Abstract:
The paper investigates empirically a key concept of Schlitz's phenomenology - the "future perfect"
- in a complex organizational context: that of large-scale project management. In a grounded
analysis we resolved to track how the future perfect developed in the life of one large, complex
project whose uniqueness meant that it was unable to be strategically planned in advance. We
tracked the use of future perfect thinking through analysis of data collected both in leadership
meetings of the directing agency, "PALT"- Project Alliance Leadership Team - as well as in
individual interviews that we conducted in and around the project, and through analysis of media
coverage. The paper tells a story of a major Sydney Olympics piece of infrastructure, and some of
the vicissitudes of its construction. Overall, the project was a success, but some problems arose
along the way to its completion, which future projects that might adopt this form should consider.
