Abstract

Re-engineering projects, e-health initiatives, mergers and cultural change agendas often fail. A 2002 article that integrated the results of 49 studies on major change projects found that complex initiatives fail 67-81% of the time (Smith 2002). A typical reaction to these statistics is to increase the level and rigour of project management efforts. In contrast, Starfield Consulting's recent study found that successful leaders emphasized an effective change strategy far more often than project management. This has implications for change leaders who are hiring project managers or establishing project management offices.