--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Project management is the art of creating…" description: "\"Project management is the art of creating the illusion that any outcome is the result of a series of predetermined, deliberate acts when, in fact, it w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/harold-kerzner-82541_art_project-management-is-the-art-of-creatin_2543907.png" --- # Project management is the art of creating the illusion… ![“Project management is the art of creating the illusion that any outcome is the result of a series of predetermined, deliberate acts when, in fact, it was dumb luck.” quote by Harold Kerzner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/harold-kerzner-82541_art_project-management-is-the-art-of-creatin_2543907.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/harold-kerzner-82541_art_project-management-is-the-art-of-creatin_2543907.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/harold-kerzner-82541_art_project-management-is-the-art-of-creatin_2543907.png) > “Project management is the art of creating the illusion that any outcome is the result of a series of predetermined, deliberate acts when, in fact, it was dumb luck.” Harold Kerzner ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Project management often creates the illusion of control, masking the role of luck in outcomes. **In simple terms:** Management hides randomness. Key Takeaway Acknowledge uncertainty while planning projects. Themes project management illusion control luck risk decision making Mood analytical cautious Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - software development - construction - event planning - research projects Key Concepts systems thinking probability strategic planning Questions to Reflect On - How can teams balance planning with acceptance of chance? - What practices reveal the true sources of success? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on control can lead to blame culture when luck prevails. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Dumb luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumb-luck/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Project management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/project-management/) ## Related quotes > [Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/good-management-is-the-art-of-making-problems-so-interesting-and/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Management is the art of getting things done through people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-parker-follett/management-is-the-art-of-getting-things-done-through-people/) [Mary Parker Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-parker-follett/) > [Due to the failure of politics, which has become a process of middle-management, art has become one of the last open spaces to question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/due-to-the-failure-of-politics-which-has-become-a-process-of-middle/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Management is the art of getting three men to do three men's work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/management-is-the-art-of-getting-three-men-to-do-three-men-s-work/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [Strategic planning for projects management using a project management maturity model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-kerzner/strategic-planning-for-projects-management-using-a-project-management/) Harold Kerzner > [“He stared back at me so blatantly I wanted to smack him. “I know. Like I said, that… was never my intention. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/he-stared-back-at-me-so-blatantly-i-wanted-to-smack-him-i-know-like-i/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [“Hard work, determination, and talent are key for any successful venture. But sometimes you need that fourth ingredient: dumb luck. Luck can never replace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-rosmarin/hard-work-determination-and-talent-are-key-for-any-successful-venture/) [Abby Rosmarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-rosmarin/) > [No luck was dumb because luck was just another name for miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/no-luck-was-dumb-because-luck-was-just-another-name-for-miracle/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Growing up in a family of gamblers, daredevils and practical jokers, I've learned a lot about timing and its first cousin, dumb luck, concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-speed/growing-up-in-a-family-of-gamblers-daredevils-and-practical-jokers-i/) Toby Speed > [“Then again, she had-through a bizarre combination of skill, dumb luck and incredible misfortune-managed to build up a file any Debunker would envy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacia-kane/then-again-she-had-through-a-bizarre-combination-of-skill-dumb-luck/) [Stacia Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacia-kane/) > [I met Jay Jonhson. I won him the way poor people occasionally win the lottery: Shameless perseverance and embarrassingly dumb luck, and every time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-met-jay-jonhson-i-won-him-the-way-poor-people-occasionally-win-the/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“Sometimes chance is on the believer’s side and he or she does resolve the problems after praying or otherwise petitioning the supernatural, and that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/sometimes-chance-is-on-the-believer-s-side-and-he-or-she-does-resolve/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [“And though history sadly doesn't credit the man who first thought of tilting a bicycle's steering axis, it is more likely to be because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn/and-though-history-sadly-doesn-t-credit-the-man-who-first-thought-of/) Robert Penn > [Honestly, I think it's dumb luck that I'm able to kind of get away doing different types of films in different genres. There's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-reynolds/honestly-i-think-it-s-dumb-luck-that-i-m-able-to-kind-of-get-away/) [Ryan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-reynolds/) > [“Of course, the Grimnoir thought they were the good guys. Everybody thought they were in the right. The evilest bastards he had ever met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-course-the-grimnoir-thought-they-were-the-good-guys-everybody/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Harold Kerzner > [Strategic planning for projects management using a project management maturity model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-kerzner/strategic-planning-for-projects-management-using-a-project-management/) Harold Kerzner > [“During the past thirty years there has been a so-called hidden revolution in the introduction and development of new organizational structures. Management has come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-kerzner/during-the-past-thirty-years-there-has-been-a-so-called-hidden/) Harold Kerzner Explore all 3 Harold Kerzner quotes ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Project management is the art of creating the illusion that any outcome is the result of a series of predetermined, deliberate acts when, in fact, it was dumb luck.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harold Kerzner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-kerzner/project-management-is-the-art-of-creating-the-illusion-that-any/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-kerzner/project-management-is-the-art-of-creating-the-illusion-that-any/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/harold-kerzner-82541_art_project-management-is-the-art-of-creatin_2543907.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/harold-kerzner-82541_art_project-management-is-the-art-of-creatin_2543907.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/harold-kerzner-82541_art_project-management-is-the-art-of-creatin_2543907.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Project management is the art of creating the illusion that any outcome is the result of a series of…” — Harold Kerzner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harold Kerzner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-kerzner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Project management is the art of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-kerzner/project-management-is-the-art-of-creating-the-illusion-that-any/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-kerzner/project-management-is-the-art-of-creating-the-illusion-that-any/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```