Executive Management

1. Chartering the Program, Project or Group

A charter informs an organization that management is committed to a particular program, project, or organization. The charter confirms an organization’s business status and clarifies future goals. It is a formal announcement that high-level management supports your efforts and not only approves of a program but expects it to succeed - and the entire company takes note.

2. Using the Project Initiation Memo (PIM) to Manage Business Partner Relationships

Projects are never isolated management initiatives.  Directly and indirectly they impact other organizations.  Occasionally, these external organizations are business partners. From the systems perspective, business partners exist as components of the larger business environment and as components of the project.  These projects interact with business partners as a component of an overall process in a way intended to add value to the enterprise.

3. Using the Charter to Certify Operational Principles, Part One

Too many charters are so simple and/or focused as to be nonfunctional. These charters may be from one to two pages in length and be well received by executive management because of this brevity.  Reasonably, however, you write a charter to function as the project constitution. You use the charter to resolve misunderstandings, conflicts, and arguments.

4. Using the Charter to Certify Operational Principles, Part Two

I have found that managers tend to overlook the full potential of charters.  In this respect they view it merely as a document of executive sponsorship. But it can be so much more.  Think about your own experience. Can you see the difference a charter would have made in clarifying the conduct of team members from disparate locations?

5. The Art of Specifying Stakeholder Requirements, Part One

The people problem never ends. For example, people problems arise whenever: (a) stakeholders have conflicting needs; (b) the wrong people involve themselves in the requirements cycle, and (c) occasionally, the analyst gets the wrong requirements and defines the wrong specifications.  Beyond these human generated situations, RA is further impacted by the problem of change and the associated problem of creeping requirements.

6. The Art of Specifying Stakeholder Requirements, Part Two

The paradoxical nature of requirements arises from the evolutionary nature of human discovery and insight.  Innovation is never satisfied. Always! To overcome this counterintuitive insight about requirements, RA and engineers develop a range of deliverables as products, i.e., models, for each level of stakeholder.

7. Establishing the Executive Agenda

Senior level executives do many things - strategic planning, operational management, public relations, marketing, and so forth.  Although their duties may vary considerably from one company to another, every executive is concerned about profitably and performance.  Regardless of the focus of the project implemented, executives focus on the bottom line of performance and profitably - at least indirectly if not directly.

8. Using the Agenda Concept to Work Successfully with Executives

I wrote this series to enhance your proficiency in communicating with executives.  Here I introduce structure in establishing the executive agenda and formalizing relationships with executives.  This E-Book is particularly appropriate for project managers, unit managers, and those working with senior executives.

9. Summarizing the Executive Agenda Process

This E-Book series explores the executive agenda building process from concept to commitment.  I wrote this series to enhance your proficiency in communicating with executives.  Here I introduce structure in establishing the executive agenda and formalizing relationship building with executives.  This course is particularly appropriate for project managers, organization managers, and others having to work with senior executives.

10. The Executive Art of Enabling the Values and Beliefs of Teams

I wrote this E-Book to improve your project initiation skills by introducing an appropriate project initiation methodology and formalizing planning for project initiation.  This E-Book series is particularly intended for project managers, organization managers, and executives.

11. Using the Executive Agenda Building Process to Increase Executive Management Productivity

I wrote this series to improve your proficiency in communicating with executives.  Here I introduce structure to establish the executive agenda and formalize relationships with executives. This E-Book is particularly appropriate for project managers, organization managers, and others having to work with senior executives.