Epilogue
As the project management discipline matures, we are coming to the realization that meeting project performance goals on time, on budget, and with a full scope of features and functions is not enough. Projects are funded to bring about positive change in organizations, leading to business benefits that are reflected in the bottom line. These business benefits may take the form of increased market share, higher levels of customer satisfaction leading to increased customer loyalty, or commercial breakthroughs that leap us ahead of the competition, to name a few.
In his research, Jim Collins discovered that leaders of great organizations strive not just for short-term goals but for enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. This quest is different from the vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision—it is about leaving a legacy.1 Complex project managers should likewise ponder what legacy they want to leave as a result of their projects. Mike Aucoin contends that “the underlying objective of any project is to put smiles on the faces and pride in the hearts of all who are involved. We want the project to elicit positive emotions in all those touched by it, and we want these positive emotions to linger long after the project is closed. This is the ultimate critical success factor for a project. This is the legacy we aspire to leave when we complete a project.”2
Aucoin goes on to state that the perception of a product long after it is introduced is one indication of a project’s legacy. If the product is highly regarded, it follows that the project will be as well, along with all those people who were associated with the project. It is imperative that the right product be delivered for a project to be considered a success. However, the right product is often difficult to determine at the beginning of a complex project. The team must be allowed to work on the edge of chaos for that enduring product to emerge.
As you strive to become a strong leader of complex projects, keep in mind that conventional project management techniques are based on decomposing work into simple, easily managed components. Yet sometimes, the most creative solutions emerge from teams operating on the edge of chaos. The trick is to know when to apply conventional project management techniques and when to live on the edge. Through complexity thinking, project leaders can learn to diagnose a project’s complexity dimensions and then to apply appropriate management techniques.
NOTES
1. Jim Collins, Good to Great (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2001), 17-40.
2. B. Michael Aucoin, Right-Brain Project Management: A Complementary Approach (Vienna, VA: Management Concepts, 2007), 270.