Any organization that wishes to innovate must be able to develop new products. The ability to develop new ideas, and new products in particular, can be stimulated and increased systemically by addressing the “cognitive limits” of the organization using the Thinking Processes from the Theory of Constraints. The capacity to continuously innovate has become a […]
Every Project is a System – Don’t Ignore these Systemic Principles for Effective Project Management
This week we delivered an over-subscribed webinar for the Project Management Institute (PMI) global platform. It is always a privilege to address people in many different countries on such a vital subject matter. Project Management affects every single one of us, as citizens and consumers. Today’s post introduces some critical concepts when it comes to effective […]
Increasing Productivity and Capacity with What Your Organization Has Now
It’s not a trick, a gimmick or a quick fix recipe. It’s a way of thinking, a mindset; some would go as far as saying it’s a way of being. The revolutionary nature of Goldratt’s approach to Project Management often gets lost. In this post, we look at just one of the crucial aspects that […]
Buffer Money -Radically Protecting Projects
Today’s post is by our Founder, Dr. Domenico Lepore. We have been writing extensively about the benefits of a design that mirrors the inherent project nature of the work of any organization. We call it the ‘Network of Projects’ organization design. The steps to build a Network of Projects organization are: 1) Recognizing that organizations are Systems, Networks of […]
Give Up Busy – Choose Productive
Being busy is considered by many to be a virtue. People may be giving their businesses 200% of effort. But in reality, being busy as you work through a shopping list of “to do” tasks can be the opposite of virtuous. How? Because it can lead to wasting time on the wrong things, unproductive multi-tasking […]
A Project-Based Organization to Radically Improve Performance
Competencies not power, common goal instead of function/silo results, these are the elements of an organization built on projects. We all know that what matters is the global (overall) bottom line of any organization. And yet, when we measure performance, we connect it with functional, i.e. silo results. How do we come out of this seemingly irreconcilable conflict? We […]
Hierarchy and Silos – How they Hurt Project Management
Even with the best Project Management, hierarchy and silos will interfere with outcomes. In this post we look at why that is and how Project Management itself is the answer. If you Google the term ‘Project Management’ you will hundreds of millions of results. It is a multi-billion dollar business and there are official institutes that […]
What is a Project Manager?
The term Project Manager is much abused. We look at a precise definition of what Project Manager means in a systemic organization, where projects make up the nervous system of the organization. An organization is essentially a network of projects with a goal An organization is essentially a network of projects with a goal. There are projects that […]
Network Thinking: Changing How We see the World
Adopting a network perspective changes how we see the world and our place in it. In this post we look at how that applies to organizations and their design. Revolutions in thought have been part of our human development, from Copernicus’ unveiling how the sun does not revolve around the earth to Darwin’s theory of evolution, […]
Team of Teams- A Systems View
Teams are at the core of successful work in organizations. Very few things can be accomplished by individuals. There is increasing talk about teams. Inspiring work has been done in military environments, as illustrated through the book Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal. But what is a team? How do you choose the members, and […]