The Project Manager's MBA How to Translate Project Decisions into Business Success

by Cohen, Dennis J.; Graham, Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9780787952563
• ISBN10: 0787952567
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-11-13
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Project managers are no longer judged by the technical success of their projects alone. They're also held accountable for their contributions to the company's financial goals. Yet most project managers don't have the business knowledge necessary to make project-based decisions that lead to bottom-line success. In this book, Dennis Cohen and Robert Graham, both former university professors and experienced project management consultants, provide the skills that, until now, could only be gained through a graduate degree and years of hands-on experience. Cohen and Graham walk project managers through basic business concepts such as value creation, accounting and finance, strategy, and marketing. They connect these concepts to the decisions project managers face every day. And they make it easy to apply the resulting solutions on the job through a unique business systems calculator. Readers can use the online calculator in conjunction with the book to understand how different project variables affect business outcomes, to determine the overall impact of proposed project changes, and to evaluate the economic results of many decisions they make. Cohen and Graham's principles apply equally to projects in business, non-profit, and government organizations. And each one is illustrated through case studies drawn from a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, the technology sector, even the winemaking business. Whether the mandate is to get new products to market, improve the infrastructure, or better serve customers and clients, this book teaches project managers how to make day-to-day decisions from an upper-management perspective. And it provides a blueprint for planning and pitching potential projects that demonstrates a higher level of business savvy.

Author Biography

DENNIS J. COHEN is senior vice president and managing director of the Project Management Practice at Strategic Management Group. <p> J. GRAHAM has developed a consulting practice in project management and is the author of Project Management as if People Mattered and Creating an Environment for Successful Projects. Both Cohen and Graham have presented papers on this and other project management subjects at conferences of the Project Management Institute and Project World.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
The Authors	xvii
An Entrepreneurial Approach to Managing Projects	1	(24)
Accounting and Finance Basics for the Project Management Entrepreneur	25	(32)
Business Strategy: Where Are We Going and How Are We Going to Get There?	57	(28)
Project Management Processes for Business Results	85	(24)
Marketing and the Project Manager: Understanding the Customer and the Competition Too	109	(26)
Project and Post-Project Costs	135	(18)
Why Finance Matters for Project Managers	153	(34)
Decision Making and the Business Systems Approach	187	(12)
The Project Venture Development Process	199	(8)
Appendix: An Outline for Building a Project Business Case and Plan	207	(6)
Glossary	213	(14)
References	227	(4)
Index	231