Cognitive Readiness in Project Teams: Reducing Project Complexity and Increasing Success in Project Management

by Carl Belack (Author), Daniele Di Filippo (Author), Ivano Di Filippo (Author)

Issues surrounding business complexity plague organizations throughout the world. This situation is particularly true of the numerous complex projects and programs upon which organizations embark on a regular basis. Current project management processes and standards are based on Newtonian/Cartesian principles, such as linearity, reductionism, and single source problem causation. However, complex projects exhibit both Newtonian/Cartesian characteristics and complex systems characteristics, such as emergence, self-organization, non-linearity, non-reductionism, and multi-source problem causation. To conduct successful projects, complementary ways of approaching projects are required, and new competencies for those who manage projects and for those on project teams are required as well.

There are a number of books available to help project managers and teams address the issue of systems behavior. However, there are none that approach complex projects from a neuroscience-based approach to human behavior and ambiguity. This book does exactly that in order to reduce project complexity and thereby increase the probability of project success.

Cognitive Readiness in Project Teams looks to the concept of cognitive readiness (CR), first developed by the United States Department of Defense to better prepare and manage teams of individuals in complex battlefield situations. Its intent is to make project managers and teams more focused, responsive, resilient and adaptive through self-mastery and the mastering of interpersonal relationships. It introduces a CR framework for project managers and teams. This framework has neuroscience fundamentals and theorems as the foundation for the three pillars of CR: mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and social intelligence. The book is a compendium of chapters written by renowned authors in the fields of project management, neuroscience, mindfulness, and emotional and social intelligence.

About the Author
Carl Belack is Principal Consultant at Carl Belack Consulting where his focus is on complex project environment executive consulting and coaching. Carl has worked as a successful consultant, coach, and project and program management practitioner for over 35 years. His early work experience includes engagements in several industries including defense (Trident Nuclear Submarine Program), construction (Turner Construction Company), and computer software and services (Digital Equipment Corporation). His later work years involved numerous consulting and training engagements with an even more expansive set of industries (manufacturing, consumer goods, environmental engineering, finance). In the last five years Carl’s work has focused on the causes and effects of complexity on individuals and organizations. Along with Dr. Harold Kerzner he co-authored Managing Complex Projects (John Wiley and Sons, 2011). He was also a co-author of Navigating Complexity: A Practice Guide (PMI, 2014). As a teacher and speaker, Carl has developed and delivered numerous classes, webinars, and speaking engagements on project and program complexity. Carl earned his BS from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and his MA, MIA, and M.Ph. from Columbia University. Carl attained PMI’s PMP certification in 1994 and is now a PMP (Retired).

Ivano Di Filippo is Managing Director for Project Management Research and Innovation within ISIPM Board of Directors. Certified Project Manager by Project Management Italian Institute/ISIPM. International Researcher for Project Management Research and Innovation. Ivano has a sound experience as project manager in business information systems. He studied computer science. Ivano has 30 years with Radiotaxi 3570 Company in Rome, and he is in charge of human resources in its operation control base. He has been engaging in a world PM innovation research has begun with Dr. Russell Archibald and Dr. Daniele Di Filippo and has been following up with a number of high renowned professionals spread over the world. The project research drivers: Cognitive Readiness, Mindfulness, Multiple intelligences. The purposes: reaching a new standard of PM by stressing the importance of a High Performance Team and a next generation Project Manager able to approach complex projects with Cognitive readiness.

Daniele Di Filippo is a graduate student at Roma Tre University (Rome, Italy) in Computer Engineering, he received his Bachelor degree in July 2012, after having concluded an internship at NTT Data Company. He worked for two years for KPMG, one of the Big Four Consulting firms. Member of Istituto Italiano di Project Management/ISIPM. He participated in the InnovAction Lab 2013, where he further developed teamwork and business skills, including the challenges encountered in starting up new enterprises. He was part of the logistics management at Umap 2013 International Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization. He received his Master degree in 2014 (110/110) at Roma Tre University (Rome, Italy) Daniele is currently studying for another Master Degree in Biomedical Engineering, in English, to broaden his horizons in the academic field of technological advancement.

Foreword by Russell D. Archibald, PhD (Honorary) in Strategy, Programme, and Project management, MSc Mechanical Engineering, PMI Fellow, and member No. 6, Honorary Fellow APM/IPMA. Co-author with Shane Archibald of Leading and Managing Innovation: What Every Executive Team Must Know about Project, Program, and Portfolio Management, second edition 2015, CRC Press. Russ has held engineering and executive positions in aerospace, petroleum, telecommunications, and automotive manufacturing ion the United States, France, Mexico, and Venezuela. Since 1982, he has been a consultant to companies, agencies, and development banks in sixteen countries on four continents, and has taught project management principles and practices to thousands of managers and specialists around the world.

Foreword by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner - Digital Economy and Society. Related departments: Communications Networks, Content and Technology - Informatics. Related topics: Digital single market ICT Research & Innovation.