The Programme Management Newsletter

February 2008

The Newsletter of ProgM

The Programme Management Specific Interest Group

Welcome to the programme management newsletter containing information about events and other areas of interest in Programme Management.

This month we feature:

Looking for volunteers for ProgM
Lessons from Waterloo
Events in both UK and elsewhere.

As usual details of events are on the programme management website at http://www.e-programme.com/

If you are planning an event, or know of an event, website or publication that other programme management staff might be interested in you can now post them yourself on e-programme.com.

If you are interested in sponsoring future newsletters please contact Tim Craven (timdcraven@hotmail.com)

Volunteers Wanted for ProgM

We seek to further strengthen our committee and we want you to volunteer to join us.

you are interested in programme management in its broadest sense,
you like meeting and working with others who similarly interested,
you like to make things happen, and
you are prepared to put in some time to developing the profession of programme management

then

you could be just the person!

Why we need you

As you know, ProgM is a voluntary organisation that exists to

promote understanding of programme management (including related disciplines such as programme planning, benefit management, etc)
create a professional forum whereby members can share and exchange information in the field of programme management.
provide standards, qualifications and guidelines in programme management.
foster relationships with businesses and other professional groups interested in promoting the use of programme management methods and techniques.

It relies on the efforts of its members, especially those who form the Committee. If you would like to be involved through committee membership, please let us know.

What does it involve

In order to co-ordinate things, the Committee generally meets each quarter, in London, and holds monthly teleconferences. Of course, making things happen requires further effort on the part of members, but it doesn’t matter what your interest is – e.g.

organising events – such as evening meetings and seminars
authoring publications – such as the recently published "Introduction to Programme Management"
developing ideas – as long as you are prepared to work with others to make things happen that will be useful to the whole membership
the application of programme management to particular industries or sectors – such as IT, Civil engineering, Government.

If you think you can contribute to the general good, we would like to hear from you.

It’s not all work though. The photograph above shows members of your committee celebrating a successful 2007, in the company of guests – from left to right - Peter Mystris, Liz Underhill, Geoff Reiss, Bob Thomas, Paul Rayner, Martin Price of Project Management Institute, John Chapman, and Andrew Bragg, Chief Executive of the Association for Project Management.What to do about it

If you think you might like to join us, please send an email to Paul Rayner, Chairman, at raynerp@logica.com telling us a little about yourself and why you would like to join. Please include daytime and evening telephone numbers.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The Lessons of WaterlooProgramme Management and Warfare

In November 2007, a friend of mine arranged a visit to the battlefield of Waterloo. Whilst not particularly interested in military history, I found it all fascinating, since the whole battlefield is virtually unchanged since 1815. The walled farms that formed the allied strong points are still there: the fields whose boggy clay held up the deployment of Napoleon’s artillery till midday are still growing potatoes and sugar beet: the inn that formed Napoleon’s headquarters is just the same (except that a pink neon sign has been added to explain that it is now what the Belgians euphemistically call a "club privé").

What my visit demonstrated was that the great battle was the culmination of a whole military and diplomatic campaign that started on Napoleon’s return from exile and included several other major battles. Napoleon’s attack at Waterloo was preceded by battles against the Prussians at Ligny and against troops of the Prince of Orange at Quatre Bras. These battles were linked together and impacted each other and the troop movements between them all had to be co-ordinated for best effect. In this, it resembled a major programme of organisational change, with the battles resembling individual projects and the manoeuvring of the armies and the diplomatic correspondence resembling work streams. The whole campaign thus provides interesting parallels and many lessons for modern programme managers

Wellington and Stakeholder Management

We tend to think of generals as masters of all they survey, able to march men wherever they want at the instant of command. This was certainly not the case with the Duke of Wellington. He suffered from many of the same restrictions, limitations and frustrations that most of us experience as programme management professionals. For a start, he was not a free agent: he had to fulfil the orders of the British government which greatly limited what he was allowed to do. He could initiate no action until Napoleon had invaded at a place if his own choosing. Until then Wellington could only watch and wait. Furthermore, the British Government departments that supported Wellington were notorious for their sloth, bureaucracy and penny pinching. However, Wellington was adept at managing stakeholders. He corresponded almost daily with key members of the Government, so that he was confident of their support. This enabled him to take a firm line with pettifogging clerks. One of his letters to the War Office reads
"My officers have been diligently complying with your request…. We have enumerated our saddles, bridles, tents and tent poles, and all manner of sundry items for which his Majesty’s Government holds me accountable. I have dispatched reports on the character, wit, spleen of every officer. Each Item and each farthing has been accounted for, with two regrettable exceptions for which I beg your indulgence. Unfortunately, the sum of one shilling and nine pence remains unaccounted for in one infantry battalion’s petty cash and there has been hideous confusion as to the number of jars of raspberry jam issued to one cavalry regiment … This reprehensible carelessness may be related to the pressure of circumstances since we are at war with France, a fact which may come as a bit of a surprise to you gentlemen in Whitehall."

As well as having to fight administrative bureaucracy, he needed to be a consummate diplomat merely to get his army together, for he was in charge of an allied army, with many of the soldiers being Dutch and under the direct command of the Prince of Orange. Even the term "Dutch" is misleading since many were from what we now call Belgium, which had been unwillingly incorporated in the Netherlands the year before. Accordingly, Wellington had to pair up such Belgian-Dutch regiments with British regiments to be sure of their loyalty and steadiness in battle.

Napoleon the Gambler

By contrast, Napoleon was the Emperor of France. He held the initiative and could invade Belgium wherever he chose with all the might of France at his disposal. But it was risky since he was opposed by the numerically superior forces of Britain, the Netherlands and Prussia, with further armies coming from Austria and Russia. His plan was to occupy Brussels and then dictate a peace treaty before his immediate opponents united and before the additional armies arrived from the East.

Yet in this, even he was constrained. In the previous twenty years France had gone from an absolute monarchy, to a republic, to an Empire, back to an absolute monarch and was once again an Empire. Several of his formerly loyal generals refused to serve under him in this campaign and his former Chief of Staff, Berthier, had been assassinated by royalist agents in order to disrupt the imperial mobilisation. Because of this, like most programme managers, Napoleon had to choose his subordinates from those whose loyalty he could trust. One result was that he demanded absolute obedience to his explicit orders. This reduced the initiative of his generals, with the consequence that, on the day of Waterloo, the right wing of the French army took no part in the battle because its commander received no explicit orders to join until it was too late.

Napoleon had gambled all in defeating the two armies and quickly occupying Brussels, but had failed. And once the battle was lost, Napoleon was lost, for when you have absolute power, you only have yourself to blame if things go wrong.

Blücher – Mad but Motivating

The third commander at Waterloo was Marshall Blücher of Prussia. Like most of his army, he was eager to get to grips with the French, who only nine years before had invaded and occupied his country, stolen its financial wealth and art treasures, insulted his king and queen, and conscripted his countrymen to fight Napoleon’s wars. But the Prussians on their own were not strong enough to beat the French. Napoleon had taken advantage of the gap between two allied armies and fallen with all his might on the Prussians at Ligny, forcing them to retreat. He then turned to attack Wellington.

A lesser commander would probably have retreated back to his home territory, especially since, during the battle at Ligny, Blücher’s horse had been killed and he had been trapped underneath for many minutes whilst his troops repelled French cavalry. Eventually he has rescued and, when remounted, in spite of his bruises, was able to supervise a fighting retreat all the following night under constant French pressure. However, once free of the French, he turned his army to the West to support Wellington, personally encouraging his soldiers to plod through the sodden clay and sunken lanes in order to arrive in time. Thanks to his encouragement and example, his army arrived on the French flank at Waterloo in progressively greater power and soaked up all Napoleon’s reserves. Finally under the dual hammer blows of Wellington’s advance in the centre and Blücher’s pressure in their right wing, the French army broke and fled from the field. Wellington and Blücher met briefly in the evening sunlight outside Napoleon’s former headquarters, where Wellington explained that his troops were exhausted and could not pursue the defeated French. No matter, Blücher took over and led his army in pursuit for a further ten miles back down the road to France – and at the time, he was 72 years old!

It wasn’t just hatred of the French that motivated Blücher. He suffered from hallucinations, such as his belief that Elephants had "impregnated" him. When the Prussian General Staff were debating who should command the army, Blücher was ridiculed as mad, but Gneisenau, the Chief of Staff, knew what a motivator Blücher was and retorted that he didn’t care how many elephants Blücher had inside him, it had to be him. So, in warfare as in programme management, determination and courage can overcome madness.

Conclusion

You don’t have to be mad to work in programme management but, as Blücher demonstrates, it can sometimes be a help. However, you always have to be courageous, tenacious and determined to overcome the many obstacles that block your path. And nothing has changed since Waterloo with respect to the need for constant attention to stakeholders, with tact and diplomacy and never-ending communication, as exemplified by Wellington.

Whilst there are many parallels between warfare and programme management, there is one aspect that is not shared. In warfare there must be losers, whether the defeated soldiers and their countrymen, or the dead and wounded. By contrast, programme management seeks to ensure that there are no losers; only winners. The glory lies not in standing over heaps of dead and wounded, but in helping all to enjoy a better, more prosperous and more self-fulfilling future.

Paul Rayner

Forthcoming Programme Management Events

The table provides an overview and links to each event. Please let us know about your events, we will publicise anything relevant to our readership.

Events	Location	Date	Contact
Project Challenge	Birmingham NEC	12th and 13th March	http://www.projchallenge.com/
Driving Strategic Performance	London Heathrow Marriott	24th and 25th April	http://www.bppmsummit.com/

Your feedback wanted

If you have any feedback on either wanting to participate in events or have views on which of these types of events would be most beneficial for you then can you please inform our Communications Officer, Tim Craven.

Forthcoming Programme Management Events

Your feedback wanted If you have any feedback on either wanting to participate in events or have views on which of these types of events would be most beneficial for you then can you please inform our Communications Officer, Tim Craven.

If you have any feedback on either wanting to participate in events or have views on which of these types of events would be most beneficial for you then can you please inform our Communications Officer, Tim Craven.

Your feedback wanted

If you have any feedback on either wanting to participate in events or have views on which of these types of events would be most beneficial for you then can you please inform our Communications Officer, Tim Craven.