Our economy is largely moving toward a more project-based operations model. Efficiencies and new ways of managing and operating have been developed over time and the consensus is trending heavily toward this new way of delivering products and value to the market, and as a way to tackle big challenges in our world head-on.
I recently spoke with Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, former chairman of the Project Management Institute, professor of project management, and author of the new Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook: How to Launch, Lead, and Sponsor Successful Projects. According to him, there are many reasons we find ourselves in a project economy instead of a more traditional operations-focused economy; for example, speed. A product’s life cycle might now only be six months when it used to be six years. That need for constant innovation and change has lent itself to a project management model for many companies.
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But what does it mean to work in that kind of economy or that kind of organization? Nieto-Rodriguez had some tips for acting as a project manager in this kind of model.
Tie the project to the overall business strategy.
“Project management has been a bit neglected,” Nieto-Rodriguez told me. “There is way to make it more simple, more user-friendly, and have it bring more value to individuals, leaders, and organizations.” One of the ways to streamline its adoption is to make sure the project aligns with overall business strategy.
He suggests picking projects that go directly to the company’s higher purpose. “Projects are not islands that you need to build and that’s it,” he said. Indeed, projects are more successful when they fit into an organization’s culture and structure. Without a clear connection to where the company’s going, and how this project furthers that, the chance of failure increases dramatically.
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Set up projects and teams for success.
One of the easiest pitfalls project managers fall into is that they let their teams take on too many projects, leading to overwhelm. As surprising as it might be for some managers to hear this, Nieto-Rodriguez suggests cutting from many projects to just one. Not only can this help prevent people from becoming overwhelmed, it also encourages team members to pick what project they are most passionate about—which is the project you want that person giving their utmost to.
“The most engaged people on a project are the ones who volunteered for it. And if you’re launching a project and no one wants to volunteer for it, that’s probably a terrible project you shouldn’t move forward with,” he said.
Pick one project at a time, and help teams prioritize. Managers need to be better about understanding the toll that multiple overlapping projects can take on team members. “Senior leaders don’t understand how complex projects are—they need to be more courageous when it comes to decision-making and choosing where to focus, rather than going for all the options available.”
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Project managers also need to make sure they have well-developed soft skills—the ability to communicate, coach, motivate, etc.—to keep their team engaged and the project on course. In recent years we’ve seen an increase in attention to these soft skills, and for good reason—many a project or team, even those filled with outstanding members, has been doomed due to a lack of leadership that can harness their potential on a real, human level.
Project management isn’t linear.
Harvard Business Review’s Project Management Handbook
Courtesy of Harvard Business Review Press
Project management doesn’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. In theory, it’s easy to think so, but in practice it’s more like a game of Chutes and Ladders. You might find a shortcut that shaves off expected time, but you also might find yourself looping back to redo sections already completed. You could be hitting a roadblock or facing an unexpected diversion. That’s why, Nieto-Rodriguez says, soft skills are crucial for a project manager.
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“Transparency is very important when things are going badly, to be able to say to the team: we have a challenge and we need to work extra hard. Honesty is key in teaching your team to trust you, which will help build resilience. Of course there will be tough times as well as great times—that’s what makes projects so exciting.”
Think of it like an internal gig economy.
Just as the gig economy transformed the way people get around, order food, rent lodging, and much more, a project-based approach to organizational management will take flexibility and willingness to change on the part of leaders and executives at established companies. That, Nieto-Rodriguez said, is going to be a major challenge—but also the way through to the future.
“My recommendation is: select the top five projects that you have in your organization and give them freedom. Move them out of your structure, give them a dedicated team sponsored by an executive. Give the team the freedom to focus on delivery, value, and experimentation. It’s a big challenge, since many leaders are not used to that.”
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As we finished speaking, he mused whether or not current leaders are prepared—or fit—to make this change. If they aren’t? “Maybe we need to make space for the next generations,” he suggested. Time will tell if this project-based model will be the only way forward, or one of multiple viable options—but there’s no denying its current disruptive and exciting impact on businesses worldwide.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
