Selling Executives on Project Management: A Case Study

Introduction: Levon Corporation's Revenue Decline

Levon Corporation executives were concerned about the company's declining revenues (Kerzner, 2013). The company's employees argued that the decline was due to changing industry trends: contracts were increasingly being awarded on the basis of merit points rather than the lowest-bidder mechanism. Because the company had no project management capability, it kept missing out on key contracts, which affected its revenue stream (Kerzner, 2013). The employees suggested that a project management function be incorporated into the business framework to increase the company's competitiveness. The executives were, however, reluctant to consider this proposal because they believed such a move would disrupt the organization's balance of power (Kerzner, 2013). They reluctantly hired a project management consultant to evaluate the employees' suggestion, but even after the consultant openly demonstrated that the organization was in dire need of a project management department, the executives remained apprehensive (Kerzner, 2013).

Why Executives Listened to the Consultant but Not Their Employees

There are several possible explanations for this. To begin with, since consultants are not part of the organization, they are less likely to be influenced by organizational culture and company politics. As such, they are more likely to give an objective opinion on the issue at hand compared to employees who work within the organization and may have other vested interests (Lientz & Rea, 2003; Russell & McGovern, 2012).

Moreover, a consultant enters as a new member with fresh ideas and fresh perspectives that can be applied to improve other areas of the organization — areas that may also be contributing to the decline in revenues (Lientz & Rea, 2003). In this regard, the consultant plays more than just an advisory role. In addition to giving an informed opinion on whether project management is the best path forward, the consultant draws on their expertise and past experience with other companies to advise management on how responsibilities and duties should be structured under any new arrangement. This ensures there are no overlaps, that lines of authority are clearly defined, and that power-related conflicts among executives and departments are minimized (Lientz & Rea, 2003).

Why Executives Remained Apprehensive After the Consultant's Presentation

The consultant was not sufficiently convincing given the executives' degree of reluctance. He began his presentation by highlighting how misinformed the company executives were about its financial performance, which immediately created a disconnect between himself and his audience. He then compounded this problem by failing to address the executives' most pressing concern: demonstrating how project management could be implemented effectively without disrupting normal business processes. Instead, he focused on what the executives had done wrong.

As a result, the executives remained apprehensive because they were not persuaded that project management would solve the problems the consultant had outlined. The consultant criticized more than he informed or persuaded, and he did not clearly show how project management adoption would resolve the organization's revenue problems.

Conclusion

These strategies would have gone a long way in convincing executives that project management is not only necessary, but also entirely achievable in a manner that does not disrupt normal business operations. By leading with positive evidence and grounding recommendations in comparable real-world cases, the consultant could have shifted the executives from apprehension to active support.

References

Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling (11th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

Lientz, B. P., & Rea, K. P. (2003). International project management. Routledge.

Russell, D., & McGovern, M. (2012). A new brand of expertise. Butterworth-Heinemann.