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Refocusing Projects Onto Business Value, Part 13 Business Leadership

“Senior management support” is one of the top-3 requirements of project success. But in most cases the senior management does not know what to do.

"Senior management support" is one of the top-3 requirements of project success. But in most cases the senior management does not know what to do.

Projects don't exist for their own sake, they exist to advance and benefit your organization. And projects can't achieve this effectively without the active and informed involvement of the organization. Our research has shown that without effective business leadership and involvement, the value realized from projects is reduced by at least 50%.

All of the research on project success finds the need for "Senior management support" as one of the top-3 requirements. But in most cases the senior management does not know what to do or how to do it.

Business project leadership is not intuitive. It requires knowledge of how to manage and contribute to each value delivery process effectively.

Value delivery management requires projects to be business led and driven. It requires more than business 'involvement', it requires active business leadership, ownership, and commitment. This, in turn, requires an uncommon level of understanding of the value delivery processes.

You'll find that when you equip your executives with the information, knowledge, and processes they need to execute their value delivery roles, the returns from projects increase exponentially.

All projects are about changing and improving the business. They need, therefore, to be actively led by an informed and equipped business leadership team in order to maximise their value. If the business leadership is absent or misaligned, it will immediately reduce the delivered value.

Business management must understand their role in — and contribution to — projects.

Comment on our blog at valuedeliverymanagement.com


Click here for the twelfth article in this the series "Refocusing Projects Onto Business Value, Part 12: Project Governance"

Click here for the first article in this the series "Refocusing Projects onto Business Value, Part I: The Need".

Jed Simms is CIO magazine's weekly project management columnist. Simms, founder of projects and benefits delivery research firm Capability Management, is also the developer of specialized project management and project governance Web site www.project-sponsor.com

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