Everything Is In Flux

During the time that I’ve managed projects, as we got through the process of implementing any kind of program, whether it’s a software implementation, innovation architecture, or software development, most project managers that I know like to end their projects with a mythical land known as “steady state.” In other words, they like to say that the project has reached a “steady state.” According to their point of view, the project, regardless of what it is, is analogous to a disturbance in the force (or in the reality of operating a business), but once it is over, it is finished, and everything returns to its previous state of equilibrium.

In a world where change and innovation are constants, there is no longer such thing as a stable state. This is unfortunate for the individuals in question since the fact is that in today’s society, there is no longer any such thing. Since the world is constantly changing (which is why agile project management, and even living your life in an agile manner, works so well), the traditional models that attempted to return everything to a constant state no longer ring true.

There is no longer anything that can be considered “normal.” Even if you make an effort to return to “the situation that you were in before the project started,” you will discover that the world, your rivals, your customers, and your market have all changed to such an extent that returning to your initial position is not a realistic option. This is something that has to be taken into consideration for any project that will last for more than a few months. Within a period of a few months, new competitors may emerge and begin eating away at your market share, you could merge with or buy another firm, or you could be acquired by another party.

Adapting to change is a way of life. The world is moving at an increasingly rapid pace, and there is nothing we can do to make it slow down or stop so that we may get off.

How do you adapt to the sudden shift in the speed of things? Simple. You take everything in stride and make peace with it. You go into it with a changed attitude because you believe everything, including everything else, will constantly change. You should never “put anything in stone;” instead, you should set it in Silly Putty so that it may be altered later. If your software has restrictions, such that it…