Trans-methodical Project Management (Part II)
The Resistant Nest – the environmental requirements
The „Resistant Nest“ is a metaphor for the environment required by projects for them to achieve top performance. The term was developed in the course of numerous efforts to rescue projects and as part of the study on top performers. The Detecon Study “Dynamics-resistant top performance” comes to the conclusion that, in the context of high dynamics, market pressure emanates from companies with dynamics-resistant high performance. This type of value creation is the fastest, simplest and cheapest solution for modern dynamic problems. It is however also sensitive to culture and is thus not often found. This is also, and particularly, true of project management. Top performance in project management means overcoming the limits set by methods. We therefore describe this as trans-methodical project management.
It is still commonly accepted that mastering and using methods is sufficient for good project management. Methods save time and money and ensure success – it is said. On the other hand there is consensus that dynamics are increasing in modern business. Higher dynamics mean more unexpected events and less repeats. The higher the dynamics the lower the benefit of methods – in some cases they might actually cause more damage than benefit. This is also true for projects in dynamic environments.
The management of such projects must, at least for the dynamic part of the problem, go beyond the standard methodical approach. Method based man-agement (administration) must be supplemented with talent based leadership. In the absence of this trans-methodical addition the danger of failure grows. This is particularly true when attempts are made to compensate for this trans-method deficiency with new and more stringent standard methods. Only a successful trans-methodical supplement frees the standard methods from the binds of unsolvable dynamics problems and allows them to function again. Dynamic is like sand in the methods’ engines.
Thus it is not a question of replacing the methods, but of adding a further aspect and ensuring that the synergetic coexistence of these two disciplines is possible, for they need each other to function. If attempts are made to balance out weaknesses in one discipline with strengths in the other then losses will result. "Higher dynamics demand better methods" is a mind trap.
Dynamics-resistant top performance in project management requires that the limitations set by methods are overcome. Thus top performance in project management is known as trans-methodical project management.
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