Are you grappling with an unprecedented level of change that is adversely impacting your organization at different levels namely at the enterprise, business unit, or project? Are you trying to make organizational transformations in a chaotic environment? Then this workshop is for you. You will see how the concepts of agile project management were used to find a resolution to seemingly unsolvable problems in a very short time frame.

This workshop looks at how continuous change can hinder the initiation and execution of a project. Change can adversely impact an organization and create a chaotic environment which is difficult to predict and to run projects in. The workshop juxtaposes the Churchill case study and modern projects and looks at the importance of dealing with volatility and change. When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940, it was a period of calamitous change. The workshop examines what he actually did, and how he transformed his organization to turn his perilous situation around. Churchill was a Project Manager as well in the modern sense driving a project to completion.

This workshop examines Churchill as a PM managing the UK in the Summer of 1940. It describes the strategies he took to overcome incredible odds. Not only did he have to stave off an imminent enemy invasion but he had to move the peacetime economy to one that could support a war. This meant acting with incredible agility, understanding the military supply-chain, focusing slender resources on the immediate threat, unifying a disparate economy, and directing its output into immediate military use. With very little time Churchill had to transform his organization. Churchill set up a governance framework that could keep his organization on track with its projects.

Through this interactive workshop, participants will be given a chance to use their skills to tackle some of the most daunting project management problems ever faced by a project team as he walked a "political tightrope." Participants will be introduced to the problems faced by Churchill after the disaster of Dunkirk. You will see how Churchill undertook the seemingly impossible, to deliver a victory in an aggressive three month time frame. The goal is to take away valuable lessons in agility participants can use in their everyday work.

Designed under the Lessons-from-History series, this Best Practice in Project Management Workshop will breathe new life into project management learning. The workshop takes lessons from the historical project and enables you to recognize the parallels in your own organization and projects. You will undertake a range of practical exercises throughout the day enabling you to relate lessons back to your own projects and apply new learning to your own projects.

This fully-interactive one-day workshop incorporates principles from leading project management standards but also demonstrates that successful Project Management does not need sophisticated tools. Upon the successful completion of this workshop, you will be able to better utilize project management and identify warning signs that could take a project off track, and how to counter these.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will learn how the lessons learned from Churchill’s administration can be applied to project management today. Upon the successful completion of this workshop, participants will be able to better utilize project management and the concepts of agility. The workshop juxtaposes this story to modern projects so that participants will know better how to:

• overcome institutionalized resistance to change,
• select the project team,
• continuously challenge preconceived notions,
• manage communications,
• evaluate key technologies,
• prioritize various initiatives,
• institute a transformation across the enterprise,
• use information to enhance decision making,
• use metrics to track and guide the solution.

Entertaining and full of intriguing historical details, the workshop helps project managers to think about the impact of decisions they make every day.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Project Management methodology can be used by a broad range of workers. From coordinators through to middle and senior levels of management, anyone who has ever been tasked with "getting the job done" can benefit from attending these workshops:

• Are you responsible for managing projects in your workplace?
• Do you contribute to project outcomes?
• Are you responsible for transformations in your organization?
• Managers, project managers and members of teams responsible for contributing to project outcomes will all benefit from the insights gained from this unique workshop.

PREREQUISITE

There is no prerequisite for this course. It functions as a stand-alone course.

MATERIALS

You will receive a course binder containing copies of presentation slides and exercises.

Testimonials

This workshop is based on the book Project Management Blunders by Dr. Mark Kozak-Holland. Please watch the brief video below for a description of the case study around which this workshop is centered.

PMP, CAPM, PMI, PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.