We don't know yet if the world will end on December 21, so we are sending out our newsletter a bit early.

All joking aside, 2012 has been a year of slight but steady recovery in the US. Even the calamity of Hurricane Sandy is beginning to recede, with a related, predictable uptick in construction activity. Looking back at our own "storm" of activities this year, we wanted to point readers to:

• New research: The State of the PMO 2012 study, released last February, not only collected data about today's PMOs but explored the capabilities that define high performers.
• New white papers: Creating a Change-Ready Organization kicked off the year with advice, particularly for CIOs, on laying the groundwork for a nimble organization. The Business-Savvy Project Manager, our latest paper, describes the trends and drivers that are changing project managers' roles, and lays out a training program to meet those challenges.
• On our Strategy & Projects blog, we featured a five-part series on organizational change management that is must-reading for PMO leaders.

Finally, we celebrated the seventh annual presentation of the PMO of the Year Award by traveling to the workplaces of the winner and finalists to meet with company leaders and PMO staff, a new approach that we hoped would bring top PMOs the attention they deserve within their own organizations. You can see photos and video of the winner and finalists here, or download the ebook to read the highlights of their application essays. Congratulations again to winner Verizon Wireless Marketing PMO and runners-up from VSP Vision Care, First Horizon, and Catholic Health Initiatives. Profiles of these, and the semi-finalists, are posted on the Strategy & Projects blog, as well.

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2013: What the Best PMOs Have Planned

One of the sections of the application essay for PMO of the Year asks PMO leaders to describe their goals for the upcoming year. Not surprisingly, winning PMOs think big ... but also nurture the grassroots. Here are a few of their plans:

• Runner-up Catholic Health Initiatives plans to close the communication gap with executives by implementing a Project Executive Steering Committee as the CHI project governance body. And, to keep the EPMO hive buzzing, they also will provide a smart-phone app with which staffers can view the EPMO standards.
• First Horizon's theme for 2013 is "small is beautiful." They will break down large, complex projects into manageable chunks and rely on smaller "delivery teams" for each line of business that include: the portfolio manager, enterprise architect, QA lead, and Enterprise Risk partner. These delivery teams will focus on the portfolio of work rather than on individual project silos.
• At VSP, they are in gear to align enterprise strategy with project execution - conducting focused, yet rapid, feasibility and strategic analysis to evaluate new strategies before execution. At the same time, they are striving to alleviate staff resource shortages.
• To hear Verizon Wireless's PMO Director discuss what's next, view the video clip here (click on "What's Next for PMOs").

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Trending Now: The Business-Driven Project Manager

While once a narrow, technical focus was expected of project managers, this new organizational climate demands a broader, more business-driven focus. PM College's Business-Driven Project Manager curriculum focuses on strengthening the leadership, critical thinking, and strategic acumen of your project managers. Courses include:

• Managing Project Outcomes for Business Impact
• Strategies for Effective Stakeholder Engagement
• Demonstrating Project Value to the C-Suite

Be sure to read the Business-Savvy Project Manager white paper and catch an encore or our on-demand webinar that dives into the three areas of focus that will produce more business-savvy project managers.

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Career Opportunities

Below is a list of current job opportunities available with PM Solutions. Click on the title to view more details and learn how to apply.

• Sr. Program Manager with Oil and Gas Expertise
• Managing Consultant for Strategic PMO Within the Oil & Gas Industry
• Managing Consultant w/ PMO Portfolio Process & Program Management

Bookmark our Careers Page and check our active listings regularly. Better yet, if you want to be routinely considered for project-based assignments as they arise, submit your resume via our website so we have it on file to match against our evolving needs.

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