Introduction - Dealing with Unprecedented Change

Almost all of us have heard of Moore’s Law, Metcalf’s Law and other theories suggest that the rate of technical progress and change in our world is nearly exponential.

This is old news. - But, let’s take a minute to consider what this means.

Let’s start by recognizing that, moving at today’s rate of change, it would take only 20 years to accomplish the technological progress of the entire 20th century. If the rate of progress is, indeed, “exponential” - it means that we will see the same amount of change in the 20th century over the next 14 years. In the 7 years following that, we will another 20th century’s amount of change.

It’s almost hard to imagine. - And, this is only technological change. Now, consider that the rapid pace of economic, political, legal, business, environmental, financial and cultural change that can reasonably be expected in the foreground of this blurring rate of technical progress.

Scary - how will any anyone deal with this?

Organizations must embrace the pace and inevitability of rapid change. Change happens in organizations thru projects, and they must be undertaken constantly to respond to competition, explore new markets, optimize operations and change culture.

To deal with this pace of rapid change, governance of these projects must become more empirical - based on real-time observation rather than dull prescription. Strategy that was once etched in stone must become agile and responsive to the risk and opportunity recognized by vigilant execution.

Like the human mind that both makes long term plans and adjusts them in real-time to the situation, the feedback loop between execution and strategy must dramatically tighten. Project management can do that. But, first, it must “fit” the organization enough to transform from dumb tactics into a nervous system for strategy - then it must fuse with strategy into one dynamic whole.

At tomorrow’s extreme speed, “Project Management”, the profession of execution, with its ability both to execute and to inform strategy, becomes indispensable to the organization’s survival and success.