About the Book
Welcome to Project Management: It’s All Bollocks! where two people who vaguely know each other and barely like each other will pick over the sadly inadequate body of knowledge that is project management today, and generally challenge just about everything, eliminating that which you don't need to bother to learn about, or should already know, leaving you only with the parts that will give you the results you want. This book is a shakedown of project management, the profession, the myths it creates and promotes, its great ideas and ambitions and a few ropey bits that we’re just not convinced about.
The project management profession continues to grow and mature, but is at risk of excluding those who don’t fit the mould. There is a mystique out there that only certificated project managers can be project managers. This is nonsense. The project management skill set is accessible to anyone, and how you choose to access it and put it to use should remain the decision of the individual. There shouldn’t be a right or wrong choice. This book is targeted at those ‘projects as usual project managers’ who will drive most of the change inside organisations tomorrow and beyond, and who really need help to do that.
The authors offer up a selection of seven cracking ideas, that when applied to a project environment will ultimately result in you being a good manager of projects in this modern world of business complexity.
Table of Contents:
The acknowledgements, The authors, The non-foreword, The introduction, Chapter 1: The bloody annoying world of project management, The premise, What the hell is project management, anyway? Nobody puts baby in the corner (What is my identity?), Who owns project management? Why is no one ever to blame? Do all projects need a project manager? Why are there so many twats in project management? The conclusion Chapter 2: Seven cracking ideas, The premise, Cracking idea 1: Everything is a surprise, Crack on 1, Inspiration – the marker pen syndrome, Cracking idea 2: Failure is an option, Crack on 2, Inspiration – the one at the interview, Cracking idea 3: Communication versus engagement – choose wisely or live with the consequence, Crack On 3, Inspiration – bangers and mash, Cracking idea 4: Engage the willing, work with the able and deal with the rest later, Crack on 4, Inspiration – Creating something from nothing, Cracking idea 5: There is never a single point of failure, Crack on 5, Inspiration – Jumping the shark, Cracking idea 6: You don’t need to be empowered and you don’t need permission, Crack on 6, Inspiration – be your own postcard, Cracking idea 7: Shape the future, Crack on 7, Inspiration– The Starbucks Moment, The conclusion, Chapter 3: The art of getting shit done and staying cool, The premise, Getting to know you, all about you, The Cinderella story, Headless chickens and heroes, The ultimate trip hazard, How many licks does it take to get to the centre of a lollipop?
X-Factor, The conclusion, Chapter 4: The quick guide, The book in 300 words, Chapter 5: One last time, from the top, What happens next? The non-appendices, A final piece of advice, How to contact the authors, The birth of a legend (possibly)... One last word... Index
About the Author :
Susie Palmer-Trew is an award winning project professional and, at the time of going to print, she was Director, Change and Improvement at The Open University, enabling others to get shit done in a world tied up in red tape. She is the co-creator of Open to Change, avid risk taker and professional trouble maker.
Peter Taylor is author of the Amazon number 1 bestselling project management book, The Lazy Project Manager, and professional speaker, having given 350 lectures around the world in over 25 countries. He has been described as ‘perhaps the most entertaining and inspiring speaker in the project management world today’.
