International Project Management: Leadership in Complex Environments

Let’s consider some categories of international projects that we see more frequently.

• International efforts by governments. The war against terror is one example. Others are international police efforts, foreign aid, government promotion of trade and business, and health care initiatives. Regional government organizations such as APEC, the Organization of African Unity, and others are examples.

• International nonprofit and aid agencies. These organizations regularly are involved in small and large scale efforts around the world.

• Efforts by firms to enter new markets and expand their customer base. We see this all of the time in supermarkets and other retail establishments as new products appear.

• Mergers and acquisitions. Companies for the past decade have moved to acquire other firms across national boundaries.

• Support for standardization. With common and more powerful technologies and systems, it is possible now to impose the same systems and methods on all locations of a firm. Implementation of ERP systems in many companies are examples of this.

• Marketing initiatives. Companies tend to seek new customers and follow their existing customers around the globe.

However, international projects are not new. Probably the first projects were migrations of peoples across the globe after the Ice Age. More recently, the world has seen conquests and invasions. Alexander the Great is probably one of the first and most successful managers of international projects. He mounted armed forces that conquered a substantial part of the known world. He and his armies perfected the technique of operating far from their home base. In contrast earlier conquerors such as the pharaohs of ancient Egypt operated from their bases on the Nile River.

Moving ahead in history we come to the Phoenicians and the Greeks. While they established remote settlements, these were relatively small projects. The groups that improved on Alexander were the Chinese emperors and the Roman Empire. In each case, they were able to establish remote centers and run an empire that spread across many cultures, time zones, and climates for hundreds of years. How did they do it? Let’s create a small list that we can use later.

• Establishment of communications and roads. Critical to any international project is the ability to communicate quickly and effectively with remote locations. The Romans, for example, established a road that was second to none until the twentieth century. The elapsed time for a governor to send correspondence to Rome was not equaled until the twentieth century.

• Sensitivity to local culture. All empires that have been lasting for many years adapted their regulations and rules to the specific culture. Those that tried to impose their will failed. An example is Attila the Hun. He conquered many lands quickly, but when he died, the empire blew apart.

• Establishment of an organization that was international. This is critical to the success of an international project, or even a large project in a single company. Each department has its own style. The organization that carries out projects must be flexible and knowledgeable about what is going on. Techniques and methods that work in one place often fail in other places.

After the Roman and Chinese empires declined, there was a huge time gap before international projects reemerged. Most of the efforts were expeditions. The next wave of international projects occurred during the colonial period that ended in the twentieth century with World Wars I and II. The most successful colonial powers were those that followed the lessons learned and critical success factors listed above. The ones that did not failed in a fairly short time.