The Resilient Project Contractor

Resilience in Project Business, Pt. 3

Project Business Management

SERIES ARTICLE

By Oliver F. Lehmann

Munich, Germany

“What does not kill me makes me stronger.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche

Summary

Trust is the currency of resilience.

For a project contractor, resilience is not merely about surviving challenges and the Costs of Chaos but about thriving in uncertainty and emerging as the preferred partner for customers in distress. It is not a passive trait—it is an active discipline.

Today, contractors must adopt a multi-layered approach to resilience, focusing on financial preparedness, methodical flexibility, trustworthiness, deep customer insight, adaptability, and strategic networking.

Resilience in Project Business

This is the last article in a 3-part series titled “Resilience in Project Business”, exploring the tangible and intangible consequences of chaos in project business and the necessity of organizational resilience to mitigate its impacts.

The three parts of the series are titled:

Pt. 1 – The Cost of Chaos^[1]
Discussing special causes and effects of chaos that impact project business and the critical need for organizational resilience to effectively address and manage the challenges that come with it.

Pt. 2 – Bridging Gaps in Project Ecosystems^[2]
Addressing common disconnects between stakeholders in project networks, such as conflicting business interests, mismatched goals, communication barriers, and cultural differences.

Pt. 3 – The Resilient Project Contractor
Exploring strategies contractors can adopt to build resilience, including risk management, financial stability, and adaptive business practices.

More…

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Editor’s note: This series of articles is by Oliver Lehmann, author of the book “Project Business Management” (ISBN 9781138197503), published by Auerbach / Taylor & Francis in 2018. See author profile below.

How to cite this article: Lehmann, O. (2025). Resilience in Project Business, Pt. 3: The Resilient Project Contractor, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue III (March). Available online at http://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pmwj150-Mar2025-Lehmann-Resilience-in-Project-Business-3-2.pdf

About the Author

Oliver F. Lehmann

Munich, Germany

Oliver F. Lehmann, MSc, ACE, PMP, is a project management educator, author, consultant, and speaker. In addition, he is the owner of the website Project Business Foundation, a non-profit initiative for professionals and organizations involved in cross-corporate project business.

He studied Linguistics, Literature, and History at the University of Stuttgart and Project Management at the University of Liverpool, UK, where he holds a Master of Science Degree (with Merit). Oliver has trained thousands of project managers in Europe, the USA, and Asia in methodological project management, focusing on certification preparation. In addition, he is a visiting lecturer at the Technical University of Munich.

He has been a member and volunteer at PMI, the Project Management Institute, since 1998 and served as the President of the PMI Southern Germany Chapter from 2013 to 2018. Between 2004 and 2006, he contributed to PMI’s PM Network magazine, for which he provided a monthly editorial on page 1 called “Launch,” analyzing troubled projects around the world.

Oliver believes in three driving forces for personal improvement in project management: formal learning, experience, and observations. He resides in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, and can be contacted at oliver@oliverlehmann.com.

Oliver Lehmann is the author of the books:

“Situational Project Management: The Dynamics of Success and Failure” (ISBN 9781498722612), published by Auerbach / Taylor & Francis in 2016
“Project Business Management” (ISBN 9781138197503), published by Auerbach / Taylor & Francis in 2018.

His previous articles and papers for PM World Journal can be found here: