Comments on: Engagement Management vs. Project Management

By: Engagement of a project manager « Ullizee

Engagement of a project manager « Ullizee — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:04:29 +0000

[...] by the term ‘Engagement Manager’ I ran into a great blog post that essentially states that a Project Manager must be involved in Sales. And Legal, technology, [...]

By: Brad Egeland

Brad Egeland — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:14:11 +0000

Przemek- I agree completely. The PM usually does not need to be an ‘expert’ in the industry. However, they must be an experienced PM or in the process of being mentored while on the project – especially if it is a large project or critical project. And as you already know, I share your frustrations with the PM and PM org often being completely separated from the sales process.

By: Przemek

Przemek — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:59:33 +0000

Yes, that is big problem in Construction Industry. I have many problems with costumers/investors during construction activities that somebody from sales department told that this job would be done in this or that way. I have sales background and I know what costumer need. I think that is very important to get PM involved in sales/presales operations. Other problem is that necessary that PM should be specialist in construction, or should he be more manager than specialist?? In my opinion PM shouldn’t be specialist, he should have knowledge about construction, but on which stage should be his knowledge…

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:54:55 +0000

I agree with what you are saying but I believe it only covers one half of the issue. The issue is not only sales making unrealitic promises but it is also project managers cutting sales and account managers out of the engagement once it has actually begun. The premise of your piece of looking into the engangement team as whole is great and I think is how it needs to be looked at, but your focus on only sales cutting out professional service teams is only one symptom of the broader problem. Engangement is not a one time let’s make a sale initiative it is an on going process that includes the entire team of sales, executives, project managers, support through out the life cycle of the engagement of a customer, which if done correctly is hopefully more than just one unique project. This leads to more repeat business, better referals, more maintenance renewals. Project managers need to funnel back to account managers how a project is tracking, any hints of new opportunities, any gaps in customer expectations and what can actually be delivered.

By: Engagement Management in a Professional Services Project « My opinion on things that interest me!

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:23:37 +0000

[...] on a conversation on the Project Manager Networking Group (PMNG) on LinkedIn that was started by this article. The discussion that followed is very interesting and indicated to me that this is a topic that [...]

By: George Pitagorsky

George Pitagorsky — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:03:11 +0000

I fully agree that PM is a part of EM and that letting sales people price projects and promise deadlines more often than not leads to problems for the project. I have written on this subject and you may be interested in reading the article: The Zen of PM™: Engagement Management by George Pitagorsky, PMP published on AllPM.com http://www.allpm.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1475

By: Mike Boyer Smith

Mike Boyer Smith — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:24:44 +0000

Hi Brad,

This is a powerful concept, particularly for service organisations.

I think it’s power comes from the shift in mindset that it requires. It lifts the idea of project management above the basic project delivery level to a realm that is concerned with how the whole organisation delivers true value to it’s customers.

In progressive organisations, this is close to the heart of the organisation’s branding (I’m thinking of businesses like Virgin). Ironically, not many marketing departments (who own branding) have the ability to really project manage the ‘engagement’ successfully from end to end.

Project managers who really appreciate this concept are destined for greatness.

Well done.

By: Kaye

Kaye — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:17:45 +0000

I have just read your piece on Engagement Management which is quite interesting though it does appear close to other disciplines such as business planning/process engineering open planning.

I take issue though with one of the benefits listed “Customers see a standardized and professional engagement
process across all implementations” because a lot of organisations are finding that discriminatory services in addressing their painpoints and touchpoints are particularly beneficial.

By: Ghani Ahsan

Ghani Ahsan — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 04:38:49 +0000

Brad,
Thank you for your explanation. I agree with you completely. Ghani.

By: Brad Egeland

Brad Egeland — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:28:50 +0000

Ghani, I think we may be on the same wavelength. I don’t necessarily mean there has to be a separate ‘Engagement Management’ organization. However, by referring to it as such I was trying to distinguish from a standalone PM organization that is isolated from Sales and the rest of the company’s key units. The PM org needs to be fully integrated into the process of engaging the customer, winning the deal and then acting upon it. By referring to it as Engagement Management I was trying to identify it as more of an Enterprise organization rather than the PM org most of us are used to. One company I worked actually did refer to it as Engagement Management and tried to realize this enterprise position within the organization, but they still missed the mark somewhat.