The Strategic Project Manager's Guide to Complex Projects: Understanding, Navigating, and Simplifying Project Complexity

A practical, research-informed guide to mastering complexity in today’s VUCA world

Modern project management unfolds in environments defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). Traditional linear approaches often fail to address the unpredictable, interconnected, and rapidly changing dynamics that shape contemporary projects.

The Strategic Project Manager’s Guide to Complex Projects: Understanding, Navigating, and Simplifying Project Complexity provides a structured yet flexible framework for understanding, analyzing, and managing complexity across industries and organizational settings.

Drawing on more than three decades of experience, Dr. Leon Herszon distinguishes between complicated and complex projects, demonstrating why the latter require adaptive, systems-oriented approaches. Through clear explanations, practical tools, and real-world examples, the book helps project, program, and portfolio managers, students, and educators develop the insight and agility needed to succeed in complex environments. Exercises, discussion prompts, and reflective questions reinforce understanding by encouraging readers to apply concepts directly to their own contexts. The book also integrates artificial intelligence and data-driven practices, preparing readers to leverage emerging technologies in project design and execution.

Delivering the insight and skills needed to succeed in the most demanding project environments, The Strategic Project Manager’s Guide to Complex Projects:

• Examines the role of systems thinking and adaptive leadership in navigating complexity
• Explores several factors that impact the complexity level in projects
• Assesses the integration of AI and analytics in project planning and execution
• Features international case studies demonstrating successful management of VUCA challenges
• Provides a forward-looking perspective on the evolving role of project managers in dynamic environments
• Offers an Instructor Handbook with teaching resources, assessment strategies, and classroom applications

The Strategic Project Manager’s Guide to Complex Projects is ideal for project, program, and portfolio managers, consultants, and executives seeking to strengthen their ability to lead complex strategic initiatives with confidence and clarity. The book is also an excellent resource for graduate-level project management courses, executive education programs, and professional development in business administration and organizational leadership.

Leon Herszon, PhD, PMP, CSM, CSPO, DASSM, is the CEO and President of Value Edge Group, a consulting and corporate training firm specializing in project management, organizational transformation, and AI integration. He began his career at Shell, leading strategic, IT, and HSE initiatives, and later founded and directed IIL’s operations in Brazil, transforming it into a market leader. Over two decades in New York, Dr. Herszon held multiple executive roles at the International Institute for Learning (IIL), including Chief Agility Officer and Head of Consulting, where he led enterprise transformations and AI-driven solutions for global clients.
A respected educator and speaker, Dr. Herszon serves as an Adjunct Professor at Rutgers Business School, teaching project management. He holds a PhD in Project Management from the University of Huddersfield, where his research introduced a model for integrating complexity dimensions into cost estimation.