Project Team Motivators: Pay 4 Performance Bonus

Looking for ways to motivate your team through financial compensation? Performane bonus may do the trick, according to research results. ...

... "However, if the same money was applied to pay-for-performance bonuses, the analysis suggests a performance increase of better than 15 percent. Indeed, the results suggest that providing a strong pay-for-performance link for bonuses rather than raises had the greatest potential benefit ... " ...

Via Cornell Hotel School: Compensation Study: Performance Impact

When IT Projects Impact the Bottom Line ...

Accenture takes financial impact to the bottom-line for over-runs associated with the UK National Health Service IT project, enabling an integrated patient care record. Project issues are related to sub-contractor delivery delays, higher forecast development costs, and lower projected adoption rates. ...

... "The National Health Service's troubled GBP6.2bn IT project has descended into financial misery and corporate recrimination, with Accenture forecasting it will not make a penny from the scheme for years " ...

When IT Projects Impact the Bottom Line: Via Telegraph: Accenture sunk in an NHS mire ...

Accenture Reports Second-Quarter Fiscal 2006 Financial Results: EPS of $0.11 Includes $450 Million Pre-Tax Provision Related to Company’s National Health Service Contracts: "Based on new developments in the second quarter, Accenture now believes that the future costs of deploying systems will exceed future deployment revenues under the current contract terms. As required under GAAP percentage-of-completion rules, Accenture has recorded a $450 million provision for future losses on deployment. The provision is reflected in cost of services for the second quarter of fiscal 2006. The provision, net of lower bonus compensation, resulted in a $342 million pre-tax reduction in operating income and a $0.27 after-tax reduction in EPS in the second quarter. "

Innovation: Influence Culture to Succeed ...

Jeffrey Phillips explores the innovation culture: free flow of ideas and people open to collaboration. Should compensation systems be changed to influence the culture? What works best? I've seen researchers share in the patent filing (prestige) and receive a modest reward from revenue performance (financial). ...

... "We've grown our cultures to assume that if it needs to be done, I'll do it myself. Basically, in many firms, we encourage competition and knowledge/information hoarding. " ...

Innovation: Influence Culture to Succeed: Via Innovate on Purpose: Biggest roadblock to corporate innovation ...

Innovation in Project Management; A Lesson from Ford

Tom Peters blogged recently about Ford, Pixar and the new wave of innovation sweeping companies. Although he had a softer spot for what Pixar is doing, the main point was that innovation is the new world order. Operational excellence is out, as is short-term thinking and reactionary cost-cutting. Even GE is now all about innovation.

Just look at these enlightening statements in a recent announcement from Ford CEO, Bill Ford, announcing their renewed focus on innnovation...

Ford Motor Company stands for a far-sighted commitment to growth. We stand for a renewed focus on the customer. We stand for boundless innovation in every aspect of our business...

Here is what we will not stand for: incremental change, avoiding risk, thinking short-term, blocking innovation, tying our people's hands, defending procedures that don't make sense, and selling what we have instead of what the customer wants. In short, we will not stand for business as usual.

Going forward, our employee evaluations will include a section on innovation. We’re also going to design compensation plans that reward new thinking. And we’re going to create a way for employees to appeal a decision, even if they have an idea and the boss says no.

These are inspiring words. Don't be surprised to see this approach make its way into the project management field. Instead of taking a project charter and "executing well," enlightened project managers will encourage opportunity assessments, get their teams and management excited about new ideas and concepts (assuming they're not squashed), and attempt to try new methods.

We've been posting recently about Agile Scrum Project Management. That's just one example of something that's new and different, but will most likely not gain ground in traditional, conservative organizations.

Here's more from Bill Ford's presentation...

Innovation Acceleration: Innovation-Driven Vision: Ford Motor Company