The challenge of project management is getting management to do what is in the companies best interest instead of their own. The longer I spend in this business the more I realize the biggest problem with American business is middle management.
Middle management is one of the very stubborn, selfish groups that tend to protect turf even at the expense of the employees, workers, company and stockholders. All in all, it’s the fear of change that drives these people. I’d like to say that middle management is a different breed but the reality is that they are just like the rest of us. No matter how bad the current situation, we prefer the known to the unknown of change.
The problem with working for the government is that it seems the whole country Monday morning quarterbacks every decision made. Why was it the responsibility of the FEMA director to provide search and rescue during the recent hurricane crisis in the south. It seems to be lost on most people complaining that this was the same FEMA director who managed, with the help of Florida state and local governments, the 3 hurricane triple whammy of the recent past.
So the question becomes, why was he so competent just a few years ago but is so bad now that he was forced to resign? The answer could be in risk management of the overall project. The question of risk management must take into account the real failures of others that can impact your project. Like the FEMA director, he relied on everyone else to be competent to get the job done. Instead however, he ended up with a dysfunctional state and city government that caused his project mandate to fail Never ever forget the importance of risk management in designing your project.