Learnings from the PMO (Part I of II)

It’s been one year after the MBA and one year of managing a PMO. For the uninitiated, the PMO or the Program Management Office is the nodal agency in a business unit that enables the unit to function as a single business with a common vision and direction. Ok, I came up with that on the fly and much better definitions are available on the web. But as you read more about PMO implementations it becomes clear that every single PMO implementation is different and adjusted to suit the need of that business.

The aim of this post is albeit not to discuss about PMO implementations but to give a glimpse of what I have learned in this business function in the last one year. So here are my Top 5 business lessons learnt -

1. Out of sight, Out of mind
2. Know where vs Nowhere
3. 80/20 Rules! (Pun intended)
4. Third time lucky
5. People vs Resources (Employee view vs Management view)
0. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Out of sight, Out of mind

Work that gets done by managers can be usually classified into three buckets; transactional, tactical and strategic based on the impact of these actions. The transactional are the daily activities, the hygiene factors. It is quite noticeable if you are not acting on them. Tactical or actions with medium term impact take up the remaining time. Strategic issues take up the least share of their time. Unfortunately these activities are the ones that will bring in maximum impact in the longer term. This again is one of the top reasons for organizations to act late or worse not act on disruptive ideas. Thus there is a compelling reason for organizations to keep regular track items of strategic importance and actively manage their future at every level. Because out of sight is out of mind!

Know where vs Nowhere

Achievement is a comparison of where you are to where you wanted to be. So in order to say that you have achieved something, usually you measure against preset goals. In business as in life having preset goals helps especially if they look seemingly impossible today. Goals give motivation and a sense of purpose. Setting goals right though is an art as it has to seem difficult to reach but also seem to be in the realm of the possible. This is where the rules of the experienced thumbs play their part. The best managers/ leaders are those who have mastered this art and are able to carry their flock towards their audacious looking goals. So set your goals right and set sail and you may well reach the moon and beyond! Bon voyage.

To be continued...