Pros
I’ve been at PMI long enough to clearly see the difference since Pierre Le Manh became President and CEO. The company has changed a lot. What used to feel like a very traditional nonprofit association is now much more performance driven, with clearer expectations and a stronger focus on actually delivering results. I work as a product manager on learning courses, and the change is very real in day-to-day work. The 3S management principles have helped clarify priorities and what success really means. There’s less ambiguity than before about why we’re building something, who it’s for, and how it connects to PMI’s strategy. Decisions are generally faster, and there’s less tolerance for work that doesn’t create real value for learners. There’s also been a big push toward innovation. PMI has regained credibility in the profession and has taken a strong leadership position in AI in the project management space. There are real initiatives, products such as Infinity or our suite of courses, and leadership support behind them. This has paid off and the organization is growing again, as shown in figures regularly made public. Membership, certifications, and learning numbers have been up very significantly in the last years, major events are better attended and have been rolled out globally, and there’s generally much more energy around PMI’s role in the profession. I met with Chapter leaders at the last Global Summit and they were extatic about the direction taken lately and the single membership initiative that has boosted their membership growth. As employees we have also received significantly higher bonuses than in the past. It's not all about money, but it makes a real difference and shows that performance is rewarded. Collaboration is not perfect but it has improved a lot. PMI used to be very siloed, with small internal kingdoms run by long-tenured people and some areas such as the Certifications department running the place. That mindset has been seriously challenged by the new leadership team. The relationship between functions and regions has improved a lot, and the overall level of professionalism, both at headquarters and in the regions, is much higher than it used to be. PMI has also finally embraced Agile, in project management but also internally. The sense of urgency is completely different, sometimes even too much which can be suboptimal. Senior leadership today is much stronger and more aligned than before. Pierre has clearly set a different tone, raised the bar, and pushed the organization to modernize. Not everyone is comfortable with that, and some people who preferred the old, slower environment will always complain, especially those who were pushed to perform or eventually managed out.
Cons
There’s still too much bureaucracy in parts of the organization. Some processes and rules exist simply because they’ve always existed. We also still see managers protecting their turf or sticking to outdated ways of working, sometimes without much reaction from leadership. This feels at odds with the performance culture they are asking the organization to adopt. Many acquisitions have been made in the last two years. It’s exciting, but it will require more resources to give all the inherited content the attention it needs to be upgraded and maintained to PMI standards. There's a limit to we can do with the resources we have, and this puts pressure on accelerated growth. Resistance to change will not subside if people feel they can’t deliver. Slowing down a bit on new acquisitions while recent ones are being properly integrated might be a wise move, despite the ambition of PMI Next.