I’ve spent thousands of hours managing projects. I’d argue it’s one of the most critical skills of a good manager. You need the ability to see the big picture, create plans, organize people, and adapt to changes, as you march toward a well defined outcome.
I’ve spent more time managing programs, which I think is even more important.
Program management requires the ability to think strategically and operationally. If you choose the wrong programs to focus on, it doesn’t matter how good your project management skills are, or how talented your people… the program is not in alignment with your top level goals or strategies.
You also use different tools. Project managers can get away with a spreadsheet or even a checklist. More complicated projects can use software like Microsoft Project, Asana, Jira, Monday, etc.
But Program Managers need a way to see the big picture across all their programs and make sure they are executing, and aligned with the top level strategies of the organization.
Here’s an example: I’m the Launch Director for the SJSU SpartUp Incubator and that means it didn’t exist before me, and now it does. I was asked to bring an incubator to life.
When we started, I sat with our VP of Research and Innovation to learn about the top level goals and strategies of San Jose State University, then the goals and strategies of his Division of Research and Innovation, and finally the goals and strategy of my specific area: Innovation.
We created a high level strategy and top level objectives for the incubator. Then I went to work designing, launching, and monitoring programs.
It was critical to execute on the right programs first. We needed to build a membership base and give them services they could benefit from immediately. That meant programs like VC Funding Demo Day would be a waste of time and energy, with more failure than success. But a Proof of Concept program, where we could get small grants to teams and give them milestones and mentorship to test their ideas… this would be a big win for everyone.
Eventually we created a Proof of Concept Program, a Spring Founder Cohort, and a Summer Intensive. These three core programs could move a founder from idea, to prototype, to planning, and fundraising.
All the other program ideas had to go on the back burner. Not killed, just pushed out to another horizon.
We also focused on Events in the same way. We created a monthly speaker panel that aligned with our programs and had a post event networking hour.
The other key events needed to be competitions and other ways to collide founders with reality. We established a Pitch Jam where founders had a safe place to pitch and learn. We promoted challenges and competitions from other colleges they could compete in.
In between we created a Mentor Program to build a community for mentors and mentees. This was critical to support members through all the programs, events, and beyond the walls of the university.
Once we had a strong foundation and over 700 members, we started doing workshops on specific topics to help fill the needs we learned directly from our founders.
All of this work was done at the Program Level, to achieve the goals outlined through our division and above.
Within each of these programs we did lots of projects, yes. But having alignment and focus made it so much easier to deliver.
I’m excited about how far we’ve come and how far we can go.
And I hope this helps you consider the value of having a great program manager, not just a project manager.
— Mash
Great message as well as incredible achievement Mash!