Turning noise into music
Modern business favours quick iteration. Less planning and more doing we say. This can go completely awry if we forget that project management (and planning) serves to control the tendency for complex projects to pull in many different directions at once.
A skilled project manager can also sort out the politics of a plan touching many egos. But most important of all, a good project manager has the ability to ask good questions. The foundation of a project's success is based on identifying the right requirements and limiting the scope accordingly, asking the right questions early on means half of the job is done before you start executing. At least for the next five years, I don't see machines taking over this job.
Doing business is hard
Do not underestimate how hard it is to do something right in business. What you read on the cover of magazines are generally outliers or outright lies.
Most of us are probably struggling with issues for which we only see clear pathways in hindsight. It is generally just a blaming game. Easy to do. I have seen my share of IT projects becoming rescue missions because not one person was documenting the most basic requirements of the project - or they had them on post-it notes.
I find the documentation part so boring I want to jump off the window. But nothing lends more clarity to an idea than being able to summarize it in a way that an outsider can understand it. Make sure you always have someone on your team playing this vital role.
It does not have to be so miserable
Busy is not a synonym of productive. The mess that we created because we failed to plan is not an excuse to burn people out. We need to take responsibility and think in systems. Long term planning is not natural in highly competitive environments, but if you want to win the day (and beyond) you need to assign the proper value to planning.
Encourage people to ask questions constantly. It may be the best way to foster a culture of excellence. Planning is saving time in the future, and time is money.
Now listen to this amazing piece from Strauss. It always inspires me to fix my own messy ways. Do not for one second think that complex things cannot be executed beautifully.