by Antonio Nieto‐Rodriguez

Projects change the world. Projects make impossible dreams possible.

The behavioral and social sciences endorse the idea that there are a few ways of working and collaborating that are particularly motivating and inspiring for people working on a project. These are that a project should have ambitious goals, a higher purpose, and a clear deadline. You have probably noticed that what people tend to remember most clearly from their entire careers are the projects they work on – often the successful ones, but also the failed ones.

According to recent research, the number of individuals working in project‐based roles will increase from 66 million (in 2017) to 88 million (forecast 2027). And the value of economic activity worldwide that is project‐oriented will grow from $12 trillion (in 2013) to $20 trillion (forecast 2027).¹ Those are millions of projects requiring millions of project managers per year.

This is what I describe as the Project Economy, a term I conceived in 2018 when working on my earlier book The Project Revolution: How to Succeed in a Project‐Driven World.

This silent disruption is impacting not only organizations but also the very nature of work and our entire professional lives. The traditional one‐company career path of previous generations is now a distant memory. Today, people happily and fruitfully change jobs and employers a number of times during their careers. I believe that this trend will accelerate and that professional careers will become a sequence of projects. Another notable trend related to this is the growth in self‐employment. They will be effective in managing a portfolio of projects.

A GLOBAL REVOLUTION

The more you look, the more projects you will see. On my desk, I have a bushel of examples.

For example, in December 2016, the US Senate unanimously approved the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act (PMIAA),² which will enhance accountability and best practices in project and program management throughout the US federal government. The PMIAA will reform federal program management policy in three important ways: creating a formal job series and career path for program and project managers in the federal government, developing a standards‐based program and project management policy across the federal government that recognizes the essential role of executive sponsorship and engagement by designating a senior executive in federal agencies to be responsible for program and project management policy and strategy, sharing knowledge of successful approaches to program and project management through an interagency council on program and project management.

In the UK, on January 6, 2017, the Association for Project Management was awarded a Royal Charter.³ The receipt of a Royal Charter marks a significant achievement in the evolution of project management and will have positive implications for those who make, and seek to make, a career in this field. The charter recognizes the project management profession, rewards the association that champions its cause, and provides opportunities for those who practice its disciplines.

The Richards Group is the largest independently owned ad agency in the United States, with billings of $1.28 billion, revenue of $170 million, and more than 650 employees. Stan Richards, its founder, and CEO, removed almost all of its management layers and job titles, leaving only that of project manager.⁴

In another example, in 2016 Nike was looking to fill a vacancy at its European headquarters. The job description was “Corporate Strategy & Development Manager for the European, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) Region.” Such a job would traditionally entail strategic planning, market analysis, and competitive intelligence competencies. To my surprise, instead the job was described as “project management.” This meant that Nike was looking for someone who could implement transversal and strategic projects for its strategy function. This was a clear shift of focus and culture: from planning and day‐to‐day activities to implementation and projects. And Nike is not alone – I have seen similar job descriptions for strategy functions at UPS, Amazon, and others.

IN THE PROJECT ECONOMY, WE ARE ALL PROJECT MANAGERS

For centuries, learning was achieved by memorizing hefty books and mountains of written material. Today, the leading educational systems, starting from an early age, apply the concept of teaching projects. Applying theories and experimenting through projects has proven to be a much better learning method, and soon it will become the norm.

Not so long ago, professional careers were made in only one organization. Throughout the 20th century, most people worked for a single company. Today we are likely to work for several companies, and at some point we will most probably become self‐employed, working primarily on projects. This sort of career is best approached as a set of projects in which we apply the lessons we have learned from previous jobs, companies, and industries while developing ourselves for our next career move, often not known in advance.

The emergence of projects as the economic engine of our times is silent but incredibly disruptive and powerful. And this massive disruption is impacting not only the way organizations are managed – every aspect of our lives is becoming a set of projects.

A SYMPHONY OF CHOICES

Juggling multiple projects has become one of our major challenges, both as individuals as well as organizations, in our private and in our professional lives. Gerald Leonard's book A Symphony of Choices is a timely resource full of practical tools and real examples that will help you build the knowledge and skills to thrive in a project‐driven world.

Following the inspiration from the bestselling book The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Gerald tells us a business fable of a musician who is given the opportunity to become the personnel manager for the symphony he is playing with. From the first page of the book, the story manages to be both engaging and enlightening as it teaches us the principles of project portfolio management.

“There are fewer ‘low‐cost’ ways of working more inclusive, impactful, motivating and inspiring than being part of a project with an ambitious goal, a higher purpose, and a clear fixed deadline.”

– Antonio Nieto‐Rodriguez