PM World Today Editorial
November/December 2005
Editorial | Viewpoints | Papers | Case Studies | Tips & Techniques | Community |Scene | Publications
WHO ARE THE TRUE LEADERS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
An editorial by Hugh Woodward
Declaring itself to be the “foremost authority in project management”, PMI published the names of 50 people it selected as “The PMI Power 50” in the October 2005 edition of PM Network, and declared a hope that the list would “inspire spirited discussion around what a true leader in project management is, does, and achieves”.
Leaving aside PMI’s dubious claim to be the “foremost authority in project management” for the moment, the list itself is quite curious. For a start, it is heavily biased to Americans. Only seven of the 50 individuals reside outside North America, and one hails from Canada. The preponderance of names on the list represent large corporations: Hewlett-Packard Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., McKesson Corp., Microsoft Corp., Nokia Corp., and Siemens AG, among others.
Not surprisingly, the PMI Corporate Council is well represented. 15 of 21 current members of the Council are listed. PMI charges a significant fee for membership in the Corporate Council.
The selection of Marsha Evans of the American Red Cross is especially curious, given that the organization has been criticized sharply for its response to Hurricane Katrina. Evans has since resigned her position. Charles D. Connor, senior vice president for communications and marketing, denied her resignation was related to Hurricane Katrina, but stated the Board "had some concerns on the frequency and quality of her coordination and communication with the board over several months”, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The selection of William Hannigan of AT&T is also surprising, given the acquisition of AT&T by SBC Communications announced in January. William Hannigan, the President and COO of the former AT&T (PMI incorrectly identified him as the President and CEO), has not been appointed to the Senior Management Team for the new AT&T.
We question the choice of Ken Blanchard, author of the One Minute Manager, not widely regarded as a successful approach to project management. Similarly, Marshall Goldsmith, author of The Leader of the Future, is better known for his executive coaching than his understanding of project management. And we wonder why Computer Associates appears on the list in view of the accounting scandal and flurry of class action lawsuits that forced the resignation of Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Kumar.
We do not dispute PMI’s right to name whomever it likes to “The PMI Power 50”, even if it favors advertisers in PMI’s publications and members of the PMI Corporate Council. We jealously guard our own editorial autonomy. But we are at a loss to explain the absence of a number of pioneers who made the headlines in 2005.
For example, it seems to us that Dr. Russ Archibald and Dr. Alan Stretton should be on anybody’s list of leaders in project management as recipients of the first honorary degrees ever awarded in project management. Archibald is the co-author of Network Based Management Information Systems (PERT/CPM), a Fellow and certified Project Management Professional (PMP) of PMI, a Fellow of the Association of Project Management (APM), and is listed in Who's Who in the World. 50 years after co-developing PERT, Archibald still travels widely promoting project management.
Stretton established the first academic program in project management in Australia (at the University of Technology Sydney) and one of the first in the world. He was Chairman and later Director of the PMI Standards Committee from 1989 to 1992, and continued as a member of the Committee until 1996 when the first edition of the PMBOK Guide was published. He was a member of the Steering Committee for development of the National Competency Standards for Project Management, which were endorsed by the Australian Government, also in 1996. He was the first to use Critical Path Method in a commercial context in Australia, helping to secure recognition for Civil and Civic as the leading Australian project management organization.
Archibald and Stretton were awarded the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy in Strategy, Programme and Project Management by ESC-Lille in August.
We looked in vain for Martin Barnes, who invented the concept now known as the “triple constraint” while teaching a course entitled Time and Money in Contract Control at Manchester University in the UK. 45 years later, Barnes is still active in project management serving as President of APM. He is also a founding member of the Association, an honorary fellow and past chairman.
We looked in vain for Adesh Jain, President of Project Management Associates and the first President of IPMA from outside Europe. He was also the host of the recent IPMA World Congress in New Delhi. Drawing 1245 delegates from 63 countries, it was the first IPMA World Congress held outside Europe and the biggest by far.
And we looked in vain for Hiroshi Tanaka, newly elected President of the Project Management Association of Japan (PMAJ). Tanaka is the founder and National President of the Japan Project Management Forum (JPMF), fellow and special project management delegate of ENAA, Japan, and clearly one of the distinguished leaders of the global PM community.
There are of course many others who are driving the practice of project management to new applications and achievements. They do not all work for major corporations in North America. In fact, we argue most do not. But they deserve to be recognized and honored nevertheless.
We accept PMI’s invitation to engage in a “spirited discussion” about the “true leader(s) in project management”. And we invite you to join us. Please submit your nominations to the Editor of pmforum.org. We will collate and publish the nominations in a future Editorial.
Hugh Woodward is the President and Managing Editor of pmforum.org, and an
internationally recognized leader of the project management profession.
He served two terms as Chair of the Project Management Institute and almost
six years as a member of PMI's Board of Directors. His professional experience
includes projects and programs in manufacturing, construction and IT, and
involving both the public and private sectors. He continues to promote the
profession as a frequent conference speaker, having addressed audiences
in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Express your views on any PM World Today matter with a Letter to the Editor.
Letters to the Editor are readers comments and observations on the Editorial, Viewpoint Columns, articles, papers or other notices of PM happenings appearing in the monthly issues of the Project Management World Today.
Send a Letter to the Editor!
Read the Letters to the Editor
Editorial Policy: The PMFORUM® has no connection to any national or international project management organization nor does it reflect the policy of any project management professional or commercial organization. The PMFORUM® maintains an objective and impartial view of project management affairs. In the interests of advancing professional project management the PMFORUM® will publish contending and objective views on issues that reflect collegial differences and perspectives