RUSI Defence Project Management Conference, 19-20 Oct 05: Closing Remarks by Rear Admiral N D Latham, Commandant DCMT

Over the next few minutes I want to reflect on some of the themes that have come out of this conference and give some thought to what they mean for us in the Defence Business Space – in which I very much include defence industry and other institutions such as the universities, as well as the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces.

It’s only a few years ago, at a gathering like this, that we would have been discussing, planning tools, operational analysis and estimating techniques as mechanisms of project control.  The emphasis would very much have been on project management.

How things have changed.  I’m not even sure that the title of our conference – Defence Project Management – accurately reflects the topic, since the main issues have been to do with leadership, values and behaviour.

Perhaps that is not surprising, since in considering management more generally, there is more and more recognition that it is the people skills such as cooperation, building relationships and persuasion - in other words leadership - that make the real difference.

Project control is therefore at least as much about understanding and influencing as it is about the mechanics of performance indicators and trade offs.  I would summarise the criteria for project success as being based around what I would term the 4 C’s – clarity, communications, commitment, and courage … and it’s worth examining each of these a little more deeply.

- Clarity covers clarity of purpose, risks and accountability (which is focussed on individuals)
--- there must be high level definition of what is to be achieved; and
--- people must know what they are expected to deliver.
In the military these are translated into selection & maintenance of the aim, and mission command.

- The next most important thing is effective communication – which of course includes listening – and perhaps the crucial thing here is stakeholder engagement.  Projects take time, and people move jobs.  The expectations that existed at the start might not transfer or match the perception of those who arrive later on.  How often have we seen teams who feel they’ve done a great job, being greeted by disappointed customers.  Emphasising the continuing buy-in of stakeholders through regular communication takes a lot of effort, but it pays a lot of dividends.  As part6 of the process we must manage potentially conflicting agendas and be conscious of political realities in meeting expectations of the various stakeholder groups.

Commitment is the next C.  The best teams that I have worked in are those where everyone has a personal stake in the success of the project, and high level top cover (and then commitment).  This creates enormous resilience when the going gets tough, as it inevitably does from time to time.  It enables progress to continue in the face of adversity and opposition, because there are always those for whom project failure would be quite a convenient outcome.

And this leads me on to Courage.  To a certain extent, this is a trait of personality, but what I am mainly talking about here is the ability to make decisions, often without full knowledge, and often with potentially uncomfortable outcomes for at least for one party or another.  And it’s not just a matter of confidence.  Its about the ability to exercise professional judgement, which in turn depends on a careful balance of education, training and experience, for the individual, and for the team as a whole.  This point was emphasised by Andrew Figgures and we’ve also heard from other speakers about skills shortages.

This is where organisations like my own come in.  The Defence College of Management and Technology provides courses in management and leadership at various levels to help people raise their game and thus improve performance of the organisation as a whole.  With our Academic Partners, Cranfield University, we provide MBA programmes and components of the Acquisition Leadership Development Scheme.  We’re also working on a Masters degree in Project and Programme Management, and in Leadership.  But we also deliver strategic level leadership and management programmes, supported by an executive elective programme.  We’ve just recently also developed a programme for Senior Responsible Owners to help them handle the complexities of programme management, and leading an effective client organisation. 

Being able to exercise sound judgement also depends on a good understanding of technology, if not in the team leader, then certainly in key members of the team.  So we offer a range of MSc’s in various forms, recognising the increasing relevance of distance learning and modular programmes.  My College has the remit to become the portal for all postgraduate education for defence in the disciplines for which we are responsible, working with other universities to achieve this.

A lot of what I have been talking about though clarity, communication, commitment and courage relates to behaviour; and achieving the changes in behaviour that 2PUS and others have discussed to perhaps the biggest challenge that the MOD and Defence Industry face.  This is a change leadership task of considerable proportions, which must address each of the 4 areas that 2PUS values, which for acquisition are contained in the new edition of the Acquisition Management Handbook; communication on how to behave, including demonstration by example; education & training; and processes – in a coherent way if the required change is to be introduced and sustained.  A breakdown in any one of those areas would negate the whole.  Moreover, the need to incentivise and motivate people has been emphasised by several speakers.

The Defence Academy is already building up the education and training agenda as I’ve described, although these is much still to do with the organisations we support, who are now seriously addressing the skills shortage problem, and identifying their needs. 

The values for acquisition have now been laid out.  Addressing the processes, and communicating and demonstrating the required behaviours are the next steps.

What we must achieve here is a culture where people focus on outcomes, and make the processes work for them (rather than being slaves to the processes), - people who manage risk rather than avoid it, and constructively challenge orthodoxies to seek improvement.

In closing, might I therefore suggest that the theme of the next conference in this series should focus on leading and delivering change in acquisition management.