There’s a verse seemingly very simple,
the verse above all others, the verse more like a bridge;
to bridge over, to overcome,
when the story leads nowhere.

There’s a verse full of different tricks,
the verse above all others, like the verse of all verses;
it saddens, it cheers up, and then disarms
and like a mountain rose demolishes the stone.

(Although my translation nowhere near expresses the beauty of the verses quoted here, originally written in the local language by a regionally famous musician and songwriter, I used them in the original text in Croatian to figuratively show how I see project management. And whilst the translation is a bit rough (sorry, I’m not a poet!), I hope you who read the English version of this text will grasp the essence of the picture I tried to show.)

While he was not everyone’s favourite, Đorđe Balašević was undoubtedly an unparalleled artist of words which is rarely born. He wrote these verses, of course, from a completely different perspective and with other dedication than what the theme of this text is about.

The verse above all others

For me, there is no description of project management or any wise thought of some management expert which gets to its core better than these verses. In management, this “verse above all others” is precisely project management. It is seemingly simple but actually so deep, complex and powerful in its influence that it can arouse the whole spectrum of emotions in the person who practices it. And at the same time, it does wonders for the results of a project or business.

Regardless of the industry or context it is applied to, its logic and essence are always the same, equally powerful and influential. To stay in the tone of the songwriter mentioned above: “the principle is the same, and everything else are nuances”.

My first encounter with the project world

The first outlines of projects and everything that goes with them, I experienced about twenty years ago at the beginning of my professional journey while working for a Canadian company in the lighting industry. The production and delivery of, at that time, innovative luminaries for construction projects across Europe and the Middle East were a project of their own with each new client. At that time, I worked as a personal assistant to a person I greatly appreciate and part of that work I did not even see as projects. To be honest, back then, I didn’t even know the true meaning of the terms project and project management. It was only later, from a retrospective, that I realised that these were my first encounters with this distinct world of management.

In 2005, by a confluence of circumstances, I formally entered the world of project management within real estate development. My position was also called project manager. The following years brought a handful of challenges and concrete problems (a slight digression: it is not possible to call every problem a challenge, but it is possible to treat it that way!) on multimillion-dollar projects of local-regional character, and international face and reverse. Nevertheless, that period was exciting and, above all, it taught me a lot about business, people, life in general, and of course, projects.

The effort invested became the expertise and project management my professional love

During those years of working on demanding projects, I truly got down to the heart of project management in practice. I have a natural tendency (even talent of some sort) for analysis, details, getting to the core of problems, and organising, managing, and leading, so I successfully swam through this turbulent everyday life I led. However, I learned the theoretical side of project management only a little later and in all its fullness.

Back then, my biggest reward were the results I was regularly achieving. Still, an even greater sense of pride came from one of my former bosses when he gave me a recommendation for a new project ahead of me. It said: AMM is an eloquent manager of situations and people, with the ability and drive to successfully complete on time whatever the task and associated challenges. With this sentence, he strengthened my self-confidence and confirmed that I had grown into an expert in the world of project management and management in general. For me, this was and remained to be invaluable. (Alec, thank you for these words; they have done for me more than you can imagine!)

The importance of project management

Later I worked on many more projects, of one kind and value or another. Still, my professional interests grew, so I continued to build on knowledge and skills in other areas of management and organisational life. Nevertheless, the importance of project management remained the same for me. It lays down the correct foundation, gives a framework of action, clearly defines the objectives to be achieved and the value/s to be delivered. It precisely directs and guides through the process, from an idea to execution and from there to delivery, acceptance and closure.

And it always delivers value, whether it manifests itself through product, service, or solution. Without the value, the delivery does not make sense. Who understands this has already learned a lot about project management.

On the other hand, its value is great not only when applied to projects but also overall business management. And when enriched with other complementary knowledge, success is practically a sure thing, no matter the goals and value to be achieved.

The PMP Certificate

Many people consider the best project managers to be those who possess the PMP (Project Management Professional) certificate. It is globally considered the most important formal confirmation of project management knowledge. On the other hand, I am in the group that appreciates results the most. However, obtaining this certificate is not easy; it requires having actual experience in project management and a considerable number of hours of learning and preparing for the exam. Personally, I have never needed this certificate – past successes have always guaranteed for my expertise. But, having decided to embark upon the path of entrepreneurship and to give future clients of AMM CONSULTING additional confidence in my abilities, I invested time and effort to formally pass for an internationally recognised PMP.

I wanted to point out that, while preparing for this demanding exam, I reminded myself of how deep and complex project management really is. Especially today, when it formally encompasses agile and hybrid approaches to it (and I will add to situations and business as well). And hence that intro at the beginning of the text – project management is “the verse above all others”. The knowledge coming from its profound understanding is truly exhaustive, and when enriched with a versatile experience, the results can be rather impressive.

Project Management tailored to your needs

And finally, I will stress what I had said years ago, and now confirmed due to the exam taking – the so-called PMBOK (The Project Management Body of Knowledge) is one of the most boring books ever written. You can often hear this opinion from many who have read it. It fascinates me how such an exciting matter can be presented in such a tedious way, as if its goal is to have people hate the field they actually love. The point being that if you don’t plan to take the PMP exam, don’t spend your money or time on that book. Project management can be presented and learned in a much more pleasant way.

Therefore, if you need active support concerning projects and management on the principles and mentality of project management, education, or in-house training in this field, AMM CONSULTING does all that for you practically and simply. By going to the core of the matter, this approach will enable your organisation to achieve optimal results, adapted to your needs and environment.

Choose AMM CONSULTING – because results are what counts!