List of Clients, 1980 to Present

Advanced Cardiovascular Systems - AEC-Able Engineering - AiResearch - Alliant Techsystems - Amtrak - AS&E - Atlantic Research - BASF - Bellsouth Telecommunications - Boeing (Helicopter) - Bofors - Bovis Lend Lease - Bromon Aircraft - Bulova - BW/IP - Chamberlain - Control Data - Day-Zimmerman - Electro Magnetic Sciences - Eli Lilly - Ertec - Ethicon Endo-Surgery - FMC - Ford - General Dynamics - General Electric - Global Marine - Grumman Aerospace - GSA Public Building Service - Gulton - Harris - Hercules - Hoffmann-La Roche - Hughes Aircraft - IBM - Intel - Johnson & Johnson - Lockheed - Lucas - M/A-COMM - McDonnell Douglas - Micro-Frame - Micro-MRP - Microsoft - Monsanto - Moog - National Education Training Group - New York City, Department of General Services - Northrop - NYNEX - Oxford University - Perceptics - Pyxis - Queensland University of Technology - RCA - Rockwell - Servier - Singer Kearfott - Sonic - Sperry - Stanford University - Summa - Sunstrand - TriVenture (Amtrak, NJT, LIRR) - Thiokol - TRW - UBS - Ultradata - Unidynamics - Unisys - University of California - University Technology Sydney - Watkins-Johnson - Westinghouse - Woodville Polymer - Yale University - Yellow Roadway Corporation

The foundation of RPM Systems was laid at a company wholly owned by the reclusive billionaire, Howard Hughes.

Apache Challenge in the Hughes Hobby Shop

The foundation of RPM Systems was laid at a company wholly owned by the reclusive billionaire, Howard Hughes. Mr. Hughes was the sole stockholder in Hughes Helicopter Company, which had a reputation for designing outstanding helicopters, but also for being poorly managed. In the early 1960s, the Hughes / Army OH-6A scout set performance records that still stand. Today, that helicopter, which has been continuously upgraded, is still in production, known as the AH-6 Little Bird. The design lessons learned and demonstrated in combat influenced the design of the Apache helicopter. In 1975, the U. S. Army held a flyoff competition between Hughes and Bell Helicopter for a new Advanced Attack Helicopter. Hughes won that competition with an outstanding design that was subsequently named the Apache by the Army. Despite the exceptional performance of the Apache, the United States Congress, DoD, and the Army did not have confidence in the ability of Hughes to manage what would shortly become a massive production and continuous product improvement program.

Mr. Hughes had lost $180 million in 1970 dollars, producing the OH-6A scout helicopters for the Vietnam war (the equivalent of $1.2 billion in 2020 dollars). To compound the challenges Hughes Helicopter Company faced, on April 5, 1976, as the company was completing development and preparing for production of the Apache, Mr. Hughes died without leaving a will. These were the circumstances that helped build the foundation of what three years later became RPM Systems Corporation. The challenges we faced at Hughes sparked numerous innovations, including:

1. Leaving behind the Howard Hughes hobby shop culture where cost and schedule management were an afterthought.

2. Moving to a metrics-based performance measurement culture.

3. Implementing online management of major subcontractors (two decades before the Internet became available).

4. Providing independent assessments of major subcontractor performance.

5. Successfully demonstrating the Apache program cost/schedule control system to a tri-service team from the Department of Defense.

6. Implementing a company-wide portfolio management reporting capability across all divisions, not just the Apache organization.

7. Providing weekly independent technical risk, schedule, and cost assessments of the Apache Program.

After Hughes was awarded the initial Apache production contract, the company was acquired by McDonnell-Douglas. Today, the Apache is part of Boeing Vertical Lift, a division within the company’s Defense, Space & Security unit responsible for the AH-64 Apache, AH-6 Little Bird, H-47 Chinook, and the and MH-139.

Publications

1. Garfein, S. J., (2017), Performance Measurement in 1974 in Howard Hughes’ Hobby Shop, The Measurable News, College of Performance Management.

2. Garfein, S. J., Sankaran, S., (October 2014), Strategies to Improve Your Team’s Organizational Change Skills, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress, North America, Phoenix, Arizona.

3. Garfein, S. J., Sankaran, S., (May 2014), We Are All Organizational Change Managers, Like it or Not!, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress EMEA, Dubai, UAE.

4. Garfein, S. J., Horney, N., Nelson, M., Townsend, S., (2013), PMI’s Managing Change in Organizations: A Practice Guide, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress North America, New Orleans.

5. Garfein, S. J., (2013), Managing Change in Organizations: A Practice Guide, Chapter 4. Change Management at the Portfolio Level, Project Management Global Standard.

6. Garfein, S. J., (October 2013), Taming the Apache Helicopter: Managing a Strategic Portfolio, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress North America, New Orleans.

7. Garfein, S. J., Sankaran, S.,(October 2012), Selection of Organizational Change Managers and Why They Are Different, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress North America, Vancouver, Canada.

8. Garfein, S. J., Noeldner, J., (October 2011), Washington State Breakthrough: Project Management for High School Students, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress North America, Dallas/Fort Worth.

9. Garfein, S. J., Sankaran, S., (October 2011), Work Preferences of Program Managers, Change Managers and Project Team Members: The Importance of Knowing the Difference, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress North America, Dallas/Fort Worth.

10. Garfein, S. J., (October 2009), Employing The Portfolio Standard to Expand Strategic Throughput, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress North America, Orlando, Florida.

11. Garfein, S. J., (May 2009), Closing the Gap Between Strategy and Results: Expanding Strategic Throughput, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress EMEA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

12. Garfein, S. J., (March 2009), Strategic Portfolio Management in Aerospace and Defense, PMI Aerospace and Defense Special Interest Group, Denver, Colorado.

13. Garfein, S. J., (February 2009), Closing the Gap between Strategy and Results: Expanding Strategic Throughput, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress (Asia Pacific), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

14. Garfein, S. J., (November 2008), Strategic Portfolio Management: Closing the Gap between Strategy and Results, PMI Project Management conference, Athens, Greece.

15. Garfein, S. J., (May 2008), Strategic Portfolio Management: The Key to the Executive Suite, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress EMEA, St Julian, Malta.

16. Garfein, S. J., (May 2008), Project Management Lessons Learned in Howard Hughes’ Hobby Shop, PMI NAC Conference, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

17. Garfein, S. J., (March 2008), On Becoming a C-Level Executive and Developing Breakthrough Strategies, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress (Asia Pacific), Sydney, Australia.

18. Garfein, S. J., (October 2007), Executive Guide to Strategic Portfolio Management: Roadmap for Closing the Gap between Strategy and Results, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress (North America), Atlanta, Georgia.

19. Garfein, S. J., (2007), The New PMI Global Standard for Portfolio Management: An Executive Perspective, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress (EMEA), Budapest, Hungary.

20. Garfein, S. J., (2006), Strategic Portfolio Management at Hydromax: Closing the Gap between Strategy and Results – A Case Study, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress (North America), Seattle, Washington., United States

21. Garfein, S. J., (2005), Strategic Portfolio Management: A smart, realistic and relatively fast way to gain sustainable competitive advantage, Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress (North America), Toronto, Canada,.

22. Garfein, S. J., Witty, T., (2004), Breakthrough: From FORTUNE's Least Admired to Most Admired in Five Years, The Role of the EPMO in Strategy Execution. PMI 2005 Global Congress (North America), Anaheim, California.

23. Enis, B. M., Garfein, S. J., (1992), The Computer-Driven Marketing Audit: An Interactive Approach to Strategy Development, Journal of Management Inquiry, Vol. 1, pages 306-317, Sage Publications.