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By Luigi Morsa and Richard Maltzman
July 9, 2025
What is a Plan B?
Having a “Plan B” is like an unwritten rule of survival in life. Whether it’s a backup career, an alternative strategy in business – having options – is key. In personal life, it’s about resilience—whether that’s adjusting plans when dreams take a detour or embracing unexpected opportunities. In the business world, Plan B often means pivoting when VUCA* strikes; for example, the market shifts, the competition intensifies, new technology pops up, or geopolitics affects your business. You also need options for new revenue streams if the primary model isn’t working. Project leaders are already accustomed to considering a Plan B (and C, D… if necessary!). In this article we will take a closer look at the differences between having a Plan B in business and in the daily work of Project Managers and what else (and of course, it’s Artificial Intelligence these days) that can facilitate the decision-making process of conceiving, defining, and adopting a Plan B.
*Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity
Project Managers, Project Leaders, and Entrepreneurs
Project Managers are definitely part of a business; however, they are not necessarily the ones who created the business, as businesses are founded by Entrepreneurs or company creators. Also, we’ll use the term Project Leader here to distinguish them from a day-to-day project manager. The Project Leader thinks more broadly and with more business acumen than a project manager. To understand the difference between having a Plan B in business in general and in a project, let’s start with the definitions (simple) of Project Manager, Project Leader, and Entrepreneur. This will help in understanding why, in project management, the definition of a Plan B (discussed in the next section) can be more structured and, to a certain extent, automatable.
Project Manager: A project manager is responsible for planning, executing, and overseeing projects within a set framework—budget, timeline, and scope. They typically work within an organization, ensuring that tasks are completed efficiently and stakeholders are satisfied.
Project Leader: This is a project manager who has truly taken on the role of leading and directing projects, who understands the justification of a project in the context of the business and the market, who considers a broader variety of stakeholder categories and risks, and who looks past the end of the project to its outcomes, benefits and values.
Entrepreneur: An entrepreneur is someone who creates and builds a business from scratch, often taking financial risks in pursuit of innovation and success. They don’t follow a set framework like a project manager does—they define it themselves! Entrepreneurs must identify opportunities, develop business models, secure funding, and navigate uncertainties while aiming to bring their vision to life. By the way, there’s nothing preventing a Project Leader from becoming an Entrepreneur (or vice-versa).
In the remainder of the article we will favor the use of the term Project Leader, indicating that this is the preferred behavior pattern for project managers – whatever their title.
In essence, a project manager – or even a project leader – often operates within structured environments, while an entrepreneur thrives in uncertainty, forging their own path. A project manager executes a plan, whereas an entrepreneur creates one. Interestingly, a project manager can also experience an entrepreneurial environment when working as an Innovation Project Manager. Innovation management demands a different mindset compared to the linear thinking traditionally used in project management [1]. For this reason, understanding the entrepreneurial perspective is valuable.
Plan B for Project Managers and Entrepreneurs
There are several perspectives on how project managers and entrepreneurs approach contingency planning and adaptability.
Project Managers: According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), project managers are expected to develop contingency plans and risk mitigation strategies to ensure project success [2]. Their approach to a “Plan B” is often predefined, based on thorough analysis and forecasting.
Entrepreneurs: Research on entrepreneurial project management suggests that entrepreneurs rely on creativity and flexibility rather than rigid contingency plans [3]. Instead of a strict “Plan B,” they often pivot their business model when faced with challenges, embracing uncertainty as part of their strategy.
Some experts argue that project managers and entrepreneurs share common traits, such as risk-taking and leadership, but differ in their execution. A study from the Association for Project Management (APM) highlights that entrepreneurs often lack the safety net that project managers have, making their approach to risk more instinctive and dynamic [4]. Since project managers often make recurring decisions or face similar situations repeatedly, as explained in the next section, tools like artificial intelligence can be highly beneficial in supporting their decision-making.
Artificial Intelligence and Plan B
Having a Plan B is all about preparing for uncertainty, which naturally involves assessing the risks of an event or decision. Plan B isn’t just about reacting to failure—it’s about proactively considering your respones risks – both opportunities and threats – before they arise. Therefore, Plan B is closely linked to concepts and practices like risk management, scenario analysis, and decision-making. In this regard, artificial intelligence can play a significant role in supporting project managers. Below are some examples.
Risk Assessment & Scenario Planning: AI tools can analyze historical project data and current variables to forecast potential risks. This helps Project Leaders anticipate where things might go off track and prepare alternative strategies accordingly [5].
Predictive Analytics: By leveraging machine learning, AI can simulate different project outcomes based on changes in scope, resources, or timelines. This allows managers to evaluate the impact of various Plan B options before making a decision [6].
Decision Support Systems: AI-powered platforms can recommend contingency plans by comparing similar past projects and their outcomes. These systems help prioritize alternatives based on cost, time, and resource availability [7]. In an organization (like most now) with their own proprietary AI systems, these contingency plans can be based on large quantities of real project data drawn from real and recent project lessons learned.
Automation of Contingency Planning: Some tools even automate parts of the planning process—like generating risk mitigation strategies or reallocating resources—making it easier to define and implement a Plan B [5].
Real-Time Monitoring & Alerts: AI can continuously monitor project health and flag deviations early, giving Project Managers time to pivot to a backup plan before issues escalate [7].
Conclusions and Final Advice
Plan B is essential for project leaders because they operate in environments full of VUCA—tight deadlines, evolving requirements, stakeholder expectations, ambiguous instructions, complicated systems, noise-filled communications, and unforeseen challenges. A backup plan ensures that when things don’t go as intended, there’s a structured alternative to keep your project on track. Some risks are recurring and, to some extent, can be monitored in their evolution and predicted. For this reason, artificial intelligence can be an excellent ally for the project leader in better defining a Plan B and determining when it should be implemented. Things become a bit more complicated when dealing with innovation. In this context, the attitude – and mindset – of the innovation project leader resembles that of an entrepreneur. Decisions are often driven by instinct, vision, focus, and the desire to achieve a specific goal. Things become more complex when there are no prior experiences to draw upon. In such cases, the risk lies in delaying the introduction of a Plan B. Robert Chess, a lecturer in management at Stanford Graduate School of Business, notes that the positive attitude that usually motivates an entrepreneur can also blind them to signs that it’s time to consider an alternative plan [8]. He underlines that in the biotech industry, where scientific research demands long product development lead times, 80% of firms are successful in areas very different from their original ideas.
Considering the above considerations, here are two recommendations for a project leader:
Embrace AI. As it has been emphasized by many: “AI is not going to replace people, but people that use AI may be replacing those that don’t” [9][10][11].
Stay positive while avoiding blindness of the negative: The key is to consistently strike a balance between optimism and realism. In this regard, Robert Chess points out that objective data should never be ignored. For this reason, it can be valuable to have a trusted adviser outside your immediate circle—someone who can help you maintain objectivity when evaluating that data [8]. Now go back to recommendation (1) above, and use AI to help you “see” the negatives and to have a conversation [12] with AI about your Plan B.
References
[1]. Harold Kerzner, “Innovation Project Management”, 2023 Wiley.
[2]. Waite, C. J. W. “Is there an entrepreneurial dimension to managing projects?” Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2006—North America, Seattle, WA. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
[3]. Amela Trokić, “Entrepreneurial Project Management – Cross-Fertilization between the Fields”, PM World Journal, Vol. V, Issue II – February 2016.
[4]. Sally Percy, “Project manager or entrepreneur?”, https://www.apm.org.uk, 24 Nov 2014.
[5]. Stephanie Baladi, “15 AI prompts every project manager should be using”, www.glean.com, Feb 13, 2025.
[6]. Institute of Project Management, “The 6 Best AI Project Management Tools to Help You Succeed”, https://projectmanagement.ie, 20 Oct 2023.
[7]. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez and Ricardo Viana Vargas, “How AI Will Transform Project Management”, https://hbr.org, February 2, 2023.
[8]. Deborah Petersen, “How to Know When It is Time to Switch to Plan B“, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/, September 11, 2015
[9]. Annabel Murphy, “Adobe: ‘AI is not going to replace people, but people that use AI may be replacing those that don’t’”, www.euronews.com, June 18 2024.
[10]. Lakshmi Varanasi, “AI won’t replace human workers, but ‘people that use it will replace people that don’t,’ AI expert Andrew Ng says”, www.businessinsider.com Jul 28, 2024.
[11]. Karim Lakhani, “AI Won’t Replace Humans — But Humans With AI Will Replace Humans Without AI,” Harvard Business Review, August 04, 2023.
[12]. Silberman, Maltzman, Abramo, Kanabar, “AI-Powered Leadership: Mastering the Synergy of Technology and Human Expertise”, Pearson, March 2025, https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/ai-powered-leadership-mastering/9780135429549/
Luigi Morsa (Ph.D.) is an Aerospace Engineer and Project Manager working in the Aircraft Industry in Germany. The passion for project management has led Luigi to contribute to two books by Dr. Harold Kerzner, the pioneer and globally recognized expert in project management.
Luigi wrote two case studies about the Aircraft industry for Project Management Case Studies, 5th and 6th Editions (Wiley, 2017, 2022), two sections (Open Innovation in Action; The Project Manager’s Role in Developing Innovation Skills and Ideas in People) and the chapter “Innovation Management Software” for Innovation Project Management 1st and 2nd editions (Wiley, 2019, 2023). He wrote with Richard Maltzman, PMP and Master Lecturer at Boston University Metropolitan College, the chapter “10 Lessons Learnt from Irresponsibility in Project Management” for the book De Gruyter Handbook of Responsible Project Management (De Gruyter, 2023).
In 2018, Luigi was a speaker at the Project Management Institute EMEA Congress (Berlin) to discuss the complexity of the aircraft industry market, with particular emphasis on the relationship between product and customer needs. He has presented at the 18th Annual Project Management in Practice Conference (Boston, 2024) the latest achievements of the Artificial Intelligence software in Project/Innovation Management.
Luigi has been contributor for the International Institute of Learning Blog since 2019 with articles that cover themes related to Employee Engagement, Innovation, Team Management, Risk Management, Conflict Management, Agile, AI.
Richard Maltzman considers himself a ‘pracademic’ – currently (and for the past 10 years or so) Master Lecturer at Boston University, an author, and a consultant, providing clients with deep learning experiences and improved results. Richard “retired” from a 40-year career in telecom, mainly in engineering and project management. At the University level, and in consulting, his focus is always on converting weaknesses into strengths while teaching clients/students how to apply learned skills to everyday situations. In 2010, he co-founded EarthPM, LLC, a company devoted to integrating sustainability thinking into project management. His integration of a holistic, global view of project management has resulted in international consulting and worldwide speaking engagements (Costa Rica, South Africa, Malaysia, China, Mexico, Canada, India, Italy, The Netherlands) in which the focus is the long-term success of projects, with an eye towards ecological and social systems. His blog at PMI’s projectmanagement.com (People, Planet, Profits, and Projects) site has become very popular, and he has also started a podcast, “B’yond PM” on Spotify.
A co-author of seven books on project leadership, including the recent Great Meetings Build Great Teams, and the upcoming GreenPMO, He is a former VP of Professional Development for PMI Mass Bay (the Boston area PMI Chapter), and was on the Review Committee for the 7th Edition PMBOK® Guide, helping to assure that sustainability thinking finally made it into the Standard and the Body of Knowledge.
