For the better part of my professional journey, I’ve taken on the role of a product or project manager, mainly within the innovation and startup realms. During this time, I’ve navigated through projects in incredibly uncertain scenarios, where project scopes have been known to morph even before the ink dries on the initial brief. These circumstances prompted me to craft an approach that, at first glance, seemed like a concoction of design thinking, risk management, and a keen emphasis on delivery. Through collaborations with John Flach and Adam Walls, as well as my immersion in Russ Ackoff’s ideas gave a reacquaintance with systems thinking concepts, and I came to the realization that the approach I’ve been taken was fundamentally systemic.
In the spring of 2023, I discovered myself caught up in a web of projects that adhered to a paradigm firmly grounded in Newtonian principles, interwoven with ideas masterfully dissected by Saul in “Voltaire’s Bastards“. This was quite the departure from my typical modus operandi. I also found myself excessively indulging in Dutch Apple pies. No doubt the latter played a major role in committing to a presentation on systemic thinking and how it can help to get grip on Project Management.
This book is the outcome of the workshop preparation. IIt’s my attempt to organize the ideas and concepts that have helped me manage projects better, even when they’re unpredictable. I compare this to baking Dutch Apple pies, which in my experience always is a success, and try to figure out why by contrast projects often are a struggle. To highlight the areas of struggle i describe how baking apple pie would be if we follow a project management process. Based on this, I explore what we can learn from systems thinking to improve project success. I hope you find it helpful. I want to thank my friends and family, especially Tom and Siebren, for patiently helping me with the early drafts and making the book more organized. Their support means a lot to me.
At the very least, you’ll discover the original Dutch Apple pie recipe and maybe the pleasure of baking one and sharing it with friends. If you’re lucky, you might even experience the joy of waking up to a final piece of pie in the early hours of the morning accompanied by a freshly brewed cup of hot black coffee. Regretfully this joy is exceptionally rare, as normally there’s no pie left.
Fred, August 2023
