The aim of this paper is firstly to report on what we have observed by following major improvement and development projects in five industrial enterprises. In particular, the authors shall focus on issues which have often been addressed in Danish enterprises, namely the participation of employees in the change process, the role of a vision of the future company; and organizational learning processes taking place during the development project. Secondly, different interpretation models will be employed in an effort to broaden the understanding of the many facets and viewpoints associated with organizational changes. Thirdly, four paradoxes for managing development projects are presented; they may serve as guidelines for coping with the complexity and uncertainty of change processes