The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management, 5th Edition

Chapter 1Project Management: A Platform for Innovation

Introduction

Projects dominate our headlines.

Reform—in health care, in education, on Wall Street—is accomplished through projects.

Electric cars are a reality. Biodiesel, solar, wave, and wind energy are supplying an increasing proportion of energy. And the gadget factory is in high gear. Devices you'd never have dreamed of five years ago are already out of style. The constant drive to innovate makes the ability to deliver new products a core asset of technology companies.

Projects dominate our workplace.

Our project-based workforce creates advertising campaigns, repairs freeways, remodels homes, writes articles, revises compensation plans, and connects the world with cellular communication networks. We grow our organizations as we open new stores, merge with rivals, and expand or consolidate distribution networks. We are constantly transforming our global civilization in tiny increments.

Projects help us react, survive, and thrive. A global economy on the rise or in recession creates constant change, and the pace is increasing. The changes are disruptive for some: those whose companies and industries have become irrelevant faster than they could imagine. For others, it is an endless opportunity. For everyone, it is a challenge to navigate and prosper in an environment in which we are forced to learn, to adapt, and to contribute our own changes.

In the past it was possible to leave the management and mastery of projects ...