The CEO of a company is typically responsible for implementing the strategic goals and objectives of an organization. The CEO provides the direction and leadership necessary to achieve the organization’s philosophy, mission, strategy, and annual goals and objectives. Or, in simpler words, the CEO has to make sure that the company makes a profit!
And how do CEOs help a company increase profits? They hire talented staff and then give them the direction and vision they need to do their job. Each manager is charged with specific duties and is measured against a set of objectives. The vice president of sales, for example, is charged with generating more sales for the organization. To monitor his success, the vice president uses a combination of software and tools to help track the efforts of the sales department. The tools help answer questions like: How many phone calls were made this week? How many sales were closed today? What’s in the pipeline? CRM tools like Salesforce and ACT provide dashboards and reports that help the VP of sales do their job better by providing a bird’s-eye view of the entire department.
Similarly, vice presidents of operations, marketing, IT, and other departments need tools to help them monitor the success of their departments. For a project-based company, such as a website design company or construction company, the roles of a CEO, and in particular the role of the VP of Operations, are very project-focused. The success of the company is based on the profitability of the projects it undertakes. With so much at stake in the success of projects, executives have shown increased interest in how projects are selected and managed.
To ensure profitability, executives want a standardized, automated approach to project management. They want to see projects that are on time and on budget. Project portfolio management (PPM) software such as @task allows project managers and executives to have an overview of all current and upcoming projects. Similar to the way a VP of Sales might use a CRM system, a VP of Operations can use a PPM system to monitor project timelines, see budget and schedule conflicts, and forecast future project profitability. . PPM software provides dashboards and reports that help keep all projects aligned with corporate objectives and ensures that each project is a profitable investment for the company.
Without the use of project portfolio management software, project managers and executives are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time managing and tracking project schedules and budgets. They often lose sight of the big picture, spending time and money on sunken projects or projects that were doomed before they started. Harvey Levine explained, “In PPM, the business is supposed to position itself for strength and profitability through its selection and execution of projects and to ensure that it continues to thrive in a world of constant change and the threat of competition.”
The bottom line is that executives need project and portfolio management tools to help the company get more profit. All CEOs, and especially CEOs of project-based companies, need a bird’s-eye view of what’s happening in their organizations. They need a PPM tool that compares one project to another and then makes recommendations on how best to proceed. Does the benefit outweigh the risk? Does the project align with corporate objectives? Should more resources be allocated to one project than another? Which project will provide the highest ROI? Project Portfolio Management helps answer all of these questions, helping CEOs do their jobs better, leading to higher company profits and satisfied customers.