Leadership

Mr. John Schlichter, CEO of OPM Experts, is a PMI certified OPM3 Professional. He has implemented Project Management Offices (PMO's) for many Fortune companies, facilitated large-scale organizational change, designed and led comprehensive training programs in project, program, and portfolio management,, managed multi-million dollar technology projects, and been a mentor to all levels of management including C-level personnel. He is frequently invited to speak to audiences about project management across the globe. He began his career as an analyst and briefer for a management consulting firm serving Fortune companies. Subsequently he worked in positions ranging from PMO Manager and Director of Project Management to Executive Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Schlichter holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the college of Emory University and a Master's in Business Administration from the Goizueta Business School of Emory University. He has had a long-standing relationship with the Project Management Institute (PMI®), the largest professional organization dedicated to project management in the world.

"John Schlichter has contributed greatly to the Project Management Institute," said Greg Balestrero, Chief Executive Officer, PMI.

John was asked in 1998 by the PMI to lead the largest standards development initiative ever undertaken by PMI, in order to develop a standard in Organizational Project Management for industry and government. The resulting OPM3 is an international standard for helping organizations to assess and develop Project Management, Program Management, and Portfolio Management capabilities in order to be able to execute their strategies through projects successfully, consistently, and predictably.

After the prototype OPM3 maturity model was delivered to PMI, Mr. Schlichter launched OPM Experts, LLC to support organizations who are seeking to get the most out of Organizational Project Management. Mr. Schlichter is credited with being the foremost expert in the OPM3 standard's content and application.

"In John Schlichter's role as leader of the OPM3 program, he has immeasurably contributed to the growth of the (project management) profession," said Rebecca (Becky) Winston, J.D., Chair of the Board of Directors, PMI.

Mr. Schlichter continues to have a close relationship with PMI, having recently helped PMI (and their partner DNV) to develop certifications beyond the PMP for individuals who wish to become certified assessors and consultants using OPM3. Learn about the history of OPM3 here.

Mr. Schlichter was also a member of the PMI Standards Committee, a member of the PMI Standards Member Advisory Group, and a co-founder of the PMI Metrics Special Interest Group.

Endorsements:

• “John Schlichter is a project management consultant who brings considerable experience and expertise to his assignments. My organisation was very please and satisfied with his astute business acumen and the considerable depth of his knowledge on project management maturity models. Within a short time of undertaking the assignment John was fully seized of our business practices as an Inter-Governmental organisation which implements projects in a very a complex and dynamic environment. His analysis was thorough and his recommendations insightful.
  Without hesitation I would recommend OPM Experts to anyone who wishes to undertake an in-depth analysis of your organization’s project management maturity.” Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, Creative. Deborah Nurse, hired John as a Consulting in 2011 to assess CARICOM, European Union External Action Service (EEAS), Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID), and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

• “John has an amazing combination of in depth knowledge in project management with the business sense that won't let you get lost in the forest trying to find your way out. He has a great work ethic and demonstrates personal integrity in the way he approaches his work. If something is outside his area of expertise, he will say so - which is a rare and valuable trait.” June 2, 2011. Kevin Stever, Director of Global Compliance, C.A.R.E.

• “John conducted an OPM3 assessment for us and did an excellent job in difficult circumstances. He is extremely well-organized and focused on the mission. He maintains high standards and is process-driven. He works to clear deliverables and manages to educate his clients while he is performing the job at hand. And he adds value by recommending enhancements above and beyond just improved processes. Any organization that desires project management process improvement would be wise to start the journey with an OPM3 assessment conducted by John. He is the expert in the field.” Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, High Integrity. Ronald G. Schroll PMP PgMP,
  hired John as a Business Consultant in 2010 to assess M.A.R.T.A.

• “John is a great expert who can guide you to the right direction of your business, with his knowledge and wide network partners I believe valuable results from him you will get. Always working hard and bringing creative ideas and recommendations which are applicable to your organization.” March 20, 2009 Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, Creative. Abdullah Tamimi hired John as a Business Consultant for the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2009.

• “It is a pleasure to work with John. We are fortunate to be able to utilize John's expertise in OPM3 for our assessment. His analysis was meticulous and very detailed. He not only pin pointed the gaps but also trained us on OPM3 standardization and measurement areas. His guidance is of immense help in our quest for maturity. We are looking forward to be able to work with him in future as well.” Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert. Vijay Chauhan,
  hired John as a OPM3 Consultant in 2010 to assess the multi-billion dollar Melco-Crown Entertainment in Macau, China.

• “John is the OPM master. He has excellent knowledge in PM process and skill to lead organization to acheive higher state in OPM3.” Top qualities: Expert, Good Value, High Integrity. Eric Wong hired John as a PM Process Consultant in China in 2010.

• “John is an extraordinary talent to the project management profession. His devotion to his craft is unparalleled... His ability to take seemingly abstract concepts and provide concrete examples greatly boosted our understanding of OPM3 model. ...John spent several sessions understanding our culture and how we applied project management at UPS. ...He is the consummate professional.” Peter DiAngelo, PMP, Global PMO Manager, UPS Supply Chain Solutions.

• “While at WellPoint, I was faced with the need for a project management professional to step into a very complex and impactful enterprise project. I engaged John as a contract Program Director to step to manage one of the many pieces of the puzzle. His participation on the project resulted in several of the work streams that he managed being brought back on track, thus positively influencing the alignment of other work streams and the overall direction of the project. John's work was professionally coordinated and I appreciated his effort in managing both a difficult set of work, but also his ability to work with a fractured team. Given the opportunity to engage John to rescue a high-risk, high-impact project in the future, he would certainly be my first call. I would recommend him for any such engagement without reservation. Richard O'Leary” March 19, 2009.

• “John is a brilliant thinker, hugely enthusiastic about his subject matter, and innovative in the solutions he surfaces and implements on behalf of his clients. Organizations looking for top flight thinking will do well to consult with John. Meryl Moritz” September 23, 2008. Meryl Moritz, Principal, Meryl Moritz Resources was with another company when working with John at OPM Experts, LLC

• John is by far one of the most profound thought leaders I have ever met. His knowledge and commitment to improving organizations is always welcomed. When it comes to portfolio, program or project management maturity John is one of the colleagues I reach out for assistance.” September 16, 2006. Top qualities: Expert, High Integrity, Creative. Nathaniel Quintana, PMP, Booz Allen Hamilton, hired John as a Consultant/Trainer in 2006

•  “We brought in OPM Experts LLC to Panasonic Mobile during a time when we were struggling to introduce project management techniques into our company. They provided an expert diagnosis of the situation, and developed a roadmap for us to take our organization to the next level. We could not have done it without them --and I would recommend them without hesistation.” January 15, 2008 Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert Jim Marion, PMP hired John as a Business Consultant in 2004, and hired John more than once.

• "OPM Experts are the consummate professionals, and can sincerely be called upon as experts in the field of project management. They were instrumental in the successful implementation of the PMO for Panasonic. Through their expertise and consultancy we were able to institute a PMO within the local office and begin the training and implementation of the PMO in other international offices (Japan and England). They have the ability to work at all levels but are at their best when working with a company’s executives, helping instill the understanding that is required to sustain a successful project management process. I am hopeful that we will be able to collaborate again in the future.” - Deborah Thomsen, Vice-President, Panasonic Mobile.
  

•  “I was very fortunate to be able to spend a week with John Schlichter of OPM Experts participating in an OPM3 assessment of our maturity relative to the management of projects at Harris Corporation. John is extremely well versed in OPM3 and has exceptional clarity in speaking about the model, analyzing project artifacts and interviewing project team members to produce significant, concise and actionable findings from a focused assessment process. It was a tremendous learning experience for me personally and a practical assessment report for my company to implement. I look forward to working with John again to extend the OPM3 to other areas of the company.” March 25, 2008 Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, High Integrity Cathy Frank hired John as a Business Consultant (repeatedly) for Harris Corporation.

• “OPM Experts performed an assessment of several divisions within Northrop Grumman. A broad cross-section of leaders was enrolled to identify opportunities for improving project management quickly and unobtrusively, using an approach complementing our implementation of SEI's CMMI. We obtained a consensus view from among process owners and practitioners of the current state of capabilities and low hanging fruit, emphasizing strategic priorities. Their OPM3 training course was excellent and well-presented. They handled a challenging audience with patience and professionalism. They were very responsive and responsible in assisting us in producing a valuable, high quality end product. Top qualities: Great results. Personable. Expert." - Peter Skinner, Process Engineer at Northrop Grumman.

• “I brought OPM Experts LLC into my company to perform an OPM3 assessment and help us improve our Project Management Office processes. They performed outstanding work and left us with a road map for improvement. They are extremely knowledgeable about the entire field of Project Management, and have particular expertise in OPM3. If you are managing a PMO and want to use OPM3 to bring your organizations project capability to a higher level, then they would be an excellent resource. Top qualities: Personable. Expert. High Integrity.” - Ken Golkin, PMO Manager, Popular Financial.

•  “John directed the original team that developed OPM3 for PMI and I was the technical writer on the team. John demonstrated remarkable talents in this position, which I observed over several months. He is a brilliant strategist, a strong, decisive, project leader, and a creative, visionary thinker in his field.” January 15, 2008 Paul Wesman, Owner, Wesman Corporate Communications worked directly with John at Project Management Institute

•   “John is a visionary and a leader. He demonstrated this quite well running the OPM3 program which I was a part of in various capacities. In my opinion, OPM3 would not be what it is today without his leadership.” January 21, 2008 Venkat Mangudi, Program Manager - Business Solutions, HCL Technologies worked directly with John at OPM Experts, LLC

•   “John Schlichter, CEO of OPM Experts, is a highly skilled, knowledgeable OPM3 appraiser. He provided a valuable service to my organization as an appraiser of our project management capabilities. John's appraisal report was accurate, concise and characterized by insightful recommendations. If you are seeking to increase your organizational capabilities in project, program and portfolio management, contacting John would be a wise first step.” Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, Good Value Mark Scott, Harris Corporation, hired John as a OPM3 Appraisal Service (more than once).

•  “John has result oriented approach with open mind for ideas & out of box suggestions. His leadership is helpful to explore resolution to any issue of business challenges. Work with him on complex problems is highly enjoyable.” May 13, 2008 Muhammad Aslam Mirza, President-PMI KPC, Project Management Institute reported to John at Project Management Institute

•  “A person of keen and visionary foresight, John Schlichter is a thought-leader in the field of Organizational Project Management (OPM), and a sought-after speaker, assessor, and consultant. John is world renown as an expert in OPM (the art and science of advancing an organization's strategic intent through projects successfully, consistently, and predictably). As the VP of Professional Development for the Information Technology and Telecommunications SIG, I have engaged John repeatedly to present OPM3 to PMI's IT&Telecom SIG, which is the PMI's second largest Specific Interest Groups. Attendance to John's most recent presentation set the record for highest attendance, and was far higher than any of the SIG's esteemed speakers to date. John has developed a reputation for formulating strategy and translating it into action to produce success for his customers, as he did as the overall leader of PMI's OPM3 Program when I was a member of the OPM3 Integration Team, and he has shared his knowledge generously with members of the profession.” May 10, 2008 Vasilj Petrovic, P.Eng. PMP, VP Professional Development, PMI - Information Technology and Telecommunications was with another company when working with John at Project Management Institute

•  “John is extremely creative and thoughtful individual. He has first rate knowledge about decision processes and project management. If you add to that knowledge and skill set - an entrepreneur's spirit, you come up with John at his best. Intelligence and creativity do not always go hand in hand - in John they are both present.” April 3, 2008 Benn Konsynski, Professor, Emory University worked directly with John at Project Management Institute

•  “John is a very professional, serious and creative consultant” March 8, 2008 Top qualities: Expert, High Integrity, Creative Finn Svenning hired John as a Business Consultant in 2005

•  “John has been an inspiration to many of us. He organized an effort whose extensive scope was singular, and mobilized hundreds of professionals. John is a leader.” February 22, 2008 Luis Augusto dos Santos, PMP, President, Project Management Institute, Sao Paulo Brazil Chapter worked indirectly for John at Project Management Institute

•  “John's leadership & vision on a massive undertaking of the OPM3 initiative was exemplary and a true testament of his passion for the PM profession.” February 21, 2008 Dr. Ashley Pereira, Senior Engineering Manager & Six Sigma BlackBelt, Honeywell Aerospace was with another company when working with John at Project Management Institute

•   “John was a detail oriented and very focused Director for PMI's OPM3 Product Development Initiative. I was on the Standards Member Advisory Oversight Committee at the time. John was brilliant he was highly intelligent, kept track of all details and high level management and reporting very focused and hard working.” January 21, 2008 Cynthia (Cindy) Berg, Volunteer/Member, Project Management Institute managed John indirectly at Project Management Institute

•  “John is a person of great energy, innovation, and flexibility. He hones in on a target and actively achieves the objectives. He is thirsty for knowledge and reads voraciously. We don't know John's limits. I commend him without reservation.” January 20, 2008 Stan Rifkin, CEO, Master Systems Inc. reported to John at Project Management Institute

• " I've known John for more than four years as business partners. John is both a highly intelligent and conscientious consultant who can be trusted to deliver quality. I highly recommend John's services. Rich Dougherty” January 16, 2008 Rich Dougherty, CEO, Expert Choice, Inc. was with another company when working with John at Project Management Institute

•  “As President of The Weather Channel Networks I was the primary customer of the Program Management Office which was set up by John Schlicter. This was first PMO the company had and its task was to work with the company's senior management (EVP's, CFO, CIO, and IT VP's) to select, prioritize, and provide oversight of the company's business critical major projects. John's position required constant negotiation and balancing of interests, but produced successful project results during an economically challenging time for the industry.” February 24, 2008 Patrick Scott, President, The Weather Channel Networks managed John indirectly at The Weather Channel

•  “John was our first Leader of the OPM3. This was a new maturity model for Project Management initiated by PMI and John had the task of driving it. I was a Risk Management team member then, and was amazed at his organizational and coordination skills of leading this Global program. It also demonstrated his knowledge of this new subject then, and his ability to build a team, share the thought process and work on the OPM3 model with the Global team.” January 16, 2008 Vivek Dixit, Voluntary work -- Knowledge Management, PMI (Project Management Institute) worked directly with John at Project Management Institute

•   “I worked with John on the OPM3 Standards project sponsored by the PMI where he lead a global team of project management experts as the overall Program Manager and the original architect of the organizational project management maturity model. John is a tremendous subject matter expert on organizational project management, process improvement, and organizational development arena. He is a fantastic leader and I learned a lot from him working on this ground breaking project and recommend him without any hesitations!” January 15, 2008 Rabbani Lutfur, Co-Lead of OPM3 Network Model, PMI - OPM3 Program worked with John at Project Management Institute

•   “During the time as project manager of the PMI Standards team that developed the PMBOK(R) Guide - Third Edition I interfaced with John as he led the team to develop the PMO3 product for PMI. John's knowledge of organizational assessments and his vision to define the standard's and outstanding team leadership skills resulted in the development of a great PMI product. I heartily recommend John as a provider of OPM3 assessments and consultant services.” January 15, 2008 Dennis Bolles, PMP (dbolles@dlballc.com), Owner, DLB Associates, LLC worked with John at Project Management Institute

•  “John demonstrated great leadership and visionary foresight as Program Manager of PMI's OPM3 development effort. Very knowledgeable of our specific subject-matter, John was able to motivate and inspire all of us to work towards our common objective. He was able to adeptly address specific issues at a granular, detail level, while at the same time not loosing sight of our overall objective.” January 14, 2008 Nik Kalantjakos, OPM3 Assessment Team Leader, Project Management Institute reported to John at Project Management Institute

•  "I viewed John's approach as very efficient and effective. We met our milestones with a high-quality product that exceeded virtually everyone's expectations. I think John demonstrated exceptional skills in coping with the usual bureaucratic challenges and technical obstacles associated with a very large virtual team.” January 14, 2008 David Lanners, Executive Consultant, LCS International, Inc. LCSI worked indirectly for John at Project Management Institute

•  “I worked with John during his initial tenure as lead for the Project Management Institute's effort to develop its Organizational Project Management Maturity Model standard. His commitment and drive were significant contributors to the success of this effort. He demonstrated strong leadership skills in keeping a very diverse group of volunteers focused on creating a finished product that would benefit the project management community.” January 14, 2008 David Violette, Project Manager, Duke Energy Corporation worked directly with John at Project Management Institute

•  “John was the Program Manager for the OPM3 Program. The OPM3 would not have been developed in the manner it was without the vision and hard work that John put into this standard over the years. It resulted in a standard designed for industry and government, designed to help organizations assess and develop their project, program, and portfolio management (P3M) capabilities. The OPM3 helps executives understand where to invest to develop strong Strategic Alignment of their organization and to strengthen their change management initiatives. John worked as the Program Manager in a completely virtual environment and proved himself a prolific communicator and energetic participant in the advancement of the project management profession."” April 20, 2007 Gary Elliott, M.S., PMP, NSA 4011, Integration Team Member, Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3) Project Team, Project Management Institute worked indirectly for John at Project Management Institute

•  "John Schlichter is a recognized expert in project management and particularly skilled in the areas of organizational project management maturity. John brings to the table years of experience having worked with companies and project offices of all shapes and sizes. I have known and worked with John since 2004 and would highly recommend him to any organization seeking to understand and advance project management and organizational capabilities.” April 17, 2008 Mark Perry, Senior Vice President, BOT International.

•  “John directed a sensitive and high priority information security project for T-Mobile, which Deloitte was involved in implementing. John is extremely knowledgeable in project management methodologies, and was able to resolve many issues off the bat and start the project on the right footing.” March 10, 2008 Ali Esfahani, Sr. Consultant, Deloitte was a consultant or contractor to John at T-Mobile

•   "John directed one of the largest enterprise-wide Identity Management projects in the nation. This was one of the largest and most important IT projects in the company and was sponsored by the CIO. I worked with him from the proposal phase through the negotiation of the statement or work through the actual functional and technical design phases. John applied his unparalleled knowledge of project management to the processes and project management on the project resulting in several benefits and was always efficient, fair and responsive. He got ahead of several problems before they became full blown issues and kept the large project and extended team focused and moving along towards meeting the milestone dates as planned. It was a pleasure working with John and I look forward to continuing to work with him in the future. January 22, 2008 David Mapgaonkar (Manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP) was with another company when working with John at T-Mobile.

• ""In this intense and informative OPM3 workshop, the instructor did a great job explaining OPM3's value and purpose which also included fundamental, intermediate, and advanced topics. In addition, based on his extensive experience he was able to share insight and techniques regarding how to assess and communicate findings, standardize metrics and how to overcome various cultural and resource challenges. The instructor did a great job articulating how to use the OPM3 model to assess our organization. I actually walked away with an initial plan regarding what to do next. In addition, I was so impressed with the OPM Experts consultant's ability to simplify something that appeared to be so complex that it validated that these are the guys to call if I need any assistance. The instructor definitely proved to attendees that he was an expert and not just knowledgeable. Because he exhibited passion, professionalism, experience and patience, I would highly recommend him for the job!!!!" – Director, Global Strategies at R.L. Polk & Co.

• "I had some prior knowledge of OPM3 and was impressed by the instructor's thorough knowledge of the details, interrelationships, and implications of the material. His presentation was thoughtful, organized and met the objectives. Of particular value was the exercises regarding right-sizing the scope of the organization and right-sizing the scope of the standards to use. His demonstrated experience using the OPM3 model to assess our organization and establish a roadmap to maturity was evident." - IT Director, Nationwide Insurance.

• "I found the OPM3 Workshop to be extremely well-structured, challenging, and engaging, and it provided me with a very solid understanding not only of OPM3 fundamentals and implementation, but intriguing insight into the basis and creation of the model.  The exercises forced us to not only retreive information from the presentation but to apply knowledge in real-time. It was a worthwhile investment of my time and energy." - Global PMO Member at Alcatel-Lucent.