In French | Navigating project complexity with the Vortex tool (CC)

**Please note that this masterclass will be held in French**

Over the past decade, the role of the project manager has changed profoundly. Boundaries have become blurred, timelines have tightened, stakeholders have multiplied, and AI has reshuffled the deck. In this context of uncertainty, traditional approaches remain necessary, but they have reached their limits.

The Vortex (CC licensed, free to use)) offers a different response. Developed with UQAM and tested by more than 1,000 managers and executives, and applied to strategic projects in 120 organizations, this collective intelligence tool shifts the center of gravity.

Rather than trying to find the solution to a moving problem, it invites participants to focus on their intention — the intersection of what they must do, what they can do, and what they want to do.

This mindset changes the game in change management: it makes it possible to stay the course without becoming rigid, to align teams around what matters, and to keep them in motion. In projects marked by high uncertainty, it provides a decision-making anchor where the usual tools tend mainly to generate anxiety.

The day is entirely experiential. Each participant arrives with a real challenge — a project under pressure, a change initiative to lead, or a team to align — and works on it throughout the day from three angles: what they are experiencing, what their stakeholders expect, and what the context requires of them. By the end of the session, each participant leaves with a tool they can apply immediately and a first concrete use case.

Objective

Learn how to integrate uncertainty into project management using so-called “liquid” thinking, in order to:

Manage unexpected events

Align stakeholders

Adapt action plans without changing the project’s underlying intentions

Agenda

8:30 a.m. — Welcome

9:00 a.m. — Opening and introduction to the Vortex (CC)

10:30 a.m. — Break

10:45 a.m. — Exploration exercises focused on stakeholders and the project team (or oneself)

12:15 p.m. — Lunch break

1:00 p.m. — Exploration exercises focused on context and stakeholders

2:45 p.m. — Break

3:00 p.m. — Emergence exercise and conclusion

4:15 p.m. — End

Edouard Le Marechal

Graduate of ESSEC Business School (France)

Head of Tangenciels, a consulting firm specializing in innovation and strategic foresight

A graduate of ESSEC Business School with a specialization in innovation strategy and certified in Creative Problem Solving, Edouard Le Maréchal founded Tangenciels in 1996 based on three areas of expertise: innovation, foresight, and emerging uses.

He supports companies and public-sector organizations in France and Quebec, working with executive leadership, strategy departments, and R&D teams. Over the past ten years, he has supported around one hundred innovation, transformation, and intrapreneurship projects.

He is the co-designer of the Vortex (CC), a system for helping resolve complex situations developed with the support of UQAM.

The Vortex (CC) is now taught in Executive MBA programs and in master’s programs in project management.

Edouard teaches at HEC Paris, ESG (Montreal), and CNAM (Paris) in both initial and continuing education programs.

He is the author of scientific articles, podcasts, and books on new innovation models.

Virtual participation and PDU allocation
To ensure fair management of PDU allocation, virtual participants must be logged in no later than 10 minutes after the start of the event. After this time, access will no longer be authorized and no PDUs will be awarded.

Events

No refunds 5 open days or less prior to the event.

Substitution
Substitution of a participant is not permitted except for group registrations.

Cancellation
PMI-Montreal reserves the right to cancel a training program in the event of insufficient registrations. In this case, the full registration fee will be refunded.