Customer Reviews

Checkered Flag Projects: Ten Rules for Creating and Managing Projects that Win! (2nd Edition)

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Project management is people management. This book provides great insights and profound practicle guidance on how to accomplish that successfully. Responding to the challenge of keeping contributors motivated in a high pressure environment, we are reminded: "All people are motivated. The question is:'Motivated by what?'" I also like the quote, "There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals." The graph contrasting Project Stages versus Team Development Stages on page 63 is also a very useful contribution. Anyone looking for some sound guidance on how to help people navigate the complexities of projects would be well served by reading this book.

Way back in 1513, Machiavelli, when he wrote The Prince, described a problem repeatedly faced by Project Managers. ?It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage, than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institutions and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would gain by the new ones.?

Randolph and Posner have the solution. A solid methodology for project management is certainly necessary, but not sufficient. Project management is not just planning, execution, and control; it is about people and bringing them together in a common vision. Most books written about project management focus on methodology but stop short of people aspects. Not so with this book; it explains how to manage this eminently critical resource in such a way as to optimize their performance on your project. Think of it as getting extraordinary performance from ordinary people. Checkered Flag Projects is a must read for all Project Managers.

This is a great resource for my project managers espically for my training sessions. It is full of practical tips and useful information on the "soft side" of managing a project. Most engineers lack these types of skills. I highly recommend this text. JOHN R. OLSEN VP Construction Company