Who is
PAUL
Upskilling. Public speaking. Karate. And endless cups of tea. All about Paul Ovington, a partner at Escape.
"Today there is so much noise, both in society in and within a company. You have to break through that noise to get things done."
What's the idea behind High-Tech Project Management?
It’s effectively applied project management. High tech product development methodology on one hand and project management methodology on the other. The two have to be intermeshed, and it's definitely more powerful than pure project management on its own.
You call yourself an acceleration coach?
That’s right. I upskill people at least 10 times, if not 50 times faster than they would get if they got pure experiential experience, should we say.
When someone's done one of your courses, do they get a certificate?
Yes. It shows both the type of the course and outline of what the course does. If you go for a new contract, they see this unusual course that you've done in advanced project management and you can show or demonstrate your competitive edge.
Isn't a lot of what you are teaching them something that an experienced project manager should already know?
Standard project management training covers all industries, all industry sectors, all engineering disciplines. It’s general and it’s basic. It’s not applied specifically to the complexity, the domain you're working in. On top of that, there are aspects of project management, which are not really dealt with adequately in standard project management training. The headroom for advanced learning is huge.
And if someone does your training course, will they be able to work significantly better than someone who didn't?
Yes, that's the idea. They'll be able to plan and execute the project much better. Get better results. I always say that if an organization uses the methodology that I teach, that typically they can accelerate product development by 10 to 20%, and in business terms, that benefit is astronomical because it means you can get, 15% more revenue, maybe 7% more profitability.
If you're going to do a project so much faster, don’t clients think it won’t be done so well?
The proof is in the pudding. One of the things that the companies I work for see is that their clients express extreme satisfaction as a result.
Do you work internationally?
I worked in Austria twice, Switzerland three times, Germany, three times. Also in Denmark and Belgium. I love parachuting in to different organizations, in different sectors, in different countries
Do you think Denmark punches above its weight?
The Danes are very good at niching and design. I’ve got some Ecco shoes, which I use for business. I eat Lurpak butter. I've played with Lego as a child. It goes on and on. I eat Danish bacon. That's huge global recognition for a small country.
Is it true you’re involved with the Toastmasters International?
Yes, it’s a global speaking club. They teach how people should do public speaking presentation. I've probably done 120 speech projects. Something of that order.
Do communication skills feature in your training?
Yes. Things like conflict resolution and active listening skills. Negotiation skills, delegation skills, coordination skills. All of those things use communication. Today there is so much noise in society in general, and so much noise within a company and you have to break through that noise in order to get things done.
Is there anything that you do to switch off?
Toastmasters is total relief from work because it's away from the work and environment. You're focused on speaking, not on your work. Also I became a black belt in karate about 20 years ago. Same thing. If you were thinking about work, you're gonna get kicked in the head.
Is there a book you've read that's had a profound impact on your business life?
So I've read so many books on project management. I’m also a big fan of personal development books. Brian Tracy type stuff. Any personal development guru I follow. When I was doing my MBA I had a book called Competitive Strategy which became my kind of bible.
What's the first app that you check in the morning and what do you think that says about you?
I would say Outlook sometimes LinkedIn actually, it's interesting to see what's going on in the professional environment, what's happening in the industry.
If your calendar got wiped tomorrow, what would you choose to do with the time?
Oh, I would probably go out for a long walk in nature. Or go for a run, actually because run is very running therapeutic, except my knees struggle a little bit these days.
How would your colleagues describe you?
They would probably say that I was very systematic, structured, with a great sense of humour, which I think is essential if you’re a project manager.
Do you use emojis when you write to colleagues?
Sparingly and occasionally. Usually just a smiley. A smiley with a funny comment can lighten up the whole message.
If project management were a sport, what sport would it be?
I would say either karate or rugby. Karate because it's about attention to detail, but also you have to be determined, direct, very disciplined and objective as well. Rugby is a very chaotic sport on the face of it. But on the other hand, it's very organized and a lot of the kind of moves are tactical or strategic.
What's the best piece of advice you've ignored?
You seem to be doing too many things. Why don't you focus? I tend to do too many things and pursue too many objectives simultaneously.
Tea or coffee?
I like both. I am an avid tea drinker. I'll drink tea all day. I have one cup of coffee - usually a cappuccino - and it's brilliant.
