1. Glenda H. Eoyang, Ph.D. geoyang@hsdinstitute.org
Strategy to Action: The Power of HSD Session 2: HSD and Project Management
Glenda H. Eoyang, Ph.D.

2. Why HSD?
Are you frustrated with the speed and unpredictability of change?
Do you have difficulty explaining your reliable intuitions?
Are you unsatisfied with your current approaches?
Are you curious about chaos and complexity in business?

3. HSD Assumes Fitness is the foundation of success.
Dialogue is only the beginning.
Individual transformation is not enough.
Prediction is sometimes impossible, and control is expensive.
Valuable insights are TRUE and USEFUL.
Possible futures are locked into today’s patterns.
Answers have short shelf-life, but good questions serve forever.

4. Series Goal Manage projects
Use methods and tools of human systems dynamics to move from strategy to action as you:
Manage projects
Plan for change
Train and develop capacity
Manage performance
Communicate
Lead virtual teams

5. Series Overview
Introduction to HSD July 9 HSD & Project Management July 16 HSD & Performance Management August 6 HSD & Planning for Change September 10 HSD & Communications October 8 HSD & Training and Development November 5 HSD & Virtual Teams December 10

6. Your Guide . . . Glenda Eoyang
Glenda H. Eoyang, Ph.D.
Began managing projects in 1981
Learned many lessons:
Surprise shouldn’t be surprising.
More time >> less certainty
More players >> less certainty
Larger scope >> less certainty
More interdependency >> less certainty
More precision >> less certainty

7. Today we will . . .
Explore the challenges of traditional project management.
Recognize the diverse dynamics of projects.
Explore ways to influence the dynamics of projects.
See how Adaptive Action and the Decision Map influence project management.

8. What are your project management challenges?
People have other agendas.
Scope of project is too large/small.
Resources aren’t available.
Expectations/requirements change.
Other projects compete.
Leadership support is inadequate.
Communications aren’t reliable.
And . . .
All of these challenges arise because of a lack of AGREEMENT among players, CERTAINTY of environment, or both.

9. Patterned Emergent Interactive Complex adaptive
Landscape Diagram Know When Your Changes Are In the Zone of Self-Organizing
Certainty
Agreement
Close to
Far from
Unorganized
Random Surprising
___ _________
Patterned Emergent Interactive Complex adaptive
Organized
Orderly Predictable

10. Project Management Organized Expectations
Close to agreement
Scope
Goal
Budget
Project team members
Close to certainty
Deliverables
Rewards
Schedule *

11. Managing the Organized
Maintain agreement:
Document assumptions and expectations
Meet often
Include few people
Focus on narrow scope/goal
Maintain certainty:
Report often
Keep communications close
Hold scope constant
Ensure few interdependencies

12. Project Management Unorganized Environment
Far from agreement
Individual agendas
Understanding goals
Personal styles
Cultural differences
Far from certainty
Media attention
Legislative/regulatory changes
Competitor actions
Technology glitches/opportunities *

13. Managing the Unorganized
Increase agreement:
Collect data over time
Look for patterns
Stay connected to near- and far-neighbors
Increase certainty:
Focus on things you can control/predict
Build close connections
Establish strong/impermeable boundaries
Increase trust across the system

14. Project Management Self-Organizing Relationships
Adapt agreement
Team meetings
Project reviews
Customer feedback
Dialogue
Adapt certainty
Short-term milestones
Environmental scans
Stories about environment & expectations
Iterative project re-planning *

15. Managing the Self-organizing
Adapt agreement:
Ask questions
Stay connected
Listen and be willing to change
Adapt certainty:
Review/revise plans often
Use participative planning processes
Be transparent with assumptions/constraints
Understand the stability of the environment

16. Strategy to Action HSD Tools
Decision Map
Adaptive Action
Landscape Diagram

17. What? So what? Now what? Is happening? Do I see/hear?
Project Management
The Adaptive Action Process can help you stay in the self-organizing space as conditions change.
Adaptive Action
What?
Is happening?
Do I see/hear?
So what?
Does it mean to me/others?
Can I learn?
Now what?
Can I do to improve fitness for me/others?

18. Decision Map Project Management
The Decision Map helps you understand potential sources of agreement and certainty.
World View
Rules
Reality

19. For more information:
Contact Susan Heidorn for HSD and Project Management courses and consulting.
Read some good books:
Coping with Chaos: Seven Simple Tools, Eoyang
Facilitating Organization Change: Lessons from Complexity Science, Olson & Eoyang
Check out the HSD Institute website:

20. Today we planned to . . .
Explore the challenges of traditional project management.
Recognize the diverse dynamics of projects.
Explore ways to influence the dynamics of projects.
See how Adaptive Action and the Decision Map influence project management.

21. What are your performance management challenges?
Next time we will . . .
Consider complex human systems dynamics of Performance Management.
August 6
Same place
Same time
What are your performance management challenges?