The Newsletter of ProgM  
The Programme Management Specific Interest Group

September 2008 

The ProgM newsletter contains interesting information about events and other areas of interest in Programme Management. This month we feature: 

• The Lessons Sedan
• Programme conference calls made easy
• On the Job Front
• MSc Enterprise System Implementation
• Reminder: ProgM AGM - 8 October

The Programme Management Lessons of Sedan [Paul Rayner]

55 years after the battle of Waterloo, which we featured in an earlier article in this series, another Napoleonic empire collapsed following another disastrous military campaign.  This was the “second empire” of the first Napoleon’s nephew Louis-Napoléon, who styled himself as Napoleon III.  At the small town of Sedan, in 1870, the showy militarism of the French collapsed before the disciplined professionalism of the Prussian army and its allies, lead by Helmut von Moltke.  As with Waterloo, the battle provides some interesting lessons for today’s programme managers.

Napoleon III – the showman

Like his uncle, Napoleon III always felt that he was destined for greatness.  To this end, he made two unsuccessful Coups d’Etat, one launched in Boulogne with a band of adventurers who crossed the Channel from England in a Margate paddle steamer.

In 1848 found himself elected as President of France following the second collapse of the French monarchy.  Third time lucky, he launched another Coup d’Etat in 1852 and declared himself Emperor, with a commitment to restore France to the pre-eminent position that it had enjoyed under his eponymous predecessor. 

For the first ten years all went well.  He joined with Britain in the Crimean war against Russia.  Although all participants made appalling mistakes, the French made fewer and Napoleon gained credibility as a result. 

Thus emboldened, he attacked Austria in support of Italian unity.  Here, he commanded in person, riding ahead of his army through Paris to the Gare de Lyon, to entrain for Marseille and Italy.  But whilst he had always been good at promoting military glory, he had little stomach for the reality.  At the brutal battle of Solferino, he gave no orders, allowing his generals to squander lives in bayonet attacks whilst he silently chain-smoked cigarettes.  On visiting a field hospital after the battle, the sight of surgeons struggling amidst piles of amputated arms and legs caused him to throw up.  So appalled was he by the whole thing that he personally negotiated a premature peace treaty with the Austrian Emperor, which left the Austria still in control of North-East Italy.  Ever the showman, Napoleon managed to make the most of the shambles by staging a magnificent parade of returning veterans down the Champs Elysee in Paris, convincing his countrymen that it had all been a great triumph. 

Then things started to become more difficult.  By now Prussia was led by Otto von Bismark, the “Iron Chancellor”, who was determined to create a united Germany under the leadership of the King of Prussia.  For this great work, Bismark had the perfect tool, the Prussian Army, with its General Staff led by Helmut von Moltke.

Helmut von Moltke – the professional

Moltke was the son of a minor aristocrat who had been ruined by the first Napoleon’s invasion and occupation.  He became a cadet in the Danish army, but decided that Prussian service offered more opportunity.  Unlike the average soldier, he loved music, poetry, art, and archaeology and was a great linguist.  In order to earn enough money to buy a horse, he translated Gibbon’s “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” into German. 

In 1838, he was sent to advise the Turks on the reorganisation of their army.  In this role, he was present at the Battle of Nissib, where he helped to extricate the Turkish army from total defeat by the Egyptians.  In spite of subsequently being recognised as one of the greatest military commanders in history, this was the only occasion on which he participated in any battle – demonstrating that, in the same way as you don’t have to been a project manager to be a successful programme manager, you don’t have to be a fighting soldier to be a successful commander.

Once back in Berlin, his memoirs of Turkey, illustrated by his own water-colour painting, became a best seller.  This helped to bring him to the attention of the Court.  In due course, he was made Chief of the Prussian General Staff.  He immediately went to work making changes to the strategic and tactical methods of the Prussian army; changes in armament and in means of communication; changes in the training of staff officers; and changes to the method for the mobilization of the army. 

Unlike Napoleon III, whose sexual liaisons were legion and whose palace chamberlain used regularly to procure court beauties for the imperial bed chamber, Moltke was totally faithful to his English wife, Mary Burt. 

The Franco Prussian War

Although Emperor, Napoleon III never felt sufficiently in control to raise taxes and so his army lacked the modern equipment that a major European conflict now required – especially artillery.  Furthermore, to avoid any risk of adding to France’s long history of revolution, military units were based at opposite end of the country from where they were raised.  Thus, when the army was mobilised to face the Prussians along the Eastern frontier, some soldiers had to travel from Alsace to the Brittany to pick up equipment from their home depots, before travelling back the width of the country to face the enemy.  When they did arrive, miserable staff work meant they lacked all sorts of essential items and they often had to beg or steal food off local inhabitants.

Amazingly, in spite of the army’s unreadiness to fight in Europe, it was the French who declared war.  In order to demonstrate their importance, they turned a minor diplomatic crisis over who should be the next ruler of Spain, into a showdown with Prussia.  The Prussians backed down, but the French decided that this was not enough and demanding a personal guarantee from the King of Prussia.  The King considered this unnecessary and politely declined to do so.  At the time he was taking the waters at the spa town of Ems, so he sent a mild and factual summary of the discussions by telegram to Berlin.  Bismark, who had the measure of Napoleon’s regime, edited the telegram to give the impression that the King had rudely rejected French demands and published the result to the world’s press.  The French went mad and demanded that the upstart Prussians be taught a lesson.  The Paris press urged “War” and Napoleon was unable to control events.  Having created an image of military invincibility, he was obliged to live up to it.  With the Parisian crowds shouting “Á Berlin”, he signed the declaration that swiftly led to his own downfall.

At the time, the French army was the most highly respected in the world - for example, both side in the American Civil War based their uniforms on those of the French.  As a result, all were amazed when, instead of the French invading Germany, it was the Prussians who invaded France, beat two French armies and started to march on Paris.  Although Napoleon
was ill with gallstones, the survival of the imperial regime required that he personally lead his troops to a spectacular victory.  Instead, he found himself cut off and surrounded at Sedan, where the Prussians’ new steel cannons turned the city into a death trap.  Napoleon’s lack of investment in artillery meant that his troops could give no reply and he surrendered, abandoning his army to captivity and his regime to oblivion.  He died in exile at Chislehurst in Kent in 1873.

Conclusion

Napoleon III, certain of his destiny, would have had no doubt about his ability to manage even the most demanding and complex programme.  His shameless ability to promote his successes, even when they had occurred by chance, enabled him to convince others of his competence, at least in the short-term.  But, in programme management, as in politics, confidence and showmanship are little use without real competence and adequate resources.

By contrast, von Moltke had made the Prussian army the most professional in the World.  Its mobilisation was a model of organisation that all subsequently aspired to.  The system of order cards, introduced by him to ensure clear orders that could not be misunderstood in the heat of battle, is still followed by the British Army.  Throughout the war, the Prussians demonstrated the “5 ‘Ps’” - that “Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance”.  Yet Moltke was no slave of pre-arranged plans.  “No battle plan”, he explained, “survives the first contact with the enemy.” 

After the Battle of Sedan, he was made a Count, a Field Marshall and a member of the German Parliament.  He died a national hero in 1891.  He would have made a great programme manager.

Making Programme Conference Calls Work [Penny Pullan - Making Projects Work Ltd]

Conference calls by phone are key tools for us programme managers. Nowadays, with our teams distributed across the country, or even all around the world, it’s no longer feasible to meet face to face every time.  With a recession looming, travel budgets are being slashed. With the threat of climate change, companies want to show that they are reducing their carbon footprints. All in all, conference calls offer the promise of quick and easy meetings, without the expense, pollution and hassle of travel. That sounds great, but is it just too good to be true? What’s your experience of them?
Far from being a solution to the problem, conference calls often drain programme managers’ time and resources. In my own practice, I hear a range of frustrations with these calls:

• ‘No-one answers when I ask a question.’
• ‘The calls start late and go on far too long.’
• ‘Often we can hear people typing their e-mails, sometimes even snoring!’
• Preparation just doesn’t get done.’
• ‘I don’t know who else is on the call or even what they look like!’
• ‘Actions just don’t get done, even when they get written up.’

My recent survey shows that conference calls are usually frustrating and energy-draining. For programme teams working across time zones, calls often swallow up evenings as well as working days. In some industries, notably pharmaceuticals, people reported taking part in up to ten conference calls per week! 

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

On the Job Front

Customer Service Implementation Director

 Customer/Member Services division of a major organisation currently has a combined total of 18 contact centres in four geographies worldwide (UK, South Africa, and India).  They are looking for a  Customer Service Implementation Director who will take responsibility for Change Management, Tools & Technology, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and Campaign Management within the function. 

 For more information please email geoffreiss@geoffreiss.com.

MSc Enterprise System Implementation

Readers might be interested in this University of Cranfield MSc course: www.cranfield.ac.uk/sas/esi.

This programme aims to develop balanced understanding of business operations, how IT can help and necessity of people buy-in for IT supported change.

Reminder: ProgM Annual General Meeting (AGM) - 8th October 2008

Reminder that ProgM will hold a formal Annual General Meeting and “get-together” for members in Central London. The meeting will take place at 8 October 2008, starting at 6.00pm.  Drinks and light refreshments will be available from 5.30pm 

If you haven't already registered, you can do so by contacting Tanya Durlen, her email address is tanya.ProgM@gmail.com

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.  

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