Why learn about formal Project Management - Because your business depends on it.  When do you stop learning - Never. 

Example Scenario:  If you are asking a person (employee, manager, PM, executive or whoever) if they would like to attend a Project Management conference, seminar, training course, luncheon, etc. Experienced PMs would often ask questions on the event or reply based on their priorities, constraints or alignment. 

You need to be cautious and suspect if they do not ask anything about the event and they state something like “I have done project management a lot so don’t need to learn anything like that”. 

Believe it or not, there are still many, many people that think project management is a book that you read it once, then you are done.  Or because you have managed projects for years, then you know how. 

When I personally have attended courses, seminars or conferences, often I have heard the same topic many times, but presented by a different person.  AND I always take away new learnings, tools or techniques to better prepare me for the next project. 

Why should you be a life-long learner in Project Management? 

To understand business, you must understand projects.  Then you understand that there is never an exact answer, there is never an accurate budget, scope or schedule.  Projects are temporary and unique. We constantly work to provide estimates, until we formally close the project. 

Our biggest goal is to try to increase the probability of success using the tools at hand. The world of PM changes as the world of business changes.  Change is drastically impacted by technology, global markets, governments, regulators, customers, resource prices (remember, resources means money, people, material, equipment, commodities, and now with the fast moving world we live in - time), etc. This is why Project Management has become a profession and the value it brings to business is irreplaceable.  This is also why the profession is and will continually evolve, advance, improve and gain momentum, similar to what accountants and engineers had to face in order to be an established profession in society. 

Examples of why one needs to learn new things in Project Management and what it results include:

  • customer satisfaction
  • employee satisfaction
  • loyalty
  • increased productivity
  • increased efficiency and effectiveness
  • decreased expenses
  • continuous improvement
  • improved quality
  • increased financial gain

Listed above are some broader, intangible statements, BUT, you also need to know examples of hard costs so you can talk to positions like the CFO.  Be ready at any time to talk about concrete, tangible examples why the world values project management. Some examples that project management helps eliminate include:

  • rework and repair
  • scrap and rejects
  • design flaws
  • additional inventory management
  • extended waiting
  • inappropriate role alignment
  • defects
  • customer complaints
  • service disagreements
  • product disagreements
  • product returns
  • maintenance costs
  • loss of contract
  • loss of future contracts
  • brand and image deterioration
  • legal
  • customer loyalty
  • employee loyalty
  • employee pride
  • employee selection opportunity
  • opportunity costs

Spread the word, professional project management takes life-long learning and is one of the most exciting and challenging professions there is and the value align with fundamentals of business.