Project Revolution
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Project Managers are the front runners for the advancement of our society. Project management is projected to grow by 22 million new jobs by the year 2027. Employers will need nearly 88 million people to fill positions within project management. What kinds of projects will these roles serve? Combating global warming, clean energy, advances in technology, infrastructure, government projects, innova
07/13/2026
PMI made the right move.
It doesnt have to do with AI.
And honestly, that's the part I'm most excited about.
Years ago, I walked into a meeting with one of our VPs convinced I had earned a promotion. I was ready to explain the projects I'd delivered, the problems I'd solved, and the results I'd produced.
She listened carefully and then asked a question I wasn't expecting:
"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰?"
For a second, I froze.
It wasn't a question about my projects. It was a question about whether I understood the business behind them.
Fortunately, I had an answer because I had spent years learning how the organization actually worked.
That conversation changed the way I looked at project management.
Projects don't exist to deliver projects. They exist to move organizations forward. The better you understand the business, the better decisions you make, the more influence you have, and the more valuable you become as a leader.
That's why PMI made the right move by increasing the emphasis on Business Environment.
In fact, I'd love to see the exam eventually balance all three domains equally: People, Process, and Business Environment.
I put together an infographic that breaks it down.
My hope is that it helps you see not just what changed, but why I believe this is an important step for our profession.
How has understanding the business side of projects changed the way you lead?
Have you ever watched someone get promoted and thought, "I'm better than they are?"
I have.
I thought promotions were simple:
- deliver great projects
- increase gross profit
- outwork everyone around you
- lean into the problems nobody else wants to solve
and bam, somebody would eventually notice you.
And they did.
Just not in the way I expected.
For a while, that really frustrated me. I watched people move into leadership roles and get invited into conversations that I didn't think they'd earned the right to be in.
They were getting opportunities that I thought belonged to me.
Finally, I got tired of being frustrated.
The question I kept asking wasn't getting me anywhere.
Instead of asking, "Why are they getting promoted?" I started asking, "What am I not seeing that they are?"
That was the turning point.
I realized I had been measuring my value with the wrong scorecard.
- Delivering projects mattered.
- Increasing gross profit mattered.
- Working harder than everyone else mattered.
- Leaning into the toughest problems mattered.
The longer I measured myself that way, the longer I stayed exactly where I was.
It just wasn't the whole story.
The leaders who kept advancing weren't simply great individual contributors.
They built relationships in every direction.
They created trust before they needed it.
They influenced decisions, not just deliverables.
Their presence was felt even when they weren't in the room.
That's what we call Legendary Leadership.
I'll never forget applying for an internal leadership position. One of the executives looked at me and said,
"You're one of our highest achievers. We wouldn't dare move you there."
At first, I took it as a compliment.
Then it hit me.
Organizations don't always promote the person creating the most value in their current role.
They promote the person they believe will create the most value in the next one.
High performance gets you noticed.
Leadership gets you promoted.
Don't become so valuable that your team can't live without you.
Become so valuable that the organization can't imagine leading without you.
Have you ever had a moment that completely changed the way you thought about your career?
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