Article written by Susan Poser (senior director of the Industry Strategy and Insight global program office at Oracle) and appears in the current issue of Oracle's Profit Magazine.

Executives go through various processes to determine which projects to fund internally and which opportunities to engage in externally. For instance, a high-technology company may develop a new product or build a new facility internally, and may provide installation services externally. Once these decisions are made, managing the execution by tracking the schedule, costs, resources, and milestones is critical to ensure project success. Many managers have the additional complexity of overseeing a supply chain to ensure that equipment, material, and resources are available on time at the point of need and use. The question is, how can they integrate their portfolio and project management processes in order to manage projects profitably—and ensure business value?

Managing visibility in three important areas of your portfolio and project management processes will help ensure success:

If you’re a sports fan, you’ve probably witnessed some dramatic mistakes and missteps on the playing field. These blunders occur when players don’t have (or don’t pay attention to) vital information. They occur when team members disregard teamwork, or when players forget that success can depend on factors beyond the level of an individual or team.

Construction companies share a lot in common with sports teams in this regard. When things go wrong, it’s usually not for lack of good intentions or professional experience. It’s because information isn’t available, communication isn’t fast or accurate, or close and effective collaboration with partners isn’t happening.

We’ve reached into the annals of sports history to find examples of what happens when professional players and teams drop the ball--literally and figuratively. We hope you enjoy the stories and manage to avoid similar situations.  

Blunder #1: Not Knowing Where You Stand

“Excessive” touchdown celebrations are officiallyfrowned upon in the NFL. Despite this, most scoring players manage to indulge in a little merriment without repercussion. However, one player’s embarrassing gaffe in the end zone proved the importance of knowing where you stand in any situation.

By John Chaney, co-founder, Dexter + Chaney

As a contractor, if you have even a modest investment in heavy equipment, then you have a significant stake in making sure that you are realizing a return on that investment. However, knowing your true costs and returns on construction equipment is not as simple a task as it appears on the surface. The good news is that there are reporting methods and tools available that help you drill down into the details of equipment management and provide you with information that drives money saving decisions.

How the right tools and processes create positive cash flow in your business.

By John Chaney, co-founder, Dexter + Chaney

It’s an old saying: “Cash is king.” More than ever, this saying is relevant to contractors as margins continue to tighten and the amount of work generated by new construction continues to remain relatively flat. Negative cash flow is the No. 1 reason why contractor businesses become insolvent, and so a primary business objective must be to keep operations in the black.

This article was submitted by Tom Frisby of The Frisby Group.

As a dispute resolution consultant (www.frisbygroup.org), I have found that effective daily reports have been more important than, to tell you the truth, after the fact forensic schedules and expert witnesses.  Daily reports are done in "real time" and if properly done, carry real credibility - I call daily documentation a Living, Unimpeachable Witness.  To be properly done: