Branching Out: New Projects, New Markets and New Revenue

  Diversity   Organizational Culture   PM Network  

Given the precarious state of the global economy, it’s no surprise that companies are looking for new turf to conquer. But all the usual trials and tribulations of planning, organizing and executing projects can get even more complicated when project managers are faced with myriad differences in time zones, languages, work styles and laws.

To navigate cross-cultural terrain, project managers can’t expect instant success with the same old cookie-cutter formulas. While it’s not a revolutionary notion, many companies seem to forget they must learn to adapt to the market at hand.

A 25-year veteran of managing construction projects around the world, Terry Chapman says nothing beats boots on the ground. He first learned this as part of a team at Bovis Lend Lease Inc. when the U.K. project management and construction firm launched a shopping mall development in South Africa in the 1980s. He arrived ignorant of the complexity of the country’s cultural, ethnic and even tribal differences. But in the field, he quickly got an education in how the diversity of work styles could affect a project’s development.

“Before you get there, you wouldn’t imagine trying to dissect things to such a great degree,” says Mr. Chapman, managing director and owner of Queensborough Project Management, London, England. “It’s not black …

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