I came across a recent article titled, “Five Lessons on Project Management for the Finance Industry” by Andreas Tremel and it was advised to “Think Like a Project Manager”. The article said, “A financial manager is often an expert in his field who can not only create and oversee financial reports and strategies, but also manage risky investments extremely well. However, besides the ‘technical’ aspect, a project also needs a manager who has the necessary soft skills to lead the team and ultimately the organization to success. Projects are inherently people driven, and so is finance. The numbers are important, but it is the people you have to deal with. Adopting the right project management methods can help you increase efficiency organization-wide, from integration management to trade financing to customer management.”
Interesting, but I would add Project Managers are in the unenviable position of balancing between the often insatiable demands from the customers – for example, more features, higher quality, shorter time and lower cost and the supply, which is people and other resources which are depletable and often scarce. People are especially finicky as a resource; we get tired, we need time offs, we want to be rewarded, and we can walk away. Successful project managers know how to use incentives to motivate people, manage supply and demand to balance workload, and oversee the project finances to make sure the sponsors and customers are happy stakeholders.
There’s a comprehensive article written by by Thomas A. Tarnow almost two decades ago yet still holds prudent today titled, “Thirteen easy steps to implement project management into a financial firm”. It’s important to stay mindful Project management is a growing and complex discipline, which needs to be developed, implemented and managed to work efficiently and optimally. Here at PMO Advisory we hold a monthly workshop designed for the uninitiated (financial services professionals) to master Project Management – accelerating the learning of the secrets to effective Project Management. The workshop is a combination of presentation of principles and practice, discussions and group work with simulations – where financial services professionals can in a single day, ascend the ladder of understanding “project management”. Click here to learn about this 1 day workshop that’s offered monthly. – Prof. Dr. Te Wu, the founder Project Management training firm PMO Advisory is among the few people in the world certified in Project (PMP), Program (PgMP), Portfolio (PfMP), and Risk Management (PMI-RMP).