Imagine working for an organization mired in the way we've always done things for almost 100 years. When executives (and twin sisters) Flora and Fauna Forest disagree on the best approach to successfully manage Forest Industries' two most strategic projects, the competition begins. Fauna believes that success breeds success and selects her favorite flashy salesman, Biff Haire, to manage Project Birch. Flora supports a slow and steady approach and chooses Barry Tortisse, an excruciatingly methodical accountant to manage Project Hickory. If you've been spending your time reading business fables that focus on little mice, fairy godmothers, and big whales to point out obvious management principles but don't leave you with much to apply to your job the next day, Race Through the Forest is written especially for you. Designed for both novice and experienced project managers, as well as executive sponsors, Race Through the Forest steps you, the reader, through every step of a project, from initiating each project with a purposeful business case, to planning a project that couples strong task definition and coordination with intelligent resource assignments, to executing the project with meaningful and honest status reports. The reader will take away useful ideas in managing work projects successfully.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Effective project management and team communication is key for all to succeed. This book provides an excellent road map... --homas J. Mahoney, Jr., COO and Executive VP Sales & Marketing, ITA Group
Johnson has captured the true essence of business woes in a fashion that is humorous, enlightening, and most important, applicable. --Norman J. Kirk, Superintendent of Network Operations, Union Pacific Railroad
Johnson has captured the true essence of business woes in a fashion that is humorous, enlightening, and most important, applicable. --Norman J. Kirk, Superintendent of Network Operations, Union Pacific Railroad
About the Author
Timothy L. Johnson is the president of Delta Project Solutions, Inc., with two decades of experience in project management, systems thinking, organizational diagnosis, business analysis, creative problem solving, and team facilitation. He has held project leadership roles ranging from multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit settlements to training video production, from major software transformation to strategic design. He is certified as a Project Management Professional and currently teaches MBA courses at Drake University in Operations, Organizational Behavior, Project Management, and Business Creativity. Timothy resides in Des Moines, Iowa, with his family.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
FINALLY - after having my cheese moved, being told what my team's five dysfunctions were, motivating me to have raving fans, and trying to be a one minute manager, it's about time somebody wrote a cerebrally witty business fable for project managers. Johnson captures the reality of project management in a succint way that does what no other business fable has done yet: provides real application that I can use. My status reports and project plans will never be the same. I'm giving this to my team as a must read!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
...about project management, presented in an easy to read parable. If your projects aren't running smoothly enough, this is the book you need.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Race Through The Forest is what the business world needs right now. No silver bullets here... just useful ideas. Timothy Johnson is straight as an arrow in writing about the race. The comparison between Biff and Barry is obvious but shows the simple truths about projects. There's a subtle sense of humor throughout the book which keeps the reading interesting. I really liked the acronyms and how they are presented, especially WUHOT.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Success can be fun, failure rarely is...
Entertaining read
The Lazy Project Manager www.thelazyprojectmanager.com
"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by. Read more
The Lazy Project Manager www.thelazyprojectmanager.com
"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by. Read more
Published on August 30, 2009 by P. B. Taylor
Inspiring and insightful
Had the pleasure of taking a graduate-level course in project management from this author years ago. His books are every bit as engaging and motivational as his lectures. Read more
Published on August 19, 2009 by D. L. Remund
Packed With Wisdom
I wish that I had read this book in 1999 when my former company was embarking on project management. Read more
Published on July 6, 2009 by Jeffrey Garrison
Superlative guide to project management
Timothy Johnson's "Race Through the Forest" is excellent. The book brings to light why a steady and thorough approach to project management will always win the race. Read more
Published on January 18, 2008 by Jeff D. Hutton
Great book to sell PM to an organization
Timothy Johnson spins a good yarn. This book is an easy read.
Race Through the Forest does not include a lot of "how to", so the reader would need to be an accomplished... Read more
Race Through the Forest does not include a lot of "how to", so the reader would need to be an accomplished... Read more
Published on September 3, 2007 by Michael N. Jenkins
Race through this book
When the first hundred pages of a book are the entire book, it's hard to go wrong. And when one has Timothy L Johnson to put in just enough practical information to make it useful... Read more
Published on March 8, 2007 by T. Harris
Delightfully conveys the challenges and pitfalls of successfully...
This is a wonderful book! Timothy uses the "story" -- probably the best teaching vehicle ever devised -- to delightfully convey the challenges and pitfalls of successfully mangaged... Read more
Published on November 29, 2006 by Roger von Oech
The Most Fun Project Management Fable I've Ever Read!
Tim Johnson has found a way to make project management seem FUN! For experienced project managers, the tools inside this book can help you keep your projects on track in a... Read more
Published on September 10, 2006 by Philip R. Gerbyshak
A clever, delightful fable delivers an important business message
It is heartwarming to read this fable and understand the joy of the gift of a good story that does exactly what a great fable should do---teach a lesson in an unforgettable and... Read more
Published on May 30, 2006 by Elizabeth A. Mineart
Project management application
This book is for project managers... and those who need to work with project managers to understand them better... Read more
Published on May 5, 2006 by Barb Sanderson
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
"There are times your idealism borders on the annoying!" Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Project Hickory, Forest Industries, Project Birch, Birch Biffster, Biff Haire, Barry Tortisse, Ben Theer, Fauna Forest, Quality Control, Overa Cheevre, Board of Directors, Human Resources New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
"There are times your idealism borders on the annoying!" Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Project Hickory, Forest Industries, Project Birch, Birch Biffster, Biff Haire, Barry Tortisse, Ben Theer, Fauna Forest, Quality Control, Overa Cheevre, Board of Directors, Human Resources New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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