Managing Multiple Projects [Paperback]

Michael Tobis (Author), Irene Tobis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Briefcase Books Series | Publication Date: March 5, 2002

THE BRIEFCASE BOOKS SERIES

Now translated into nine languages! This reader-friendly, icon-rich series is must reading for all managers at every level.

All managers, whether brand new to their positions or well established in the corporate hierarchy, can use a little "brushing up" now and then. The skills-based Briefcase Books series is filled with ideas and strategies to help managers become more capable, efficient, effective, and valuable to their corporations.

Today's workplace is often complex and unpredictable, yet most project management books address only the topic of managing individual projects and solving specific problems. Managing Multiple Projects presents a realistic method for developing the individual and group skills needed to cope with competing demands. It shows readers how to develop a reliable system for taking on multiple projects, work with others to allocate conflicting workloads, cope with the stress that comes from managing multiple projects, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Proven Techniques for Keeping Simultaneous Projects On Course­­and Ensuring Their Successful Completion

As a manager today you must be a master juggler, responsible for keeping several balls in the air even as new balls are randomly tossed in from all sides. Managing Multiple Projects provides the organizational skills and management strategies you need to tackle multiple projects, roles, and responsibilities­­and get the results you want. Turn to this latest addition to McGraw-Hill's skills-based Briefcase Books series for hands-on techniques you can use to:

• Develop a reliable, repeatable system for addressing competing demands
• Work with others to effectively allocate workloads
• Handle the emotional demands­­both for yourself and others­­of project overload

While numerous books have addressed specific project management issues, few­­until now­­have contained proactive strategies for consistently achieving multiple objectives. Managing Multiple Projects draws on skills from time management, task completion, organizational psychology, and more to provide a proven system for easily managing concurrent projects, and guiding each to its successful completion.

Briefcase Books, written specifically for today's busy manager, feature eye-catching icons, checklists, and sidebars to guide managers step-by-step through everyday workplace situations. Look for these innovative design features to help you navigate through each page:

• Clear definitions of important terms, concepts, and jargon
• Tips and tactics for facilitating multiple projects
• Proven how-to hints for addressing specific situations
• Practical advice for minimizing unexpected project errors
• Warning signs that new activities and initiatives are going awry
• Case studies of effective multiple project management in action
• Procedures, techniques, and tactics for implementing this book's ideas

About the Author

Irene and Michael Tobis are founders and partners of Ducksin-a-Row¿ Organizing Consultants, a firm that specializes in organizing and managing multiple projects.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (March 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071388966
• ISBN-13: 978-0071388962
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feeling overwhelmed? Here's help., March 20, 2002

By 

Sarah E. White (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Managing Multiple Projects (Paperback)

I have the Job from Hell - I'm responsible for production scheduling at a busy graphics pre-press house. All day long I make commitments to customers and then turn around and try to get my work group to deliver on them. Before I read "Managing Multiple Projects" I felt completely overwhelmed by my responsibilities. Now I believe there's hope.

Chapter 2, "The Cheeseburger Paradox", really spells out the problem. "It's great to aim high, to attempt to do more and do it better. But unless you can do that reliably, unless your customers can depend on you, you've got problems... the high-value-added operation cannot afford to deliver inferior service." The rest of the chapter - and the book - offers tools and techniques for achieving reliability.

This book really helped me see where the systems I use are letting me down and how I can change that. I've read books on time management. I've struggled to make Microsoft Projects work for me, but nothing's clicked like the advice I've read in "Managing Multiple Projects". Anyone who's tried other books on time and project management and felt unsatisfied ought to give this book a try. The authors' combination of systems engineering perspective and psychological insight into stress and group process sets this book apart. I happen to think it is groundbreaking work.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Any Manager Going Crazy Juggling, March 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Managing Multiple Projects (Paperback)

It's not really an exaggeration to say that any manager could learn from this book. It's unfortunate that many people who would benefit most from this book might not even realize how much they need it....

The title seems to suggest that this book is about project management, but since the authors define "project" as "a commitment of time and resources aimed at a specific outcome," the book is really much more comprehensive.

It's about managing lots of things effectively as the same time.

So, it's about managing time, formalizing processes, dealing with emotional demands, avoiding the dangers of setting priorities, compartmentalizing, tracking projects, and making changes in systems.

Just try to find another book that covers all those areas! This book covers them - and the tone and style make it easy to read. (It's interesting what can happen when a systems engineer and a psychologist team up to write a book!)

How much time do you lose trying to juggle tasks and the people responsible for them? How much is that time worth? It's probably far more than the price of this book. Do you want to manage more effectively and more easily? If so and you're serious about it, this book would be a great investment.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help is on the way, March 26, 2002

By 

Daniel Thompson (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managing Multiple Projects (Paperback)

My life is a constant balancing act of work, family, community and friends. I've been a manager for 20 years, so I've seen a lot. Typically I look for one or two good ideas in a book. But this excellent book, clearly written, is full of personal management and project management advice. It has really helped me simplify and get organized.

The Cheeseburger Paradox opened my eyes to our quality problems from a completely new perspective. The chapters on time management and scheduling are fresh and present new ideas that I can put to work immeadiately.

My other project management books sit on a shelf collecting dust, being either too detailed or esoteric for day-to-day use. This is one that I carry around with me, loving marked with post-it notes, so I can show people, "See, this is what I mean."