Managing Projects

The linear, goal-oriented approach to projects that is so popular in management literature is only appropriate if you are dealing with well-defined problems. For projects that address poorlydefined problems, however, the principles of classic project management don’t work; project managers attempt in vain to maintain a linear approach, even if targets, people affected andframework conditions cannot be determined precisely. We propose a fundamentally different approach based on current organizational theory: to start out with experiments, without predetermined conclusions. Projects are not evaluated by comparing the current status to the target, but rather by assessing whether stagnation has been overcome, conflicts putaside, and shared understanding about newopportunities has been created. Project groups and steering committees are not set up at all. Power “games” are harnessed and put to use, rather thanprohibited.


Stefan Kühl is professor of sociology at the University of Bielefeld in Germany and works as a consultant for Metaplan, a consulting firm based in Princeton, Hamburg, Shanghai, Singapore, Versailles and Zurich.