivations? All of these are people-related issues. A project may have the greatest technology, the most knowledgeable team, and a fantastic budget. Even with all of this, when the "people side" of a project is ignored, under-budgeted or considered "fluff", the likelihood of the project being less than successful increases. As experienced project managers, the tools we offer have been forged in the white hot furnace of large-scale change projects. They are strong, they are appropriate for the task, and they are effective. We invite you to use them.
About the Author: Mariette Keshishian and Patricia Walkow each have over 25 years of experience in Information Technology and Change Management Mariette Keshishian's experience includes managing large-scale technology implementation and change projects. She currently owns and operates a management consulting firm specializing in implementation of strategic change. Ms. Keshishian earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Computer Sciences from San Diego State University in 1984, and received her MBA from the University of La Verne in 1987. She also completed Delivering Information Services program at Harvard Business School in 2002. She is alumnae of the Leadership California program. She is a past guest lecturer at UCLA, California State Polytechnic University, and various conferences. Ms. Keshishian currently lives in Glendale, California and can be reached at m.keshishian@actiumconsulting.com Patricia Walkow's experience ranges from systems development, software product support, technical training, and managing the systems implementations from a technical perspective as well as from mitigating the impact to people. She has worked in the electric utility, health care, and banking industries and owns and operates a consulting firm focused on managing the human side of technology implementation. Ms. Walkow earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College, a Master of Arts from Lehigh University, a certificate in Change Management from University of California at Los Angeles, and a certificate in HR Management from California Polytechnic Institute at Pomona. She is a member of the Board of Directors of a community organization that promotes local businesses, and is editor of its quarterly publication, Corrales MainStreet News. Residing in Corrales, New Mexico with her husband, Ms. Walkow can be reached at patricia.walkow@walkowconsulting.com.