Projects and Teams

This book is an excellent work on Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM). It is the best book I have read on the topic. Extremely thorough and complete. It is not as exciting as other "business novel" formats, but can be used as a reference when mid stream on a project. This is well worth the price.

This book is currently under review, more details will be added when available

In my opinion, as a project manager, you cannot read too many books on handling change. Each gives you a different perspective on how to effectively deliver a project whose product is valuable. This is a lesser known book, but has a great perspective.

Many businesses try to change, but few succeed. At best, a few buzzwords and new reports become part of the company's structure. At worst, programs crash and burn, and the members of the organization become irreparably disillusioned with the revolving door of new-mission statements. According to David Shaner-a business consultant with a 100% success rate of change at companies including Duracell, Frito-Lay, Caesars Palace and Gillette-the problem is that those changes don't address either individuals or the corporate culture. They're only on the surface.

This book is currently under review, more details will be added when available

Teams are the center piece of any project. Without a team you will most likely fail at meeting any criteria for a successful project. Jackie, a personal friend of mine, has written a great book that will open your mind on a different approach to teams.

This book is currently under review, more details will be added when available

Drive is a must read for anyone that has to motivate people to do anything. As a project manager, part of your job is inspiring people to work on or support your project. You would be foolish not to read this book and follow its advice.

Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money —the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction-at work, at school, and at home —is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.

This book is currently under review, more details will be added when available

If you want to explore and improve your leadership style, this is a "Must Read." Why leadership? Because projects struggle under managers and they excel under leaders. Not only that, but this also gets you thinking and talking like your business leaders. How can you communicate with them if you do not think like them?

Touted as the "Greatest Business Book of All Time" (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table.

Every project manager is in sales. PMs are always trying to convince someone to give people, money, time, expertise, knowledge, etc. They are always in sales mode... they just don't think of it that way.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day more than fifteen million people earn their keep by persuading someone else to make a purchase.

But dig deeper and a startling truth emerges:

Okay, maybe I am a little sentimental here, but this book takes prejudice and self perception head on. It is a mantra that any project manager that is facing huge odds should read.

The classic tale of persevering against the odds!

The Little Engine That Could comes to life all over again in this gorgeous oversized picture book with foil on the cover and the beautiful art from the 1950s. A train of toys desperately need an engine to take them over the mountain so that they can deliver toys and food to children. But none of the big, important engines will help them. Luckily, the Little Blue Engine comes along. She is small, but she has confidence that she can do it, and she does!

Project Management is one to the few disciplines where the glass ceiling seems to be non-existent. Daily our multicultural, multigenerational, multigender teams build great products for our businesses. We need to understand ourselves and others better. Lean In is a great book for either gender to read to learn more about how to avoid gender issues on your projects.

Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry. This means that women ’s voices are still not heard equally in the decisions that most affect our lives. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg examines why women ’s progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers compelling, commonsense solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential.

Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook and is ranked on Fortune ’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and as one of Time ’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2010, she gave an electrifying TEDTalk in which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which became a phenomenon and has been viewed more than two million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table, ” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto.

Without a team there is no project, there is no success. One of your primary jobs is to build a team from people you mostly likely do not have authority over. The five key attributes: results, accountability, commitment, conflict, and trust, will help you build a better team quicker.

The title says it all. What project manager does not need to improve their effectiveness? This is a bible that you should always keep in close reach. A true "Must Read."