Completed the quarterly meeting of the NDIA Integrated Program Management Division, among other commitments the past couple of weeks (hence sparse blogging except on AITS.org), and was most impressed by a presentation given by Ed Miyashiro, Vice President of the Raytheon Company Evaluation Team (RCET). I would say that these are the characteristics, which are those identified as essential in a successful project manager, are needed regardless of area of expertise, taking into account differences of scale.
Master Strategist – Ensures program survival and future growth
Disciplined Manager – Executes contracts under cost, ahead of schedule with technical excellence
Shrewd Business Person – Maximized financial objectives and minimized risk
Engaged Leader – Leads for success up, down and outside the organization
Relationship Cultivator – Maintains and grows relationships across the broad global customer business communities
The third element describes “minimized risk.” This is different than risk aversion or risk avoidance. All human efforts involve risk. I believe that the key is to take educated risks, knowing the probable opportunities.
Life, Project Management, and Everything 