Trying To Get It All Done? Focus On: Project & Change Management

Cascade is offering a new and innovative four-part course on Project and Change Management, beginning February 1st.  Instructor Donald Nagle teaches with a practical knowledge as well as extensive personal experience. The post below is his vision of what the current reality is, and how he can teach class participants to succeed by completing the projects that they are working on right now.

Does the following situation sound familiar?

You have just been asked to manage a key project at work. The outcomes will benefit your company, and expectations are high. Unfortunately, supplemental resources for the project are low. There is no budget for outside consultants, and everyone who will help must squeeze their support in and around their day jobs, as will you. Finally, the culture at your company is one of speed – move fast and solve problems day-to-day– in which documenting how things should work is perceived at best as a “nice to have” and at worst as a waste of time.

In a small business environment, projects often add to the workload and a sense of stress. Individuals who serve as project managers may feel that “if only I had more support or resources then I could make things happen.”

• What do you do in this situation?
• What steps can you take to organize and structure the project in a formal sense?
• What may you ask of others in terms of their commitment?
• To what degree are you able to articulate what truly must happen for the project to succeed?

Your leadership has recognized that you are in the right position to manage the effort. They want you to succeed. One of your first responsibilities will be to determine what you can do to increase the likelihood of success in the context of your specific environment.

We will talk about launching projects in the above context, building a shared understanding of “what success looks like”, creating a situation-appropriate level of formal project management and oversight, and engaging stakeholders early with a proven change management approach.

This hands-on workshop emphasizes pragmatic realities while providing foundational understanding. Key to the learning environment will be that each participant comes prepared to discuss a recent, current, or likely future project and to ask questions of one another. Finally, you will have the opportunity to incorporate concepts and tools from the workshop into your project, making an immediate impact at work.

Donald Nagle

Interested in participating and completing a project? Register today!