What is success?
There are as many answers to this question as there are people on earth. For everyone, success can mean something completely different – professional success, winning a competition, or promotion at work. Being successful does not only mean meeting a previously set goal. Being successive may mean just going through the process of making a change, the process of self-development, achieving happiness in life or entering the right path of life.

The organization succeeds when it realizes the planned goals. However, success cannot be equated only with the implementation of individual activities or projects. According to Drucker (2000), success means providing an organization with the ability to develop in the long term[1]. A successful organization must therefore constantly develop and improve itself.

Successful project
What does a successful project mean? What are the differences between a successful project and a successful project management? On the one hand, a successful project is one that has achieved its goal. According to Trocki (2011), the success of a project means “successful outcome of an undertaking”[2]. It refers to the success of the products of a given project that are related to the strategic goals set by the organization’s management. On the other hand, it is very important to satisfy the key stakeholders of the project and meet their needs. Turner (2010) provides the following tools for assessing the success of a project[3]:
• implementation in accordance with the schedule, budget, and quality,
• meeting the client’s requirements,
• achieving the assumed goals,
• customer satisfaction with the achieved project results,
• supplier satisfaction,
• satisfaction of other stakeholders,
• criteria independently developed by the respondents.

The mere success of project management means completing the project in accordance with the planned scope, in the planned time, budget and with the achievement of the planned quality. It should also be remembered that “project management success is essential part of, and prerequisite for, project success”[4].

Does a project always have to be implemented to be successful? Well no. The success of a project may also be completion in the moment that the project is no longer business-justified, which will result in avoiding unnecessary costs or the use of resources. Therefore, not only the implementation of a given project is associated with success.

GeCCo – who is successful here?
The answer to this question is simple: EVERYONE. Be aware of the benefits of participating in the competition: GeCCo is not only about competition, this is a great way to test your skills and knowledge connected with project management in practice. As a participant, you have an opportunity to communicate with people from other cultures. It may help you with the implementation of cross-cultural projects in your professional work. Participation in the competition allows you to gain valuable, international experience in teamwork and project management.
Of course, winning a prestigious international competition is considered a huge success. But each participant should be aware that also a loss in such a prestigious, international competition is NOT a defeat. The very fact of passing the recruitment to the competition and participation in it, despite not being on the podium, is a HUGE SUCCESS! The opportunity to gain professional experience that can be shown when looking for a job is a huge advantage for every young person who is at the beginning of their professional career.

So… did I succeed?
Dear Participant, even if your team did not win the contest, don’t worry! The fact that you crossed the starting line and came all the way, like a marathon runner: you took part in an international, prestigious competition in which you compete with people from all over the world, you did not give up and made it to the finish line – this is a HUGE SUCCESS, and you should be with proud yourself! In fact, you won the competition anyway – by not even finishing first, you are still the winner!

Author:
Katarzyna Baumgart, GeCCo 2022 Local Organizer from IPMA YC Poland

References:
[1] Drucker P. (2000), Zarządzanie w XXI wieku, Muza S.A., Warsaw.
[2] Trocki, M. (2011), Kompleksowa ocena projektów, Studies and Work of the Collegium of Management and Finance”, 113/2011, p. 16-20.
[3] Podgórska M. (2016), Sukces w zarządzaniu projektami – zagadnienie definicji i jego oceny w świetle wyników badań empirycznych, Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization and Management Series, 89/2016, p. 414.
[4] IPMA (2015), “Individual Competence Baseline for Project, Programme & Portfolio Management” Version 4.0, p.105.