About the Book
In his ground-breaking book, Reinventing Communication, Mark Phillips shows how even the most mature organization can fail to deliver successful projects - and worse, how this can lead to an organization's demise. With clear examples, Mark reveals the underlying principles at work and introduces a revolutionary new technique for harnessing the power of communication to ensure long term success. For organizations of all sizes, this book changes the way we think about management and leadership.
Mark makes his case by looking at teams and individuals that set out to deliver ambitious achievements in complex and challenging environments. We meet the leadership team that built the F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, one of the US Navy's most successful programs. We discover the untraditional approach to risk used in building a new terminal at London's Heathrow airport. We draw lessons on corporate survival from the cat and mouse fight against IED's in Afghanistan, and are introduced to a website where online video gamers solved a critical piece of the AIDS puzzle using their gaming prowess.
Reinventing Communication is about creating the conditions for performance and attaining long term success. Whether a start-up, a global enterprise or a government agency, this book shows us how to deliver ambitious achievements by getting communication right. It is a book that no manager, leader or innovator should be without.
Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface; Introduction: communication as a project performance management tool. Part I Why Communication Matters: Communication determines project outcomes; Elements of communication design; Communication objects and communication design; Observable behaviors of a project environment; Using communication as a performance management tool; A checklist for using communication as a performance management tool. Part 2 Communication Manages Project Complexity: Orientation toward uncertainty; All uncertainty is wicked. Appendix; Index.
About the Author :
Mark Phillips is an accomplished CEO and thought leader. For over 17 years he has built a project management software company and consultancy, serving clients including multinational automotives, web start-ups, global telecoms and financial services. He led product development on a cutting-edge US Army Research Lab program. Mark is known for finding and delivering innovative solutions. His ideas are in use at the Office of the Secretary of Defense to research new policy guidelines on performance management and improve program outcomes. His work has appeared in publications including C|Net, eWeek and the Small Wars Journal. He delivers keynotes, seminars and workshops worldwide. He is a board member of the College of Performance Management. Mark began his career on Wall Street where he was a Vice President. Mark holds a Masters in Applied Economics from University of Michigan and B.Sc. [Econ] from the London School of Economics.
Review :
'It is an unfortunate trait of the program management community that often more time is spent analyzing what went wrong than what went right and why... Mr Phillips turns that tide with a book that is actionable - earned value and a communications strategy are key. In Reinventing Communication, the author analyzes successful programs and failed programs. He answers the question - what are the attributes of success? Further, he offers a check list and an actionable approach to delivering a success in which communications and earned value management are effective tools.' Vice Admiral Joseph W. Dyer, USN (ret.), former Commander, Naval Air Systems Command 'Mark Phillips practically invented project management for web companies. In his new book, Mark shares his latest research on creating the right environment for attaining ambitious results. He draws on economics, psychology, project management and decades of experience as a CEO and thought leader. The stories alone make the book worth reading. It is a must-have for web companies, entrepreneurs and established companies who want to maintain an edge.' Ilya Pozin, columnist, Forbes & Inc. 'Just as we were about to conclude that computers and technology have preempted the future contribution of homo sapiens, here comes a book that explains how effective communication and human interaction will always win the day. If you are embarking on a project, any project, you must read Reinventing Communication first.' Ed Brodow, author of Negotiation Boot Camp 'A must-read book, Mark's commonsense methodologies and knowledgeable approaches to project management, leadership, and increased communication skills makes this a great guide for any entrepreneur, business owner, engineer, or developer who wants to be a more successful leader within any business, project, or market area.' Bruce Holmes, US Navy SEAL (ret.), Science and Technology Advisor 'Powerful and practical, Mark Phillips' new book, Reinventing Communication, breaks our common misconceptions about project performance and carves a bold, new path in management. The book shows you how to create, lead and manage successful projects. It is a rare find, brimming with strategies and ideas you can use immediately to deliver better results.' Cornelius Fichtner, The PM Podcast 'This book is innovative and original which makes it a worthwhile read because through drawing on ideas that many of us are not familiar with, it opens our minds to new ways of thinking about old problems. ... Any project manager will benefit from exposure to these highly original ideas about project performance and the importance of people to project success. ... This book is rich in ideas, but the ideas are made accessible through examples to illustrate the ideas and enough detail to apply within your own organisation. Remember, though, that application of "soft skills" in the form of recognising who is important and how best to engage them is still important: a fundamental underpinning of any actions arising from the inspiration of this book.' Lynda Bourne, CEO and Managing Director of Stakeholder Management Pty Ltd. 'Mark Phillips' book, Reinventing Communication addresses perhaps the most key ingredient of project success - communication. Regardless of the type of project or industry, communication is how the project team expresses their needs, requirements, data, expectations, progress, costs, expected outcomes, and just about everything else. ... His approach to quantifying communication takes advantage of today's digital communications. ... Mark's book provides ideas for serious consideration.' The EVM Newsletter, no. 58, July 2014 '...I would keep Mark's book on my shelf as a good reference for how we need to consider and structure our everyday project communication and a reminder of how communication can indeed fail. ...this book provided me with checklists and what to consider when I evaluate, create, or measure communication. Overall the book is a good resource and reference for anyone who wants to examine communication as a project manager.' Gerry Buena, PMI Organizational Community of Practice Forum, September 2014 'Innovative and practical...[a] new path for successfully managing the extremely large and complex projects that increasingly define project management in the emerging economy of the 21st century. At the heart of any successful projects, lie people and groups that are able to effectively communicate, Tying together ideas that range from information design and analytics to established project performance measures the book provides a practical guide to design, execute, and monitor this essential feature of project management.' Lev Virine, on Amazon.com, October 2014 'It is not very often that anything that is touted as ground-breaking actually lives up to the initial promise, but Mark Phillips latest book Reinventing Communication may well be an exception to this rule...extremely fascinating... provides a fairly simple framework upon which the effectiveness of communication design in aligning the project team with the project goals. Using analysis between expected and actual communication, we are shown how, when used in conjunction with similar earned value analysis, this data can provide the basis for improving project performance.' M Trumper, on Amazon.ca, October 2014 'A must read for anyone seriously interested in controlling projects. The author touches on the elephant in the room, so to speak, about project management: the risk of communication to the project's objectives. There is a lot of common sense in his book, and it reaffirms that how and what methods we use to communicate are as important as the message itself. His approach on using communication as an EVM makes complete sense, and should be given serious consideration by those looking to get better control over their production. It is something that I have begun looking at implementing within my department.' Whitney Ruth, on Amazon.com, November 2014
