Project Management is of fast growing importance to organizations whether large or small because it deals effectively with the management of change. As a small business owner you know that your business environment is changing all the time. As a business owner that successful project management is all about setting and achieving reasonable and attainable goals. In business, project management is an art, a skill, and a demanding full-time job. The fact of the matter is that project management is a human issue of people needing to work together. And you as the business owner are the leader when it comes to project management.
Project management is about being able to create transparency and build trust. It’s about finding solutions that help each team member be better in what they are doing while building teamwork. Project management tracks actual progress against the goals and timelines set forth before the project even began. This permits a better understanding of whether you should adjust your strategy, staffing, or timelines in light of the way in which the project is developing.
Project management has come into its own in recent years. A project manager can do some very useful things. Balancing limited labor, materials, and other resources is a difficult task. And eventually you are going to need people that can do that on a consistent basis. For as your business grows so too will your projects. And as your own tasks become even more varied you’re going to need good project managers because you won’t always be able to look over their shoulders. You’ve got to be able to trust that they can deliver what you promised to someone. And for whoever you task with delivering a project “on time and under budget” they can expect a great deal of job satisfaction assuming that you also recognize their good work. The job offers the opportunity to lead, and new projects keep the work fresh and challenging.
Typically, projects are managed by focusing on the delivery of the tasks that make up the project, in the seemingly reasonable belief that if these tasks are done on time, the project will be done on time as well. No wonder project management is such a challenging endeavor. Protecting the value of a project involves dealing with the uncertainty that will be associated with its delivery. The role of project management is to assist in turning uncertain events and efforts into certain outcomes and promises. The project manager has a lot of responsibility thrust upon him or her. But hopefully with experience will come consistent success. For many businesses the types of projects encountered are similar. If you build houses for a living then each house you build will be unique in its own ways but it will share many similarities with other houses you’ve already built. If you capitalize on that experience then you should have many more successes.
