Lessons in Project Management [Paperback]

Tom Mochal (Author), Jeff Mochal (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1590591275 | ISBN-13: 978-1590591277 | Publication Date: December 13, 2007 | Edition: 1

Accessible, easy to read case-studies in real-world project management challenges, each case study contains a story of the problem followed by an examination of the solution presented in easy to understand language. Most of the project management books I have read are basically textbooks. They are dry to begin with and don't focus on the practical advice that most people need to run their projects. My book does not assume you are a project manager building a nuclear reactor or sending a man to the moon. This book will focus instead on the millions of people who manage normal, medium to large projects on an ongoing basis. I think that this type of format will allow the readers to relate better to what they are reading, since it brings into play a project scenario and a practical project management lesson to learn. The reader will also recognize recurring characters that appear in multiple stories and will start to develop some empathy and interest for their struggle.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeff Mochal is director of communication and external relations at ConAgra Foods, based in Naperville, Illinois. He has been working in the public relations and communications industry for 15 years and has extensive expertise in media relations, crisis communication, issues management, reputation management and corporate branding. Jeff is married with two children, and is pursuing his master's in business administration from the University of Notre Dame.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: A-Press; 1 edition (December 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590591275
• ISBN-13: 978-1590591277
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,012,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful anecdotes for those already running projects, May 27, 2005

By 

Lars Bergstrom "LarsBerg" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lessons in Project Management (Paperback)

This book would be most useful to someone who is currently running a project, is somewhat inexperienced, and who either knows or suspects that something may be going wrong. There are a lot of excellent situational examples of how to understand a problem, diagnose what to do appropriately to the size of the project, and resolve it. As noted by other reviewers, though, this shouldn't be taken as a book that contains a sequence of steps needed to run a successful project.

My favorite explicit lesson was on underpromising and overdelivering. The authors point out that while that's a great approach, never use it as an excuse to sandbag your schedule or add more features that the client didn't necessarily ask for. Overdelivering should only come in the form of early or cheaper than expected delivery of the agreed-upon solution. I couldn't agree more.

There was also a great implicit lesson buried in each of the lessons that wasn't called out explicitly and which at least one of the other reviewers failed to pick up on - the importance of developing a good rapport with project managers and members. In each of the lessons, the authors spend valuable book space describing fictional details and conversations tangential to the lessons at hand. However, I've found that to be an important part of conversations in all aspects of project management, as it's easier to have hard discussions about work-related problems when you've made it clear that you have empathy for them as a person and that any work-releated issues are not an attack on them.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars waste of money, January 5, 2005

By 

Alex Tomden "AleT" (Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lessons in Project Management (Paperback)

Rather pour. I think one should find those lessons info for free on the Web sources on project management.
Every lessons has a little story half of it is completely irrelevant for the subject discussed.
E.g. "The one thing I did know about Susan was she was a germ freak. She kept little moist toweletts in her desk drawer to wipe off the phone and doornobes periodically, and she also washed her hands more than anyone else I know." p.25
"Ashley was married and had two children. She often volunteered at her kid's school and also helped out once a month at their neighbourhood church. She was wearing dark pants with a plain red turtleneck and red framed glasses..." p. 13
and so on about half of page for each lesson, so you should expect more than 25 pages of such ladies novels in the 190 pages of text.
No pictures, graphs, tables and any illustrative materials. Just a plain text. Several times it's hard to get the main idea of the lesson.
Can recommend only as an additional to some serious book on project management. It's like a conversation with a sentimental old project manageк with a cup of tea.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!!!, October 8, 2003

By 

Dennis L. Bolles (Holland, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lessons in Project Management (Paperback)

This is not your typical project management book. Tom and Jeff Mochal have created a masterpiece that is a creative approach to teaching the basics of project management. "Lessons in Project Management" is not only entertaining, but informative. The authors use stories to bring important lessons to life and make them relevent, because they occur on most project most of the time. Every project manager, regardless of whether they are new to project management or seasoned veterans, needs to know how to deal with them. The lessons are all mapped to the Ten Step methodology developed by the authors. The book comes with a bonus CD-ROM packed with extras. I recommend it as a great addition to any project office library as a training aid.