Forum: Project Success Requires Leadership AND Management

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I get all excited when people are infusing our Project Management profession with Leadership, you know, the icky stuff that is about “humans” (waaahaaaaa).

When I found out about the Center for Project Leadership at Columbia University I got out of my chair and jumped of joy! Yay!

“In line with the belief that “nothing is as practical as a good theory,” the overall purpose of the Center for Project Leadership (CPL) is to develop useful theories of project leadership and management that are based on robust assumptions, suitable for dynamic situations, and conducive to the development of effective project management practices.”

And they are going to organize a great forum!

The First Forum on Construction Project Leadership.

The Forum will take place at Columbia University, New York City on August 25, 2009.

The purpose of the forum is to examine some of the current and anticipated challenges facing construction projects, and to discuss the critical role that project leadership will play in addressing the increasingly difficult project environment in the coming years. The forum will bring together a panel of top experts from industry and academia, who will examine the importance of both project leadership and project management as critical skills for project success.

The list of speakers includes:

• Janice Tuchman, Editor-in-Chief, Engineering News-Record;
• Dr. Alexander Laufer, Director, Center for Project Leadership at Columbia University;
• Dr. Jeffrey S. Russell, Professor and Chair, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison;
• Norman R Doll , President Emeritus, Pieper Electric, Inc, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison;
• Gregory Howell, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Lean Construction Institute;
• Scott Cameron, Global Project Management Process Owner, Procter & Gamble Registration.

Attendance should be a must for professionals working in organizations involved in the delivery of construction projects, including owners; developers; architects; design engineers; contractors; suppliers; local, state and federal government, as well as consultants, researchers, and educators.

Registration fee for the forum is $190.

Check out the program. Sounds like an awesome venue.