Competitive advantage speed through transformation in project business

Shorter and shorter product cycles, even faster-paced delivery/response times: speed is crucial for business success. However, many companies struggle with smoothly integrating speed into their daily operations, not just proving it once but maintaining this speed consistently. A prime example: projects that regularly fail to be completed on time, exceed budgets, and overload employees with harmful multitasking.

Nothing works without it: project work is the linchpin, not only in a multi-project organization. However, many multi-project organizations consider themselves too slow, expensive, and unreliable. Around 60% of all projects initiated do not succeed or meet the expectations placed on them. Local optimizations, such as cost reductions or high utilization of production resources, do not bring the desired improvements, let alone a sustained competitive increase in speed. Speed involves all levels of the organization * If speed consistently increases productivity, this is the result of a tested and defined process. This process re-engages all available forces, constructively and at critical points. Speed must also gain importance at the strategic level, starting from (top) management to the integration of external suppliers. Therefore, action and decision-making processes are re-synchronized and prioritized so that they are available at the right moment and can provide support. * An increase in speed in project business does NOT mean more stress, more multitasking, or more complex control processes, but the opposite. Planning and control are consistently simplified. All processes are aligned so that the maximum production quantity can be achieved in minimal time with the given resources. What's new: most resources must generally have a significant underutilization in planning, only the bottleneck is utilized and supported as much as possible; it determines the speed of all other work steps. * The competitive factor of speed does not exist without fundamental changes, which should be clear to all involved. Companies must transform not only processes but also role understanding. For example, the premise that all employees must always be busy to the max - and beyond - is outdated. Stable strategic priorities reduce negative multitasking and improve interdepartmental and inter-project cooperation. All initiated projects must be optimally equipped with the necessary resources, instead of allowing project managers to compete for scarce resources as before. Simplifying and making more flexible so that many usual key figures become unnecessary, introducing stable strategic priorities at the project level and robust tactical prioritization at the executive level: when companies face this transformation in project business, concrete successes will be visible - even immediately. * The organization immediately gains capacities when project speed increases by up to 20% (without increasing resource requirements), while harmful multitasking in key individuals is reduced. * Step by step, project durations are reduced by 25% or more, and up to 50% more projects can be realized - with the same resources. Fewer frictional losses improve collaboration and make processes more human-friendly. * Customers and suppliers, who often have a significant influence on project execution, are gradually integrated into the changed project and multi-project planning and control. * (Top) management is noticeably relieved from day-to-day operations and gains more capacities for strategic issues. * Exceptional delivery reliability: More than 95% of projects can be completed by the promised deadline. If delays do occur, they are much smaller than is usual for this industry sector. The company with shorter product cycles positions its innovations first in the market, overtaking competitors with faster and more reliable delivery/response times. Particularly medium-sized companies should seize their opportunities here: to become attractive to new customers or to remain attractive to existing customers - and as an employer who, with a meaningful work and process organization, brings back the sparkle in employees' eyes.