Project Management Deficiet

The world is facing real Project Managers' supply deficiet. There are lot of PMPs and Prince2 certified professionals claiming to be PMs but don't even know the basics of project management. Result, unneccessary delays in projects all over the world.

Planning is not an inherent human trait, we are very random and unorganized animals; its not inculcated in our DNA. The examples of price that we pay for want of it  shows everywhere- delayed bank work, missed grocery items, unpaid utility bills, missed flights and endless complain about lack of time. The price that we pay in business for lack of planning though is severe, sometimes changes the fortune of the company.

In business, domain expertise is important to became a good project manager. Someone from brick-and-mortar industry won't be able to run an IT project and vice versa. A good project manager can really make a complex project look simple with efficient delegation of task and rigorous tracking. And a bad PM can make a even a simple project look complicated, they are project damagers, and they are omnipresent.

Industry has not yet realized the importance of having a good PM, they are selected randomly and the general perception is that anybody can do this job. Billion dollar worth projects miss their deadlines and enterprises bleed in expensive interest just because the entire thing was poorly planned and managed. Examples of delayed infrastructure projects are everywhere and if its public structures like flyovers, roads or bridges, the endless construction causes lot of pain as well.

Its high time organizations understood the true value of having a good PM and start spending time in training and building PM competency. Nobody wants the PM as the week link, because if that happens, then there is zero chance of success for the project.

Luck- Biggest Success Factor

You see lot of undeserving people doing so very well in life and start to wonder whether all these talk about hardwork, sincerity, creativity and talent holds any relevance. Frequently one sees a brilliant employee, a talented singer and great artist losing out to an average but lucky guy.

No one knows what works in this world; talent is definitely not the guarantee for success. Everything is based on people's perception; an average guy skills may be percieved superior. Sometimes I feel people do not want great work, they dont understand it and feel intimidated and insecure by it. Average becomes good because people can identify and relate with it.

There are filmstars with zero acting talent having bank balance of $100m, singers who can barely sing having millions of followers and sportsmen with lesser talent rated and paid very highly. Luck matters the most. I don't think the maxim 'harder you work, luckier you get' works all the time especially in comparative study.

One needs to be born with luck. There are people who took things casually and they were always at the right place at the right time and made it big without any planning. Life is beautiful for them. While there are others who worked hard and planned well but still struggled in life. Life is tough for them.

Unfortunately Luck can't be bought or learned; either you have it or not. If you are the unfortunate one, being the second best (sometimes last) will always be your best.