Table of Contents
Dedication iii
Acknowledgments xi
Foreword xv
About the Author xix
WAV™ Page xxi
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 The Constancy of Failure 15
Tragedy on Mount Elizabeth 15
Everest 1922-Learning and Loss 18
Climbing Higher, Not Safer 20
Mallory and Irvine's Summit Attempt 21
Outcome-Maximizing 23
Everest 2014 24
Commercial Climbing on Everest 26
Chapter 2 A Risk-Rich Environment 29
The Heroic Age 29
A Place of Firsts 30
Captain Scott-New Territory, New Risks 31
Scott's Fatal Trek 33
Complexity Equals Risk 34
Scott's Risk Register 1910 34
Earnest Shackleton-Risk, Failure, and Luck 38
The 1914-17 Trans-Antarctic Expedition 38
Antarctica Today 41
The Iceberg Trip 42
Chapter 3 Risk Homeostasis Theory 49
One Step Forward, One Step Back 49
Increasing Comfort Creates Increasing Risk 50
Dexamethasone 51
The Space Shuttle 52
Normal Narcissism a Driver 54
Organizations Outcome-Maximize 54
The Shadow of the Leader 55
Chapter 4 Risk Appetite 57
A Hunger For Failure 58
Different Risk Appetites-Examples from Everest and Antarctica 59
Risk Appetite in ICT-EB Projects 63
Personal Risk Appetites 66
Risk Personalities 67
Set Project Risk Appetite Separately 68
Risk Appetite Rebalancing 69
We Do This in Our Everyday Lives 69
Key Learnings on Risk Appetite 70
Chapter 5 The CORA Triangle 73
Too Much Red 73
A Global Issue 78
Complexity Is Increasing 81
The A380 and the 787 82
The CORA Triangle 84
A Portfolio View of Project Risk Appetite 86
The Loss Zone 88
The Death Zone 88
A Step-change in Risk Management Culture 88
Reducing Risk Appetite in the Airline Industry 89
Reducing Risk Appetite on Mount Everest 90
Reducing Risk Appetite in Antarctica 91
Step-changing the Risk Management Culture of Projects 93
CORA Balance 93
Key Learnings on CORA 95
Chapter 6 Managing Risk Appetite in Projects 97
Think Outside the Triangle 99
Risk Appetite for a Project Is Not the Same as for the Business 100
Information Security in Project-X 101
Two Key Points 101
What Does Managed Risk Appetite in Projects Look Like? 102
A Managed Risk Appetite Process 103
Workshop and Map Risk Appetite in Specific Projects 103
What Portfolio and Project Management Office Managers Should Ask 106
What Sponsors and Managers of Projects Should Ask 106
Tips for Managing Risk Appetite in Projects 106
Chapter 7 Denial 115
Normal Narcissism 115
David Sharp 115
Normal Narcissism Can Become Abnormal 118
Narcissism in the Workplace Is Not Uncommon 119
Narcissism and Risk Taking 120
Sunk Ego 120
Self-healing Creates Denial 122
The 1996 Everest Tragedy 122
The Mechanics of Narcissism 125
The Role of Narcissism in the 1996 Everest Tragedy 126
Narcissistic Factors in Common: Everest 1996 and Major ICT-EB Projects Today 126
When Something High Risk Becomes a Commodity 129
Organizational-structural Factors in Common: Everest 1996 and Major ICT-EB Projects Today 130
Project Management Shares the Everest Problems 132
Assessing the Risk of Denial in Your Project 133
Chapter 8 The Death Zone 137
Over-stretched 137
High Propensity for Risk 142
The Project Death Zone at Work in Projects 143
Comfort Kills 146
Mitigating the Risks 147
Chapter 9 The Level-3 Organization 151
Scott 151
Greater Maturity Means Greater Success 152
Scott, a Foundation of Organizational Maturity 153
Project Management Maturity Today 155
Good Project Results Can Occur at Level-1, but Not Consistently 156
Level-2 is Better, but Is Sometimes Misunderstood 157
Level-3 Is Where Consistent, Measurable Value Occurs 158
What Is the Dollar Value of Increasing Maturity? 159
Moving to Level-3 160
The Most Important Level-3 Lever 163
Critical Success Factors for Building P3M Capability 163
The Role and Location of PMOs 164
Chapter 10 The Heroic Manager 167
The World's Greatest Living Explorer 168
Complexity Requires Heroism 170
Scott, the Heroic Project Manager 170
Scott's Achievement in the Face of Complexity 178
Heroism and the Modern ICT-EB Project 179
How Important Is Heroism to Your Project? 180
Key Learnings on the Heroic Manager 181
Chapter 11 Advanced Basics 183
The Importance of the Business Case 184
Two-stage Business Cases 185
Investment Logic Mapping-The Stage-0 Business Case 187
The 16 Question Checklist 191
Standardizing the Project Life Cycle and Use of Stage Gates 192
The Importance of Early Stage-gate Reviews 194
Quality Assurance in Projects 195
Major QA Reviews and Independent Quality Assurance 196
The Independence of the IQA Reviewer 196
Project Success Should Always Be an IQA Focus 197
Selecting the Right Owner of an IQA Review 198
Conflicts of Interest in IQA 199
When the IQA Reporting Level Is Too Low 199
Gate Mentoring 201
Benefits Management 202
Who Should Be the Sponsor of the Project? 203
Effective Governance of Project Steering Committees 204
Recruitment of the Project Manager 205
There Is No Such Thing as an IT Project 205
Quantitative Risk Analysis 206
Show Me the Project That Is 20% Finished and I'll Tell You Its Final Cost 209
Key Learnings on Advanced Basics 209
Chapter 12 The Circle of Project Management Ethos 211
Commitment 211
Was It about the Summit or the Enjoyment of Climbing? 213
Differences in Ethos 217
Broken Ethos in Major ICT-EB Projects 218
Cultural Clash Outside the Project 220
Key Learnings on the Circle of Project Management Ethos 221
Chapter 13 Strong Humble Servants 223
Servant Leadership 225
What Is Servant Leadership? 226
Related Leadership Styles 229
Servant Leadership as a Subculture 230
John Hunt, Everest 1953 230
Strong and Humble 235
Neuroleadership and Complex Projects 236
Fight or Flight 236
Thinking and Reflecting 238
Key Learnings on Strong Humble Servants 241
The Ideal Leader for a Complex Project? 242
Chapter 14 Epilogue 245
Glossary 251
Bibliography 255
Index 261
