Learning Leader

"Managing Benefits": why this is a critical new contribution

Yesterday I was at Millbank House for the launch of Stephen Jenner's new book, "Managing Benefits: Optimizing the Return from Investments", a book I had the opportunity of reviewing, pre-publication. The book, commissioned by APM Group, will be the source reference for a new set of qualifications.

The book is at first a challenging read, stretching the reader to consider subjects as diverse as management accounting, change management and psychological research. However, I believe Steve has got it broadly right. The challenge he has identified is for organisation - public or private - to challenge the received wisdom that over time costs always must go up and benefits must go down.

Here is a video I put together about how I see this contribution to the field:

If readers and delegates approach this as a simple "how to" guide with a single process and set of supporting techniques, then they will be disappointed. Rather it is a body of knowledge for leaders to attack the dreadful waste that seems endemic in the programme/project portfolios in most organisations. There is an opportunity here to challenge received wisdom and received behaviours that start with over-optimistic plans, and end with quiet denial that benefits are not being realised.I believe the book is mis-titled: it should be "Leading Benefits Realisation", but I guess this is market branding issue.

I am convinced that this is more of a cultural challenge than a technical one.

APM Group are offering a Foundation qualification. We are already signed up to this and will be offering our unique approach to bringing this subject to life as well as getting our clients qualified. Anyone booking on this course gets a copy of Steve's book as well as the exam registration and our material.

 

Leading Change in a VUCA World

I am just back from India, where I gave a presentation in Bangalore last Friday, at the APMG International Showcase. I spoke at this event two years ago on P3O. I couldn't help but notice that the attendance was much stronger there this year. There was a genuine buzz about the various offerings among APM Group qualifications.

I was given the choice of topics, and I elected to speak on the critically importance of Change Management and about some of the results pearcemayfield have seen through our own programmes. Whilst in Bangalore afterwards, and later in Delhi, I was able to record, edit and upload a version onto YouTube:

 

Generally in India, qualifications are valued more highly than in the UK, and the feedback from people I spoke to afterwards was no exception. India is also where the PMP qualification is dominant: 95% PMP compared to 5% PRINCE2, but there is an acceptance that the two are complementary, where PMP is more comprehensive in techniques, and PRINCE2 goes deeper in governance.

My concern is that change leadership is still pretty marginal to both, but we do highlight this in our own PRINCE2 training courses.

And "VUCA"? Well, check out the video, and let me know what you think.