The following article, by Richard L. Zdunkewicz of Acclaim Energy Advisors, should give us all pause, as we ponder our energy costs going forward.  With the increasing dependence on natural gas for electric power generation, is it time to reconsider changing the way you buy, consume, and most importantly waste the energy you are paying for? 

Wherever you come down on the science, politics, or social impact of global energy consumption, it is indisputable that organizations that improve the ratio of production-to-energy consumed improve their bottom line.  If they operate for profit, this is real ownership value and if they are a government agency or not-for-profit they can turn dollars saved into improved service delivery.  How big is the opportunity? The EPA reports that American business wastes 30% of the energy they consume¹.

As organization change practitioners for more than 35 years, we have witnessed admitted failures, claimed successes and, least often, real change that matters in a competitive marketplace. If we were to develop a scoresheet for these projects, it would have three major elements:

1. Change Project Delivery
2. Stickiness of the Change
3. Agility or the Ability to Keep Changing

I just finished reading my copy of 2014 Pulse of the Profession® by the Project Management Institute (PMI).   This year’s edition is subtitled “The High Cost of Low Performance.” Mulling over the content, it struck us that as a company whose offering is based on driving organization change through project delivery, we should take a fresh look at how we interact with our customers.  Further, as we looked at the offering, could the various delivery models improve our customers’ performance and therefore reduce cost and improve profitability?

The table below reflects the results of our assessment.  We focused on four delivery approaches based on our clients’ requirements to deliver change in the short term and on the need to improve project performance strategically for the long haul. 

(Abstract from Take Control of Your Project - Using Expectation Alignment to Avoid IT Project Failure by Terry Merriman, PCO Associates LLC)

Whether large or small, IT projects are complex change events. They need cross-functional collaboration between two or more departments or teams. Their success or failure reverberates throughout the organization and often impacts customers. Countless studies and papers on reasons for IT Project Failure cite two critical factors:

1. Poor interpersonal communications
2. Lack of professional project management

The Change Activation Toolkit is a learning and implementation resource that solves the engagement & awareness challenges with innovative resources that boost organizational change capability & promote positive change behaviors. 

This document outlines the key ways in which the Change Activation Toolkit offers organizations a compelling value proposition and substantial return on investment.

Summary

In this paper using the needs of regional grocery chains, we state our case for turning the usual rollout of a project management system on its head.  In the typical rollout organizations focus on process first, then enforcing that process on existing activity and finally they develop training to develop new project managers and other participants.  The assumption is “Build it and results will come.” Unfortunately business results don’t always come, and the business is left with an administrative system that can’t justify itself.  We propose a new deployment approach that starts with finding and developing the right people, focuses project reviews on business results, and then develops the supporting planning and execution processes.  Finally with our focus on starting with people, we define the roles required to make this work.