1.
NOTICE: PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL
This material is proprietary to and contains trade secrets and information which is solely the property of Centric Consulting, LLC. It is solely for the Client’s internal use and shall not be used, reproduced, copied, disclosed, transmitted, in whole or in part,
without the express consent of Centric Consulting, LLC. © 2016 Centric Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.
Building a Better PMO
by Building a Better Brand
Presented by Renee A. Giacalone
Senior Manager, Centric Consulting
Co-Authored by Yvon Milano and Renee A. Giacalone

2.
What’s a Brand Anyway?
“Put simply, your “brand” is
what your prospect thinks
of when he or she hears
your brand name. It’s
everything the public thinks
it knows about your brand
—both factual, and
emotional. Your brand
exists only in someone’s
mind.”
Forbes, 2011
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3.
Executives Continue to Challenge PMOs
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Number one reason PMO’s were questioned?
ESI, The Global State of the PMO, 2015
“In this year’s survey, 72 percent of
respondents claimed the PMO continues to
be called into question mostly by senior
management.”

4.
Branding: Why Does it Matter?
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A key factor for success is how the PMO is positioned
within the organization.
“PMO leaders that ignore the importance of
proactively marketing PMO successes and
achievements forgo the opportunity to
demonstrate PMO impact and value.”
Gartner, March 2016

5.
Defining the Brand
Defining and clearly communicating brand and behavioral
standards for your team members is step one in creating a
stellar brand.

6.
Defining the Brand
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To facilitate the project management process
and improve quality, always in alignment with
the enterprise strategic objectives, values and
vision. – PMO Mission Statement
A highly effective PMO
A simple project management methodology that the business understands
A framework that shows how everything the PMO does is aligned with enterprise
strategic objectives – PMO Vision Statement
Generate demand by establishing a consistent record of success
Show value by publishing project benefits
Enable better decision making through effective communications
– PMO Value Statement

7.
Poll Question
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8.
A PMO Brand Gone Bad
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9.
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How should your PMO be perceived?

10.
Pick the Right Team Members
Technical skills can be learned. Select and develop a highly
skilled, “borderless team” who behave in alignment with the
brand standards.

11.
The “Borderless” Team
All members of the team, regardless of paycheck, should behave the same way.
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•Doesn’t matter whose name is on your paycheck
•Email Signature/Greetings
•“I thought they worked for the company.”
Identify
•Treat all colleagues like clients
•Work within the culture to get things done
•“They care more about my business than some of my
employees.”
Attitude
•Celebrations
•Communications and meetings
•“Once again, our borderless team comes through.”
Inclusive

12.
I AM PMO
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My name is…
I work for our Program Management Office….
I am responsible for…
Make it memorable
Put it in perspective for the listener
Know your facts
Elevator Speech….Tell the PMO Story
Every member of the team should be comfortable describing
their contributions to the brand.

13.
Poll Question
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14.
High-Performing Project Managers
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The top skills exhibited by
project managers in high-
performing organizations
were: integrity, honesty,
relationship building,
establishing trust and
respect.
High-performing
organizations rate
communicating and
listening the most important
project manager skill.
PM Solutions Research, 2015 Benchmark
Leadership skills are more important than technical skills.

15.
Strike the Right Balance
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Hard Skills
• Detailed planning & estimation
• Tight issues/risk management
• Clear ownership & accountability
• Engage key stakeholders
• Rigor and discipline in execution
Soft Skills
• Fostering an open culture
• Engaging people in the right way
• Telling the truth (don’t fake it)
• Sharing knowledge (don’t hoard it)
• Asking for help (don’t go it alone)
Project Leaders have the right balance of skills.
Project Managers ask good
questions.
Project Leaders keep asking
questions until the “ah-ha
moment” arrives.

16.
What does Project Leadership look like?
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A Project Leader takes ownership
• A Project Leader doesn’t just report and track what is happening, but owns outcomes.
A Project Leader is involved
• A Project Leader engages the team and stakeholders to build a common sense of purpose.
• A Project Leader reaches out to team members, getting involved in decision making and issue resolution.
A Project Leader sees the broader picture
• A Project Leader looks beyond the project’s borders to understand how the project fits the business
landscape.
• A Project Leader knows what else needs to be done to achieve success and makes it happen.
A Project Leader is an advisor to the project sponsors and executives
• A Project Leader works with project sponsors to connect the project to the business environment outside of
the project’s borders.
• A Project Leader constantly evaluates the project’s situation.
Expand your performance evaluation criteria.

17.
Individual Branding
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Thought Leadership Branding: Where Do You Stand? by Jim Pennypacker on July 30, 2009 in Thought Leadership Marketing
Project leadership is the key differentiator.
Trusted
Valued
Positioned
Recognized
Unbranded

18.
Deliver and Tell
If you deliver, they will come: delivery excellence is the best
form of marketing, but you have to tell someone.

19.
Delivery Excellence
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Demand Planning & Governance
Methodology & Standards
Communications & Marketing
Portfolio Management
Quality Management
Project Financial Management
Bureaucracy-free: Project Intake, Evaluation,
Decision Making, Escalation
Right-sized: Delivery Framework, Tools, Templates,
Tollgates, SOPs
Audience-oriented: Executive, Stakeholder and
Project Team
Intra/Inter portfolio: Dependencies, Constraints,
Issues, Risks, Capacity, Change
Inspect what you expect: Audits, Peer Reviews,
Benchmarking
More than on-time/on-budget: Cost Benefit
Analysis, ROI, Forecasting and Report
The functional building blocks to deliver more than on-time and on-budget

20.
Benefit Realization
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Identify Benefits: determine
project/program level business
benefits
Benefit Realization Measurement:
create measurement plan to
demonstrate benefit realization
(culturally right-sized)
Execute Benefit Realization Plan:
implement data collection and
measurement activities
Sustain Benefits: ensure that
whatever the project or program
produces continues to create value
The ultimate measure of success for the PMO
• % On-Time
• % On-Budget
• Client Satisfaction
• Accumulated Benefits
Portfolio Performance Metrics
• ROI
• Hard $: Sustained expense/revenue
• Soft $: Sustained efficiency/productivity
Project Benefit Metrics
• On-Budget
• On-Time
• % Requirements Delivered
• Project Sponsor Satisfaction
Project Metrics

21.
Showcase Value
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Constantly communicate business value and ask for advocacy

22.
Summary
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Establish your brand standards
Mission, Vision and Behavior Standards
Share it, expect it, coach it
Pick your team with care
Hire project leaders
Value hard & soft skills
Treat everyone like a client
Deliver on-time, on-budget, on-benefits
Tell the PMO’s value story regularly
Ask for more business
Be the CMO of the PMO

23.
QUESTIONS?
Presenters Name: Renee A. Giacalone
Email: renee.giacalone@centriconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneegiacalone
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To learn more about Centric Consulting Solutions: www.CentricConsulting.com