| Theme | Comments and notes |
|---|---|
| Stakeholder engagement and management | This book extensively discusses how a range of stakeholders actually had a strong impact on the feasibility (or otherwise) of projects. It illustrates how the case study examples succeeded in (or failed to) adequate engagement with stakeholders and adopting a stakeholder’s perspective through empathy by seeing the project from their point of view. This helps explain how opportunities may be missed or barriers to success are erected. This book has many powerful illustrations and stories to tell through the case study discussions |
| The impact of national and organisational culture impacts upon projects | This book acknowledges and discusses the impact of national and organisational culture on project delivery. The authors apply critical analysis to their case studies based on seminal cultural theory work of Hofstede (Hofstede, 2001; Hofstede et al., 2002, 2010) and the GLOBE study work which was undertaken by a large pool of researchers (Chhokar et al., 2008; Hofstede, 2010; House et al., 2002, 2004; Javidan et al., 2006). More importantly, their case study discussion illustrates how that cultural impact affects issues that leadership teams and operatives on the ground need to address |
| Risk, uncertainty and resilience | This set of topics provides a particularly relevant platform for the authors to detail what risks and uncertainties were overlooked and how that had an adverse impact on the case study illustrations. Their case study examples and discussion also provided them with the chance to discuss opportunity through risk as well as how resilient many local participants may be when their expertise and value is recognised |
| Ethics and banditry | The authors illustrate how triple bottom line and corporate responsibility have a real impact of projects in extreme contexts. As they point out with their case studies, the project owners and instigators may have had recognised obligations from their home base regulatory authorities (and even a large body of shareholders) but frequently what happened on the ground did not match expectations or espoused values. The authors discuss consequences of poor ethical action. The insights into what can best be termed “banditry”, particularly by opportunistic local project participant in the jungles and river systems of Latin America, is both enlightening and cautionary. These are the stories that are often NOT provided in project management books and papers |
| Ethics and leadership | I repeat “ethics” in this summary because the book both discusses the “dark” side of dealing with corruption and a pragmatic perspective on how leading with a strong cultural appreciation of the local context presents ethical dilemmas. This part of the book’s context provides, in my opinion, valuable insights and cause for reflection. The message about leadership in this book is that these extreme environments demand a particular set of people skills and abilities for perspective taking, open mindedness and authenticity to build trust, respect and commitment from others |
| Theme | Comments and notes |
|---|---|
| Stakeholder engagement and management | This book extensively discusses how a range of stakeholders actually had a strong impact on the feasibility (or otherwise) of projects. It illustrates how the case study examples succeeded in (or failed to) adequate engagement with stakeholders and adopting a stakeholder’s perspective through empathy by seeing the project from their point of view. This helps explain how opportunities may be missed or barriers to success are erected. This book has many powerful illustrations and stories to tell through the case study discussions |
| The impact of national and organisational culture impacts upon projects | This book acknowledges and discusses the impact of national and organisational culture on project delivery. The authors apply critical analysis to their case studies based on seminal cultural theory work of Hofstede ( |
| Risk, uncertainty and resilience | This set of topics provides a particularly relevant platform for the authors to detail what risks and uncertainties were overlooked and how that had an adverse impact on the case study illustrations. Their case study examples and discussion also provided them with the chance to discuss opportunity through risk as well as how resilient many local participants may be when their expertise and value is recognised |
| Ethics and banditry | The authors illustrate how triple bottom line and corporate responsibility have a real impact of projects in extreme contexts. As they point out with their case studies, the project owners and instigators may have had recognised obligations from their home base regulatory authorities (and even a large body of shareholders) but frequently what happened on the ground did not match expectations or espoused values. The authors discuss consequences of poor ethical action. The insights into what can best be termed “banditry”, particularly by opportunistic local project participant in the jungles and river systems of Latin America, is both enlightening and cautionary. These are the stories that are often NOT provided in project management books and papers |
| Ethics and leadership | I repeat “ethics” in this summary because the book both discusses the “dark” side of dealing with corruption and a pragmatic perspective on how leading with a strong cultural appreciation of the local context presents ethical dilemmas. This part of the book’s context provides, in my opinion, valuable insights and cause for reflection. The message about leadership in this book is that these extreme environments demand a particular set of people skills and abilities for perspective taking, open mindedness and authenticity to build trust, respect and commitment from others |
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