文/William G. Smillie 译/赵克琛

作者简介：William G. Smillie系IBM公司业务咨询服务部门学习与知识集团的合伙人。IBM业务咨询服务部门的总部座落于美国纽约州阿蒙克市，是一家全球范围的咨询机构，它拥有超过40000名专业咨询人员。Smillie的职责主要包括思想领导和最优方法的创新工作，用以改善工程与项目管理的绩效。

现在，对工程与项目管理工作的投入正在变得越来越高。越来越多的公司已经开始将业务变革视为工程或者项目，并用项目管理的方法来运做。公司管理层和董事会逐渐意识到，将技术与最佳实践流程结合会产生巨大而有竞争力的利益。实际上，我们在IBM业务咨询服务部门的实践中发现，如果没有一个清楚并且强烈的商业目标，我们的客户是不会对项目进行投资的。

过去，许多传统的项目通常关注于在已有环境和运营条件下的执行工作。然而，业务转型的新趋势却以各种新的形式挑战着项目经理们。所以，现在我们必须要引领具有重大意义的组织变革的过程并提出价值主张。为了迎接这些挑战，项目经理们必须在以下的三个重要的领域提高自己的才能。

首先，我们必须管理项目干系人的承诺。回报越高，需要改变的现状就越多，或者几乎是要重新定义从the status quo。人和组织具有一种抗拒变革的天性，所以，根据项目的总体管理策略来帮助设计并执行变革的计划就成了我们的工作，然而，这些管理层的支持者却依靠我们来建议如何开展变革的计划并且有效反馈进展。在很多情况下，如果我们不把管理者变成变革执行团队的组成部分的话，我们同样无法完成这项工作。

其次，我们必须认识到商业利益的重要性。需要变革的方面越多，我们在取得预期商业利益中所面临的挑战越大。商业利益较少强调技术特性，而通常比较重视那些产生和管理商业产出的新途径。在解决问题和提供建议的工作中，我们必须同时成为商业领袖的顾问。我们必须让项目本身更多的关注于能够促使项目首先上马的商业价值，并且管理项目的成果以支持商业目标。

最后，我们需要在管理层和董事会进行有效的沟通。对项目支持的力度必须与回报的多寡相匹配。现在的业务转型项目的状态报告要经常被提到管理层的议事日程上来。至少，决策层应该召开月度的项目进展会议。我们在决策层的沟通能力会直接影响到那些影响项目进展的重大决策的及时性和质量。而且，我们传达给项目支持者的并不总是好消息。我们的任务是，告诉他们必须知道的信息，而不完全是他们想要听到的消息，同时，确保他们做出或者批准某些比较艰难的决定。

接下来，一个人将如何去着手开发上述三个领域所提及的才能呢？IBM业务咨询服务部门采用了一种简单而强大的语言来交流这些重要的事情：“成功七要素”。它提供了一种通用的框架来帮助了解重要的工程或项目的健康状况并且指导如何采取必要的纠正措施。

这七要素准确的触及了上述三个领域带来的挑战。这七要素的前两项要素是：“项目干系人承诺”和“商业利益的认识”直接的聚焦于这些挑战。对于高层的沟通来说，这种语言对跨越公司和地域限制的管理层尤其有效。

公司正在进行业务转型，因此，我们作为专业项目管理人员也在进行转型。这种趋势要求我们提高自己的管理技能并且用知识来武装我们自己。那些精通并使用这些技能的项目管理者最终将会成为他们组织和行业里的领军人物。

原文:
　　　　　　IBM Combines Technology With Best Practices

By WILLIAM G. SMILLIE

William G. Smillie is a partner in the Learning & Knowledge group of IBM’s Business Consulting Services, a worldwide consultancy of more than 40,000 professionals based in Armonk, N.Y., USA. Smillie’s responsibilities include thought leadership and best practice initiatives to enhance performance in program and project management.

The stakes are getting higher in program and project management. It is becoming increasingly common for companies to initiate programs or large projects designed to drive business transformation. Executives and share holder boards are realizing the combination of technology and best practice processes can generate huge competitive benefits. In fact, in IBM’s Business Consulting Services practice, we find that our clients won’t invest in projects unless there is clear and compelling business case to do so.

In the past, more traditional projects typically focused on implementations within existing circumstances and operations. However, this newer trend toward business transformation challenges project managers in new ways. We now must shepherd significant organizational change processes and deliver on the value proposition. To live up to this challenge, project managers must increase competencies in at least three significant areas.

First, we must manage stakeholder commitment. The bigger the payback, the more things need to change – almost by definition – from the status quo. People and organizations tend to resist change, so it is our job, than, to help design and execute this program of change according to the overall management strategies of our projects. We cannot do it without the leader ship of executive sponsors, but those same sponsors count on us to advise them on how to proceed and to provide feedback on progress against these plans, In many cases, we cannot do it without change management professionals as an integral part of our team.

Next, we must realize business benefits. The more things need to change, the greater our challenge to achieve the desired business performance. The business benefit often is less about technology features and more about new ways of working and managing business outcomes. In resolving issues and recommending actions, we must be consultants to the business leaders. We must keep the project’s eyes and mind on the business case that drove the project launch in the first place and manage project results that support the business objectives.

Last, We must communicate effectively at the executive and board levels. The degree of project sponsorship must accord with the extent of the payback. Status reports for today’s business transformation projects often can be the stuff of boardroom agendas. At the very least, our monthly progress meetings are likely to be held on the executive floor. Our ability to communicate at the executive level will affect the timeliness and quality of the decisions our projects need to stay on track. And it’s not always happy news that we bring to our sponsors. Our job is to tell them what they need to know, not necessarily what they want to hear, and get them to make or endorse the tough decisions.

How, then, should one go about building competencies in these areas? One important action IBM Business Consulting Services has taken is to adopt a simple but powerful language to discuss these critical issues. Called the “Seven Keys to Success,” it provides a universal framework for understanding critical program or project health issues and for taking the necessary corrective actions.

The Seven Keys gets right to the heart of these three challenges. The first two of the Seven Keys, “Stakeholders Are Committed” and “Business Benefits Will Be Realized,” immediately focus attention on these issues. For senior-level communication, this language is highly effective with business executives across a variety of companies and geographies.

Business transformation is happening to our companies, and therefore, it’s “happening” to us as professionals. This trend demands that we sharpen our skills and re-equip our personal toolkit. Those who master these skills will become leaders in their companies and leaders in their professions.

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