Master Business Acumen Part 1: Become Business-Savvy

To compete in today’s and future business and project environments, project managers will need a greater understanding of the connection between project management, portfolio management, strategic planning and the many factors associated with leading and managing an organization. Project managers must develop their business management expertise or, more specifically, they must become business savvy in addition to their technical project management skills. In this informative, content-intensive, case-study-driven training program, attendees will gain considerable knowledge about typical MBA program topics that will differentiate them from other project managers and position them for advancement as project professionals. During this course, attendees will participate in three progressive case studies that will help to develop practical business skills and promote the sharing of knowledge within collaborative teams. These hands-on exercises include templates and spreadsheets that require reading comprehension, team analysis and attention to detail.

Personal devices (laptops or other devices) are a necessary part of the program. The competency-building and business-centric case study activities include:

• Portfolio management — project justification, selection and prioritization
• Project business case analysis
• Business case development
• Project financial analysis — project cash flow development and assessment of ROI

This training program will also address a multitude of knowledge-building topics including:

• Techniques for top-down and bottom-up strategic, organizational and tactical planning
• Organizational cost management
• Capital expenditures versus project expense
• Methodologies for process management and modeling
• Addressing and managing the “voice of the customer”

In addition to obtaining 14 PDUs for attending the two days of training, attendees will be provided with an opportunity to earn one additional PDU for participating in a specific prework assignment. Registrants will receive details regarding participation prior to the start of the course. This is a great opportunity to earn one PDU at no extra cost!