PMO like a Start-Up!

I was asked, recently, to talk about how to generate energy and excitement in a Programme Management Office (PMO). Now, as a PMO junky, nothing gets me more excited than discussing report visualisation and PMO control automation but I’m very aware I’m in the minority. So I started to ponder the many environments I’ve worked in and the many groups I’ve worked with – and it occurred to me that the most energetic and excitable organisations I know are digital start-ups. This got me thinking about what it was in the digital start-up make-up that made them the energiser bunnies of the organisational world and whether there were learnings we could distil and use to make our PMOs bounce with energy.

I came up with 5 principles to help us ‘PMO like a Start-Up’:

1)     Vision, mission, passion – no-one quits their job and sets-up shop in a cupboard-sized office above a chip-shop in Shoreditch without a crystal-clear vision and a passion to deliver it. That vision might be as simple as a problem their convinced they can fix or as detailed as an already-built app they know can break the market – either way they have it, they believe in it and it keeps them warm and motivated through those back-breaking early stages of setting up a business. What’s the problem your PMO is there to fix? Are you passionate about it?

2)     A sense of danger – but as energising as a burning passion is, equally energising is the knowledge of how close to failure you are. Every client matters, every sale keeps the lights on a bit longer and every hour spent is a significant part of the resource available to the organisation. That knowledge keeps the new entrepreneur hungry, energised and focused on what really matters – keeping their clients happy and constantly delivering them benefit. Does your PMO need to please to stay funded? Do people care if you’re good or bad? Whose opinions matter to your survival?

3)     Customer obsession – The successful start-up is obsessed, and I mean obsessed, with who their customer is and what value means to that customer. To some start-ups that can be a list of 5 names who provide 95% of their business, to others it will be a particular niche sector (‘hipsters in Clapham who don’t have time to groom their moustaches’ was one memorable customer group definition I came across) but whoever it is they know them, they dedicate precious resource to discover what that group considers useful enough to pay for and, critically, they let that information shape their product. So who are your customers in the PMO, what do they ‘buy’ off you and how well does the service you provide support them? Could you define your top 5 customers ‘Success Measures’? As a senior PMO operator how much time do you dedicate to understanding what they need as opposed to simply telling them what they want?

4)      The next big thing – For the digital start-up innovation and continuous improvement isn’t just a ‘workstream of activity’ – it’s a way of life hard-wired into everything they do. It’s both a hobby and a critical way of squeezing out every last drop of competitive advantage over established brands and other start-ups working hard for their customers with limited resources. Digital start-ups constantly explore what is the art of the possible in their field and, importantly, in related fields. Successful start-ups have both a curiosity for the new and a willingness to ‘tinker’ to see how new technologies and applications can be ‘skunk-worked’ into their products to give the customer something new. So what’s the next innovation in your PMO that’s going to blow your customers socks off? How do you stay abreast of the latest developments in change management practice and technology?   

5)     Real world tinkering – Nothing makes the digital start-up happier than seeing their products being used – warts and all. Nothing gives you a more immediate understanding of both the value of your service – and where it needs to be improved – than watching it being used live! How do you find opportunities to watch your data and outputs used live? Do you actively ask your customers to identify what works and what doesn’t with your product?

So there you have my top five tips for energising the PMO: Vision and passion, a sense of danger, customer obsession, excitement for the new and continuously testing and challenging your outputs with your customers. And finally, when they’re successful they grab every opportunity to shout about it from the roof tops – drumming up positive vibes and more business on the way. So go-on – PMO like a start-up and get ready to shout about your success every step of the way!

About P2 Consulting:

If you’d like to talk more about turbo-charging your Programme or Portfolio Office visit www.p2consulting.com or contact Adam on [email protected]. You can also follow P2 Consulting on Linkedin here. 

P2 Consulting is a market leading digital transformation challenger consultancy, and second fastest growing company in the Virgin FastTrack 100. We work in partnership with our clients to turn their business ambitions into reality, bringing a unique blend of leading-edge thinking and hands-on delivery. We bring the drive, the passion and the courage to act leaving your business stronger, fitter and more profitable for having worked with us.