Those of us who are a certain age can remember how Garrison Keillor closed his monologues: “That’s the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”
That came to my mind this week as I reviewed some of the data from Thomas and Mullaly’s research about the value of project management. They used case reports and detailed implementation data to map project management maturity across their sample. On a five-level scale, half of organizations were at level 1 (ad-hoc), 47% at level 2 (inconsistent), and 3% at level 3 (consistent). There were no organizations at levels 4 or 5 (fully integrated; continuous improvement).
Two things pop out at me from the analysis: 1) Everyone is not above average. Instead, most have good opportunities to improve how they run projects. If your organization is at project management maturity level 1 or 2, don’t feel bad – you have lots of company. And if you think your organization is at level 3 or higher, look closer. 2) Most organizations don’t need to get to the highest levels. It’s expensive, difficult, and may have diminishing returns, depending on the nature of the organization’s work. So don’t be satisfied lingering at level 1, but don’t feel bad if you’re not at level 5.
I teach and consult about highly effective projects, portfolios, and leadership. You can contact me at [email protected].