David Cotgreave
Written Articles
The numbers are stark. By 2035, the world will need 30 million additional project professionals to meet global demand. Yet while organisations scramble to fill gaps, most are still relying on outdated resourcing models that simply don’t work in 2025.
The Talent Shortage Isn’t Getting Better—It’s Evolving
Remember when the biggest problem was just finding enough candidates? That was the tip of the iceberg.
A CIO friend has just switched firms and, when he suggested Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) as an alternative to hiring and contractors, the response from the CFO, COO and CEO was: “who?”.
We all know the RAG system — Red, Amber, Green — three colours on a dashboard that appear to sum up a project’s fate. Seasoned project managers know the truth though: the real story isn’t in the colour; it’s in what happens behind the scenes.
IT projects are the backbone of business growth.
Delivering them successfully, however, is anything but straightforward: demand for specialist project managers has never been higher; skills shortages continue to bite; and automation powered by artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how project work gets done.
he Procurement Act 2023 came into law on 24 February 2025, promising:
“a simpler and more flexible, commercial system that better meets our country’s needs”
To “open up public procurement to new entrants such as small businesses and social enterprises so that they can compete for and win more public contracts”
“embed transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle so that the spending of taxpayers’ money can be properly scrutinised.”
In this blog we take the pulse of The Procurement Act and ask if the benefits promised are being delivered.
Over three quarters (77%) of project professionals say business acumen improves strategic decision making, yet less than a fifth (18%) are highly proficient in it.
That gap is costing organisations more than they realise. Especially in I.T. projects, where the line between delivery and business value is thinner than ever.
Risk management in IT projects has often been considered a defensive discipline, intended to catch issues before they “snowball” into full blown disaster!
Given the current economic climate, where businesses are measuring the ROI on everything, at Stoneseed we’ve applied a growth mindset to risk management and identified that, with proactive risk management, you can unlock real, measurable financial value.
When it comes to finding the perfect workplace, independent employee reviews tell the real story. According to anonymous reviews on Glassdoor – a platform where companies cannot alter or remove employee feedback – Stoneseed’s story is overwhelmingly positive, with an exceptional 4.8 out of 5 stars rating and an impressive 94% of employees recommending the company to friends.
These unfiltered insights from real employees provide an authentic view of what it’s truly like to work at Stoneseed.
Completing an IT project and releasing it into service is always an extremely exciting and satisfying moment and delivering it within a pre-determined timeframe and budget certainly ramps up the joy … but also the pressure!
When your confidence in going live is shaken by bugs or issues, and your stakeholders are breathing down your neck, what do you do?
When PM friend Fiona found herself in this exact position recently, she gained a valuable insight, not from an experienced colleague, or a trusted IT Advisory partner. Fiona’s mentor was her teenage son!
Straight Talk on Project Management is Stoneseed’s eBook, your go-to resource for practical, no-nonsense project and programme management anecdotes and advice!
It’s perfect summer holiday reading!!
At Stoneseed, we write at least 48 blogs a year covering everything from agile transformations to stakeholder engagement, always with our trademark passion and a light-hearted touch that gives you a fresh perspective on project management. The hope is that they’re never too technical, sales-pitchy or high-brow – we’ll save that for when we work together on your project!