Adding Value

My MacBook has a sticky note displayed in the corner at all times as a constant reminder of successes and failures.

"What we must decide is how we can add value and not how valuable we are"
- Edgar Z Freidenberg

These days so many Project Managers learn Microsoft Project, hound resources to complete tasks, record issues in Excel, take a test and voila!  Look how valuable I am!  I am a Project Manager!

Let's say I come to work for you. Obviously you think I can contribute to the success of your business, and I think I can contribute as well. But if on my first day I walk in and think, "they will never do this without me" will I set the expectations for failure?

How do I achieve any value with that statement? When I sit at my desk on Day 1, I have not yet achieved anything! I have only promised to achieve and add value. So I start about the business of adding value.

Ok, so let's say I walk in on Day 180. I have a couple wins under my belt. You call me first when you have a new project to discuss. Now am I valuable? You bet. But you cannot put my value in the bank, or declare it to shareholders. You can tell the shareholders that you are backing me for a big project because of my previous record of adding value, but the shareholders will still judge us both based on the end value added by our project.


I add value by delivering. I can achieve it best with transparency; if I know the business strategy. Perhaps our company needs entry into a particular market and profits are not key. Maybe we must conform to government regulations and exact requirements and costs are critical. We might even take a smaller project in hopes of getting more work at the client. I will plan the project so that the most critical elements will get the most attention. I will tailor my day-to-day management based on the overall goals and objectives of the project, not by blindly following a canned methodology.

I also add value by bringing information to you, so that you can make informed decisions. "Did you see the article that the government has extended the deadline for compliance?" "It looks like our competitor just got that big contract we were hoping to get." "Companies X, Y and Z just announced products in our market."

Companies exist to make profit. And management must produce that profit. Seems simple, but not all workers care about this. As a business owner, I care. I always look for cost cutting measures in projects that won't affect quality, and ways for utilising staff better.  

Perhaps Dr Freidenberg wanted us to keep achieving: Set expectations and never rest on our laurels. I can rest when I'm dead. Until then, I'll keep adding value.