I no longer like the “huge events” where you talk through microphones and loudspeakers from the front end of the lecture room. My preference is towards the free formats where you can exchange knowledge at eye-level. Consequently, I – along with friends – initiated the PM-Camp.  By now, it has turned into a beautiful success story. In June alone, we will organize three local PM Camps in Stuttgart, Vienna and Bad Homburg near Frankfurt. You can expect news from those events pretty soon.

Regardless, I decided to write and send a proposal paper for an old-style event a short time ago. The event I am talking about is the 9th Stuttgart Management Days 
“Knowledge Will Bring Us Together”. It will be from November, 12th to November, 13th, at the Stuttgart Liederhalle. The event is organized by “wissensmanagement – Das Magazin für Führungskräfte”. I know Neusaß (near Augsburg), where the publishing company is situated, quite well from my youth.

I designed the presentation because I think we absolutely should share knowledge and we need transparency and clarity. That is why knowledge must not be locked up in some kinds of systems. It must be set free to reach social areas of humans in enterprises, institutions and society. This is the only way for us to give our knowledge a chance to be applied and achieve something.

If you want to practice “good” knowledge management, it does not really matter what technology you use. Instead, the important thing is a “good” entrepreneurial culture. With this in mind, I wanted to give a presentation before an audience of “knowledge management experts”.

So I booted my last remaining MS computer, accessed the “form to be filled in by applicants” on the website of the “wissensmanagement”, downloaded a terrible word form and spent a nice Saturday afternoon formulating my ideas for the presentation in word (!).

Firstly, I read the deadlines to be met:

April, 30th, 2013 – deadline for submitting papers 


October, 11th, 2013 – deadline for final documentation/slides


November, 12th – 13th, 2013 – congress

And here is the first problem already: How am I supposed to know all the things that will move me between now and November? Even today, I already feel a lot like changing some things in the paper I submitted on March, 23rd. Here are the data I entered on the form to be filled in by prospective speakers:

Speaker


Name: Dürre
First Name: Roland. M.

Academic Title: Dipl. Math. Univ.

Position: Managing Director 
Enterprise: InterFace AG

Postal Address of Enterprise: Leipziger Str. 16, 82008 Unterhaching (www.interface-ag.de)

Telephone Number: 089 – 61049-0
Fax: 089 – 61049-85
Mobile Phone: 0171 48 50 115

E-Mail: roland.duerre@interface-ag.de

Biography


Short CV outlining your professional career – will be published on the internet (max. 500 symbols)

Pioneer of the third computer science and communications technology generation. 
1969: studied mathematics and computer science with F.L. Bauer (TUM). Worked at Siemens UB D as a student until 1979 (developed IT basic technologies) and later as a regular employee (operating systems for big “special projects”). 
After two years at Softlab: founded InterFace Connection GmbH, today InterFace AG with Geldmacher in 1983.

Sideline: blogger and network activist (if-blog.de, duerre.de, pm-camp.org …)

Title of Presentation


”Our Enterprises Need New Knowledge“


Sub-Title


How values and culture can help us to accept and utilize change.

Focal Points


4-6 points that outline the focal issues of your presentation

Humans will be successful if they have education and knowledge, along with courage – and if they enjoy their work.
The success of an enterprise is based on values and trust.
The huge challenge in an enterprise is strategic clarity and communication at eye-level!
The knowledge of an enterprise must not be locked away. Instead, it must be set free!
”Social Media“ can help with more than just change.

Abstract


(max. 500 symbols)

The world changes all the time. Innovation becomes “creative destruction”. Transparency and sharing are demanded.
How does leadership in the 3.0 Enterprise meet this challenge? 
What does a competitive entrepreneurial culture of “today” look like?
How can we make sure to make “the right decision” more often, instead of “the wrong decision”?
How to know the difference between “good” and bad”?

What role do “Social Media” play?

Content


Extended description of content (250 to 500 words)

Change is a logical conclusion of evolution and to be lived and supported by all in our enterprise. The always necessary process of continued improvement will be worked on together. …    
… The people working in our enterprise collaborate closely. Change is nourished by ideas from everyone. The basis for our future is empowering of people“.    
(Citation from our entrepreneurial principles):

Problem or chance?

More knowledge will generate change, change will generate new knowledge. This development seems to gain speed. The requirements our “world” confront us with change quickly. The entrepreneurial knowledge and competence must remain dynamic – it must not become dogmatic.

More and more enterprises will fail because of their “individualistic hierarchies”. On today’s markets, they can only survive with “new ways of thinking”: concepts developed from insights that were gained  through the entity of the enterprise. Popular and important catch-phrases are crowd and swarm. There will be a merging and morphing of individual knowledge into shared knowledge.

Why is that so?

Humans live in “social systems”. Social systems can be NGOs, unions, associations, churches or enterprises.

Enterprises explicitly have an economic goal. It is to provide products and services for the market and thus feed their employees. They are subjected to the permanent change of their environment and must react flexibly.

Where something is deficient, we must find and improve on it. Where you have a special strength, you must identify and utilize it. You must remain aware of risks and chances at all times. Events that seem neutral or outside of potential evaluation might quickly become relevant.

It only makes sense to think about solutions after you have identified the important (correct) questions. “Future management” must become part of your daily routine.

How to achieve it?

Sharing experiences and learning of the “world inside and outside the enterprise” is the basis. Information must be collected by all parties concerned and made available to all parties concerned. Everyone may comment, add to, evaluate and weigh… The “enterprise crowd” will evaluate the relevance, develop the strategy and eventually decide upon operative measures.

What do we need?

Especially in distributed worlds, these kinds of processes can only be managed with supporting IT systems.  They have to be designed like “games” (”Gamification“). The game must guarantee the gain of both the enterprise and the individual employee. Credits gained during the game must become part of a bonus in real “Euros”. Success will increase your reputation inside the enterprise and will become an asset for your future career.

Naturally, this is something you will only be able to do in an open, transparent and free entrepreneurial culture. The enterprise must realize fear-free areas. “Sharing knowledge” must be perceived by all as something advantageous.

Please include a digital picture (Portrait) (JPEG/GIF, 300 dpi)!

Thank you very much.

So far the form I filled in. I immediately processed it via email and photo to the given address.

I did not have to wait long for the reply. It was an invitation to sponsor the Stuttgart Knowledge Management Days.

Well, I am almost tempted. Because if I act as a sponsor, my application might well be taken more seriously. You can hardly refuse a sponsor’s presentation, can you?.

Now I am no longer surprised that the presentations on these kinds of events often sound so much like adverts and self-display. And why, consequently, so many people prefer barcamps.

Well, I decided not to sponsor the event. I am almost sorry I sent my paper. If the presentation will be accepted, I will still go and speak. And I will give my best. I will try not to speak as a front-end orator, but instead, as far as the surrounding will make it possible at all, I will invite the audience to participate.

And if my paper is not accepted, I will present it elsewhere. And I will then have a good warming-up-story.

During this activity of mine, I also discovered the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Wissensmanagement (GfWM). It cooperates with the publishing company of “knowledge management”. I am not yet familiar with the association and lobbyist structure of knowledge management. However, I am assuming that it is quite similar to other associations in the sphere of project and quality management. It is mainly about power and “that funny stuff”.

So now I have the idea of founding a barcamp for “sharing knowledge” (WI-Camp). It would enable us to meet just as nicely for knowledge management and to exchange ideas on knowledge as we are now doing it at the PM camps on topics around project management.  If you are interested, just contact me.

RMD

(Translated by EG)

Yesterday, I received an email from Stefan:

The video recordings of the PM Camp are finished. How do you feel about them? Any changes recommended?

“PM Camp 12 rocks”

The first thing I did was watch the video recordings – and I was fascinated! No changes recommended!

For me, the Dornbirn PM-CAMP 2012 (#pmcamp12) was doubtless one of this year’s highlights. So here is another link to Stefan’s report on the PM Camp 2012 (as a contribution in his PM-Blog.com).

RMD
(Translated by EG)

The two presentations I gave last week on “The Change in Management” never got boring. I enjoyed them very much and I got the impression that my audience, too, had fun. Consequently, the feedback I received was also very nice for me

Since the presentations were quite interactive, it is not easy for me to put them in writing. Still, let me write down a few points, even if quite a few things that happened during the presentations will be lost to you.

Change will come – if we want it or not.

My two presentations were about

• Project Management;
• Management;
• Entrepreneurship;
• Leadership;
• Innovation as Creative Destruction;
• Craftmanship;
• The  “Co” Era: co-creation, co-programming, co-operation …
• Future is Female
  Why do so few women serve time in prisons?

All these are elements both of our private and professional world. In enterprises and institutions, we create future. The following factors play an important role:

• The culture we practice in the social systems and
• how said systems are organized.

Processes of communication, decision and responsibility change.

Who knows the terms:

Barcamp, Jam Session, OpenSpace, Fishbowl?

If not, maybe you should look them up in Wikipedia.

Today, the following is important:

Sharing knowledge, hand on experience. From those who are in the thick of it for those who are in the thick of it. Consumers want to turn producers.

You meet at eye-level. Fear-free rooms make creativity possible.

What was it like in former times?

• Trees grew from the bottom to the top.
• At the top, you had the hierarch, clear command structures, disciplinary bosses.
• And it worked for a long time. It was a simple and well-structured, and, above all, a stable world.
  Example: German electronics concern (dealing with everything around electricity) as a hierarchical organization. It was built following the pattern of the German Reichswehr. Build up and procedures are organized, structured into enterprise sectors with up to 10 hierarchical levels, staff divisions for shared tasks, such as F&E, Marketing and all kinds of central functions.
• That is how the matrix: organization with full/dotted lines and staff and central units was created.
• Example: electronics concern, business areas motors/generators, small appliances… Shared design, etc., sales, etc., research were central staff units.
• This organizational model originated with the industrial revolution – Taylorism-style and mechanically. And for a long time, all went well with it.
• After a few years, the organization (mostly only parts of it) had to be modified. But that was easy.

Today, this is no longer an option – which is why so many people lament about their enterprises suffering constant re-structuring. Except that this is not enough for following the speed of change. Consequently, “after the re-structuring” more and more often means “before the re-structuring”. Even worse: the next re-structuring will begin before the last one is finished.

And even in nature, trees grow from bottom to top. The first ones who noticed this were a few idealists in the informatics sector. They put the trees upside down.

• But then, it is not an option to turn trees upside down.
• It would make the CEO the one who supports all (big Frederick as the country’s number one servant).
• So you see, trees are not enough.
• New means of communication, too, cause change. Change brings communication.
• This is how the transition from the tree to the network happens in the shape of a ball in the three-dimensional space.

(Note: even in military dimensions and in warlike conflicts, it seems that – when all is said and done – network-like structures are superior to hierarchical command structures, even if the latter have a huge resource superiority).

Well, all of this is not precisely news. As early as in the 1980ies, there was a remarkable development, for example at St. Gallen College. They came up with a “management model” which makes the HSG world famous. Its basic points are the eight theses by Hans Ulrich – “Management – Essays, part 2,   1981 – 1998 On the Change in Management”:

• Accept the uncertainty and unpredictability of the future as normal state of affairs!
  Strategy as planning of a future: acceptance that decisions will always have to be made with an uncertainty factor.
• Expand the limits of your mental concept!
  Against the “but” … and for freedom of ideas. But also: sharing knowledge.
• Applying the categories “both-and“, instead of “either-or“!
  Black-and-white is out, colorful is in.
• Thinking multi-dimensionally!
  Balancing of interests in an ethically responsible way. Basically, humans can only deal with three ideas simultaneously.
• Self-organization and self-control as the model for your enterprise!
  Responsibility, Subsidiarity.
• Consider a manager’s job as a meaningful task that makes sense!
  New management image.
• Focus on what is really important!
  Working economically.
• Make use of group dynamics!
  Cultures, symbols, rites, rituals.

Today, all is about producing knowledge quickly and shaping the future together. Consequently, what we need is creativity in order to find the problems (first creative obligation). After we found them, we have to make use of our knowledge and generate solutions.

Taylorism and “mechanism“ is no longer possible in modern social systems. It is better if we gain the necessary knowledge through the new communication formats.

(Note on private life: the traditional family model, too, was Taylorist and mechanistic. Does anybody still want it?)

Unfortunately, many managers to this day do not understand it and many enterprises still live in the yesterday. This also explains why the “new enterprises” are such a success. It took them only a few years to overtake the “old industry”.

The roots of what happens today and in this country can be found among the (then criticized) prophets of the Bonn republic, such as Adorno and Habermas (Frankfurter School):

Dominion-free/fair discourse as a basis (Habermas)

1. No outward restraint must hinder the discussion.
2. Having the best argument is the only reason for winning.
3. Everyone gets an equal chance to take part in the discussion.
4. Everyone must be capable of “self-portrayal without offense“ and make himself transparent for the others.
5. Everyone must be prepared to talk about the basic decisions he made in life and be prepared to have them criticized. (There is a clever system of speech and counter-speech, having to prove all you say, experience, authority, etc.).
6. Nobody enjoys special privileges because of his age, experience, authority, etc.
7. Everyone must be prepared to change behavioral expectations with everybody else. The same is true for switching roles.
8. The discussion will continue until a consensus is reached. As soon as the truth is accepted, it will determine the future life and behavior of all the parties concerned.

It all sounds unrealistic and utopian, but it will become more and more reality:

• Through formats such as jam session, barcamp, openspace, fish bowl;
• Pecha Kucha, Ignite;
• Round meeting halls;
• Web 2.0 (interactive Blogs, Twitter)
• Wikipedia and Open Source
• Social Media like Facebook and Google+ as a logical conclusion.

Thesis:

The dominion-free discourse is filled with life. In a hybrid combination with the internet (social web), the new world of shared interests gets stronger and stronger. A new society of communication and “gaining knowledge“ is built. Belonging and sharing get more and more important as values.

And being part of it will make you happier and more successful!

So I tried to give a future-oriented presentation.

RMD
(Translated by EG)

Our last speaker at the technological IF Forum on September, 25th was Dr. Eberhard Huber. He managed to summarize all the results and information gathered during this wonderful afternoon in an excellent manner before we finished with a discussion in the “Fish Bowl”.

Now – “at last but not at least” – the recording of his presentation is also available on Youtube.

The Third Technological IF Forum was about “Project Coaching“, with the motto “best of PM-Camp“. So now we have made all the videos from this event available.

Many thanks once again to Eberhard for his presentation. It contributed hugely towards the success of our IF Forum.

Eberhard’s motto is “project“ in a team – here is the link to his  blog “projekt (B)LOG“.

RMD
(Translated by EG)

After the “fish bowl” of the first section and a short break, we continued with our technological IF Forum “Project Coaching” on September, 25th, 2012 here in Unterhaching. Our only female speaker, Nadja Schröer-Petranovskaja, spoke after Jens as the second of three speakers. She sensitized us with her stories on “purpose, non-meaning and chances in life“. And she motivated quite a few among us to start a little project management for our own lives.

The Third Technological IF Forum was about “Project Coaching“, part of which was “Best of PM-Camp“.

Nadja, too came all the way from Hamburg to Unterhaching for her presentation. That is not the only reason I wish to specially thank her very much for her rather unusual contribution on projects and coaching. I recommend you visit her website henneei.

RMD

(Translated by EG)

After the introductory presentation by Dr. Stefan Hagen at our technological IF Forum, Dr. Marcus Raitner (Esc Solutions) saw to the second part of the first section. It was quite exciting and very impressive to watch how the arguments and explanations of the two speakers complemented each other. The presentation by Dr. Marcus Raitner, too, is now available on Youtube.

The Third Technological IF Forum is about “Project Coaching“, which included “Best of PM-Camp“.

I would also like to, again, thank Marcus very much for his presentation. He contributed hugely towards our IF Forum becoming a success. Marcus is also the author of what is, in my opinion, the most beautiful blog for project management world-wide – misc.raitner.de.

RMD

(Translated by EG)

Last Tuesday (September, 25th, 2012) we of InterFace at Unterhaching hosted the yearly technological IF Forum. In 2012, it was about “Project Coaching” (best of PM-Camp).

I am particularly delighted about all the positive feedback I received. It was both for the event and, in particular, our team of speakers. Many thanks!

Those who contributed most to the success were our guests. Regardless of the day being a wonderful autumn day very much suitable for a visit to the Munich Oktoberfest, our seminar room had not a single vacancy. Consequently, my special thanks go to all those who came and spent the afternoon with us in such an active fashion.

And here is another small piece of information: during the event, a small “Twitter Wall” was developed. All you have to do in order to see what was “twittered” on this afternoon is look for the day #pmcampiff. You will find quite a few things. And here are some impressions to trigger your memory:

Dr. Eberhard Huber and his  presentation – Thema “Die Kulturzwiebel”.

We are in middel of a “Fishbowl”.

The second “Fishbowl”  – now the ladies are participating.

As every time – Friedrich Lehn behind the camera. As soon the videos are finished, we will publicate.

Many thanks to our speakers. From left to right: Dr. Eberhard Huber, Dr. Marcus Raitner, Jens Hoffmann, Nadja Schröer-Petranovskaja and Dr. Stefan Hagen.

RMD
(Translated by EG)

P.S.
Fotos by Rolo Zollner.

In less than tree weeks!

On September, 25th, there will be another very special technological IF Forum in our Unterhaching building. After 2010 (AGILE) and 2011 (LEADERSHIP), this is the third “Technological IF Forum”.

In 2012, the protagonists of the PM Camp will visit Munich (Unterhaching) on the 12th of September. They will bring with them the “Best of PM Camp”.

The day is about:

Projects and work, coaching and success!

Here are the agenda and a short introduction of all speakers and their papers:

Presented by – Roland Dürre

14:00  - 14:15  Welcome (Kornelia Hietmann)

Segment I

14:15  - 14:45 Integrated Project Management (Dr. Stefan Hagen)

14:45  - 15:15 Post-Industrial Project Management (Dr. Marcus Raitner)

15:15  - 15:45  “Fishbowl” on Segment I

Break

Segment II

16:15  - 16:45  Systematic Creativity (Jens Hoffmann)

16:45  - 17:15  Purpose, Nonsense and Chances of Life (Nadja Schröer-Petranovskaja)


17:15  - 17:45  “About Onions and Cultures” (Dr. Eberhard Huber)


17:45  - 18:30  Fishbowl on Segment II

Afterwards:

Happy Hour (discussions, fun, laughter, beverages and snacks)

Now let me introduce the speakers to you and give a short summary of their presentations:

Dr. Stefan Hagen will open up the first section with his presentation about “integrated project management“.

Stefan is the founder and owner of the Hagen Management GmbH.

In the truest sense of the word, Stefan lives his life

Project Management – Organization – Strategy

Consequently, he is also the author of the perhaps best-read German project management blog (pm-blog). In his IF Forum 2012 opening statements, he will plead for “integrated project management“. Here is a short summary of his theses:

• Problems arising in project management can probably only be solved using a conventional approach and methods. Just look at the poor success rate.
  • Integrative approaches will be necessary. Basically, this means we have to look beyond our own horizons.
  • Horizontal Integration: classic and agile approaches;
• Vertical Integration: humans in (social) systems.
• Stefan will mainly discuss systemic principles currently neglected in an unpardonable way in most projects.
• His conclusion is: we need a “change of level“ in order to generate better frameworks for successful project and team work.

The ideas introduced by Stefan will be completed by “post-industrial project management” as introduced by Dr. Marcus Raitner.

Marcus wrote his dissertational thesis in Informatics at Passau University.

After five years as a senior project manager with a huge IT service company, he started a new career as senior partner and board member of the esc Solutions GmbH in 2010.

His focus is on IT project management and IT project coaching.

Dr. Marcus Raitner has his own quite famous PM blog. He is on the organizing team of the PM Camp  and initiated openPM.

Read what Marcus says about his own presentation:

Many projects are two-class systems: a few persons do all the intellectual and leadership work, while all the rest of the people just execute it. That is what I call planning apartheid. You cannot miss the similarities with the organization of huge enterprises: industrial project management with the main goal of efficiency. Industrial project management will work quite well if the complexity is so small that the creativity of the planning class is sufficient for overcoming obstacles. Except that most of the projects are far beyond this level of complexity. What then?

After the presentations by Stefan and Marcus, we will conduct the “Fishbowl”. Together, we will process all we have heard.

Then, we will take a break.

The second part will be opened up by Jens Hoffmann.

Jens, born 1967, is managing director and founder of the Hoffmann Consulting GmbH. Originally from Düsseldorf, he started his career very young – at 20 – with Munich Microsoft, before joining Roland Berger & Partner in 1987. He soon advanced to the posts of project leader in Frankfurt, Vienna and Zurich.

In 1999, he founded the Hoffmann Consulting GmbH. It specializes on consulting services for IT communication. His main areas are governance, risk management, compliance and business innovation (Business Model Design, Product and Service Innovation).

One of his most important topics is creativity. That is why he will talk about

Systematic Creativity

Identify new challenges and solve problems efficiently.

Here are some ideas on his paper for you to take a look at in advance:

Just like the enterprises that provide them, products and services, too, get more and more interchangeable. Technological and social competence are matters of course, but creativity is the one skill currently most on demand. Your competence at identifying and addressing the needs of your customer – and then to solve problems efficiently – will certainly determine whether you are a success or not.

For many people, the connection between creativity and business is something they find hard to get used to. Jens will give you an overview about how creativity can be integrated into business as a process and then be developed and used systematically, either by individual persons or in a team.

When Jens has finished, we will all be looking forward to hearing Nadja Schröer-Petranovskaja speak.

This is how Nadja sees herself:

Human, Russian, psychologist, project leader, business muse, photographer, mother, author, blogger.

She is always looking for something and finding it between countries, (entrepreneurial) cultures, along their inhabitants and sectors. Nothing is pre-assigned with her, except that:

It must make sense.

Freedom-loving, lazy and courageous.

She will tell us her ideas about:

Purpose, nonsense and chances in life!

Nadja’s presentations are always very special affairs. I very much look forward to her impulse presentation. Said presentation will give us new questions, combine facts and introduce new propositions about how we might design the rest of our lives.

Incidentally, this is the one question that I am mostly concerned with these days.

Our cycle of presentations will be closed by Dr. Eberhard Huber.

Dr. Eberhard Huber is the embodiment of experience and knowledge. He can look back on: 25 years of project leadership, having been trainer and coach for project management, group dynamics and team development, project management in research and education (at the universities of Mannheim and Magdeburg), and practice.

His Credo is:

Making a team out of a group of people, developing cooperation that is more than just an accumulation of individual competences, often depends on a few lucky coincidences, the leadership qualities, or the project leader’s charisma. This is where team-oriented project leadership  comes in. It accompanies the process of building a team during the project.

Team-oriented project leadership that leaves room for and promotes self-organization will enable you to really make proper use of all the potential you have at your disposal.

This time, Eberhard will tell us about

“Onions and Cultures”

His “onions“ will actually close the circle opened by Stefan. Culture and the active promotion of culture can serve as one solution for the change of level Stefan demands. Eberhard chose the title “onions and cultures“ deliberately, because the plural is important for what this will all be about.

Now is the time for our second “Fishbowl“. We will finish the exciting afternoon together and recuperate from the strains of the intense work during our Happy Hour!

I find it great to have the chance of presenting this super event. I look forward to an exciting and beautiful day with Stefan, Marcus, Jens, Nadja, Eberhard and many friends and partners.

RMD

(Translated by eG)

During weekends, I enjoy reading the blogs my friends write. For example, Dr. Stefan Hagen (Stefan) informs you about the Nürnberg PM Forum 2012 by GPM in his PM-Blog. He also wants to attend it, because he thinks it is time for him to remember what a traditional conference feels like.

I already look forward to hearing what Stefan is going to tell me about the GPM PM Forum, both from reading it in his blog and meeting him in person.    
And I can already predict to some extent what he will probably tell me.

Personally, I no longer like traditional conferences. Still, once in a while, I attend them. Depending on the actual event, I usually end up more or less disappointed (or rather, my prejudices turn out to be correct). Once in a while, you will see some brilliant speakers. You also meet people you would like to see again, but that is usually about it.

What I find remarkable about the PM forum is its title:

“Remaining on Course with Project Management – A Compass for Eventful Times”

Now that already causes the first disagreement in me:

I am actually fed up with hearing catch-words such as “Eventful Times” or “Crisis”. Today, we are all better off than ever before. If this is what you call crisis, then crisis must be a beautiful thing. In fact, it is a pretty nice life-style – if you ask me, I would say let us remain there!

As opposed to common sentiment, I think we live in a time of luxury. Unfortunately, however, this luxury made us collectively (and probably also individually) obese and inactive. We live beyond our means – and on borrowed money to boot.
The only movement I can discover is society trembling with fear of losing prosperity and our desperately clinging to what we own. Is that what you call “eventful times” or “crisis”?
And then here comes the association preaching:    
“Remaining on Course with Project Management – A Compass for Eventful Times”
To me, this sentence sounds strange, both linguistically and with respect to its content. Maybe people should think a little harder before creating and publishing these kinds of slogans.

So what exactly is the meaning of “remaining on course”?

Doesn’t a reasonable and courageous “remaining on course“ necessitate a lot more than project management? First and foremost, you would have to know where you want to go, wouldn’t you? You want to know which business model you aim at. We are talking culture and values, responsibility, knowledge, courage, pleasure, respect, tolerance, civil courage…
I could just as well come up with the motto:    
“Remaining on Course with Requirement“.

Or, even better:    
Let us install an association for course finding that certifies course finding. The motto might be: finding your course through dominance-free and upright discourse. (Adorno, Habermas).

Of course, this is not entirely meant seriously. But give me a break: “Remaining on course with project management“ might sound nice, but all it is is a complex and confusing shell of words. First and foremost, you have to find the path you want to tread on. Or at least you have to find your direction. And this is certainly a very difficult project. You cannot sell project management as the trivial solution for the problem.

Suggesting that “project management is the compass in eventful times“ sounds adventurous to me. Or at least very simple (or a technocratic concept?). Why don’t you go on to say:
“With PM, we will solve all our problems!”?

But so what. As I see it, the slogan is more like advertising a milky bar. And that is probably all it is – simple advertising nonsense as we will find it all over the place. Except I do not know if, maybe, the association is harming itself by this method, rather than promoting its interest. Even if, being the powerful system “association”, you already think (and perhaps that is what you have to think) you own the certified truth cut up into standards.

I would find it truly outrageous if, for example, the PM Camp, for which I feel partly responsible, would advertise itself with such a primitive slogan. Among my own friends, I would fight such a slogan.

If you want something that brings a smile to your face, here is the original introduction from the PM Forum program brochure 2012 Programmheft PM Forum 2012 (pdf):

Internationally spoken, the weather is still inclement and the general outlook will remain stormy.  To be sure, in Germany, the economic outlook is positive enough, but here, too, the entrepreneurs will have to be prepared to fight rough seas. During this stormy up and down of the economy, we now need to remain on course. It is a good thing that the enterprises invested in project management, thereby improving their position among the competitors. Through project management, you can achieve convincing results, both in time and in budget. For German enterprises, professional project management becomes more and more the success guarantee. It turns into being the compass and provides orientation, it levels out minor disruptions and keeps the enterprise flexible and agile, even in volatile times.

Words, words, words! Why don’t you go and get me a philosopher? And, please, do not ever let an owner of a medium-sized enterprise read this. Are there any buzzwords you have not read in this paragraph? Who would ever write this kind of thing? Or, even better, who will ever believe this kind of thing? What nonsense! But at least, now we know how an enterprise can be saved from collapsing. Isn’t that some achievement?

Mind you, the event costs 1,150.00 Euros for non-members at GPM. Members pay 200 Euros less. Some of the things you get in return are that you can, for example, hear our eternal German-French journalist and author Prof. Dr. Peter Scholl-Latour talk about “International problem areas and the challenge they pose for German policy“, or the self-promoting extreme mountaineering expert Hans Kammerlander about “Hanging on the satin thread. From Southern Tyrolia to Jasemba (7,350 m): 40 years on course!”.

I know both speakers and wish you all a good time!

RMD
(Translated by EG)

I am basically quite enthusiastic about cabaret and comedians. When I was 15, I hung on every word Dieter Hildebrandt said at the Lach&Schieß-Gesellschaft on New Year’s Eve. He, Sammy Drechsel, Jörg Hube (who, incidentally, was an actor “as a side-line”) and Gerhard Polt were and still are my idols. I admired Georg Schramm, the Priol, Pelzig and Sigi, Hagen Rether, Pigor, Buchholz, Mrs. Gruber and many more.

Consequently, I always enjoyed and frequented cabaret performances of all kinds, giving myself quite a few exciting evenings in the process.

A short time ago, matters changed. After having attended the Vienna PM Camp (#pmcamp12vie), I immediately went to see Vince Ebert (Holger Ebert), directly going there from Munich railway station after four hours on the train. And basically, the cabaret performance by “Vince” was exactly as I always enjoy them.

(At least during the first half), It was a hell of a call for freedom. It was humorous, eloquent, very critical, profoundly intelligent on the high level of a scientist. A courageous program which, basically, voiced what my heart desired. The punch-lines, too, were great. For instance when he drew a rather misshapen head onto the flipchart and then asked if there was anybody among the audience who was courageous enough to write the title “Mohammed“ underneath. Of course, nobody volunteered. We were all too scared.

To be sure, there were also some platitudes – and some of the punch-lines were predictable. But with such a long program, you cannot really avoid it, can you? And besides, I certainly can stomach a coarse joke once in a while.

Consequently, the reason why I did not feel I could enjoy the program and left at the half-time break had nothing to do with the program. Also, I did not really know why I wanted to leave by all accounts. Because, basically, the program promised to be good enough to look forward to the second half. But there was no way I wanted to stay. And I had to think long and hard to find out why that had been so.

And then the scales fell from my eyes. I was fed up with sitting in a hall as a consumer and having others tell me things. Even if more or less all that is being said is rather to my liking. Although it was quite humorous and there was lots of laughter.

The contrast to the PM Camp (which is a very interactive Barcamp) was just too much. I had been allowed to listen whenever I wished to. And to say something whenever I wished to. Now I simply was no longer in the mood to do what the market criers told me to do. Even if I rather liked what they said. I no longer want to just sit there passively and listen. I want to be active. The time for becoming a producer, instead of just a consumer, has finally arrived for me.

That was also when I realized why I no longer like watching TV. The only way I can still tolerate a TV that is switched on is as background noise. Also, I realize this is why I no longer feel very much like going to watch a movie in the cinema. If at all, I only go to watch a movie if it has been specially recommended to me and if I am in the company of a bunch of good friends.

I am “zero motivated“ to get entertainment served on a silver plate!

And I get the impression that more and more people – especially young people – feel the same about it as I do.
The only type of entertainment consumption that still fascinates me is the theatre. It is where people passionately play for me. A good production is an entity as a piece of art. And the dialectics inherent in a good piece enlivens both my consuming and my production-eager soul.

Consequently, I very much recommend the Volkstheater and the Kammerspiele to all those living in Munich who feel as I do.

RMD
(Translated by EG)