Curtain up. Tonight, chaos is wearing a tuxedo.
Welcome to From Chaos to Opening Night—the column for everyone who sees more in projects than polished Gantt charts and recycled slogans from the motivation toolbox. There will be no reverent nodding here. Instead: a critical, clear-eyed interrogation—with opera as the stage and management as the grand drama.
Let’s be honest: projects are performances. First come the sweeping visions, then the inflated expectations, and finally the inevitable tumble into chaos. Budget cuts, egos in the spotlight, communication catastrophes—and a final sprint shaped less by craft than by improvisation. Sometimes it becomes a masterpiece, sometimes a disaster, and often the audience (a.k.a. the stakeholders) sits in the dark, bewildered.
Between libretto and opening night: the dramaturg comments.
The dramaturg of project management stands behind these columns. They see through the daily business drama, comment with a sharp pen, and do not mince words. That is precisely where From Chaos to Opening Night begins: with biting, challenging reflections on the parallels between the opera house and the corporate world. Why do meetings so often end like chaotic dress rehearsals? Why do some “conductors” think far too highly of themselves—and fail to notice their “orchestra”? And what happens when a “production concept” (also known as strategy) collapses in plain sight?
You won’t find soft-focus hero myths here. What you will find are honest insights, keen observations, and a solid dose of humour for the everyday drama of project management. If you only want consonant harmonies, you may bristle at the occasional dissonance. But if you want to learn how chaos can be shaped into a true success production—then the dramaturg is ready, the curtain is rising—just one quick set change, and we begin.
From Chaos to Opening Night (Issue 1)
Welcome to the Operaneum, where projects are not merely managed—they are staged. This book is not a dry score of methods; it is an overture to a mindset in which beat, timing, and teamwork set the tone. Here you will meet conductors rather than dictators, stage managers rather than firefighters, and an ensemble that shows how vision, vanity, and budget each sing their own aria—without anyone missing their cue.
By the way: this book is agile. Each column is created on its own and can be enjoyed independently. Only at the end does a complete book emerge. More on this under ‘The Unfinished Aria’.
Applause or boos? That is for you to decide—but only after the next act. Curtain up for the project-management drama.
- Available on Amazon
Book excerpt
The Unfinished Aria
Imagine producing an opera agile.
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What a Drama!
Every opera production is a gigantic project—with a fixed deadline (opening night), a limited budget (that never stretches far enough), and a team of specialists who each live in their own universe.
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