Project Management Strategy and Alignment

Organization Strategy and Project Selection

• Only 23% of 150 global executives believe that projects are aligned with their core business.
• Senior management is responsible for linking organizational strategy and objectives to projects through policies.

Implementation Gaps

• Many organizations overlook implementation gaps and prioritizing projects, according to Fusco's research.
• A significant number of organizations do not publish or circulate project objectives, with 24% failing to do so.
• 40% of organizations do not have clear priorities among competing projects, and only 17% report clear priorities.

Organization Politics

• Projects often receive funding based on politics rather than facts and sound reasoning.
• The term "sacred cow" refers to a project backed by a powerful, high-ranking official.
• An example of politics influencing project decisions is the CEO's desire for a project to be their legacy, even if the project is not viable.

Project Sponsors

• Project sponsors are high-ranking managers who endorse and support a particular project.
• Active project sponsors can significantly increase a project's chances of success, with a 75% success rate in organizations with sponsors on at least 80% of their projects.
• The lack of sponsorship can lead to project failure, as illustrated by the ALTO computer project at Xerox in the mid-1970s.