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Alpha Project Managers: What the Top 2% Know That Everyone Else Does Not Hardcover – October 15, 2006

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Andy Crowe (Author)
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4.4 out of 5 stars 42 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 228 pages
  • Publisher: Velociteach; 1st Ed. edition (October 15, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0972967338
  • ISBN-13: 978-0972967334
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #431,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsA Useful Guide to PM Excellence
By Jason E. Smith on March 24, 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
After using his super PMP study guide some time back, I picked up Andy Crowe's `Alpha Project Managers,' published in 2006.

This has to be one of the most under produced books I've ever seen. Crowe essentially self-published on his own Velociteach label. It shows. The graphics are third rate and the cover is pretty bad.

But no matter. The information inside is fascinating. Crowe surveyed over 3,000 project managers and their co-workers/supervisors in order to identify the "top 2%" of project managers ("alpha project managers"). He tried to identify PMs who were consistently rated as excellent by the people they worked with and their customers. Once he found them, he zeroed in on their work habits and PM techniques.

Some of the interesting findings:

# Alphas respond to fewer emails/day and spend less time in meetings than non-alphas, yet people rated them as being more responsive than non-alphas.
# Alphas establish explicit communication expectations, and adhere to them stringently.
# Alphas sent much shorter communications than their non-alpha peers.
# Alphas spent twice as much time in the planning phase of their projects than did non-alphas.
# Alphas used informal networks to get things done much more often than non-alphas (who stuck to formal channels).
# Alphas were much more aware or how their bosses were being measured (ROI, etc.) than non-alphas.

Each of these points (and others) are supported with some useful anecdotes from the PMs themselves. Crowe does a good job trying to help PMs understand these habits and apply them to their own work. This is a text which deserves wider recognition and higher quality production in a second edition.

Recommended. 197pp.
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3.0 out of 5 starsInteresting read
By John on January 27, 2008
Format: Hardcover
I don't think this book on its own is going to help anybody become an Alpha project manager, but it is interesting and gives you some ideas to start with. This is a non-scientific study, and in a few places you can tell, but for the most part it was well researched and the extrapolations are pretty convincing. It's not an overly long book, so you don't need to invest several weeks of free time to get the major learnings out of it. Recommended for project managers or people who want to be project managers.
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5.0 out of 5 starsPowerful read critical to any PMs evolution
By Sam Motes on March 21, 2010
Format: Hardcover
I had the pleasure of seeing the author Andy Crowe discuss the findings of this book at the March Tampa PMI meeting so I picked up the book. The theme of the book to me can be summed up from a quote from near the end of the book when Crowe points out that "Professional sprinters often finish within hundredths of a second of each other, yet the ones who win do so consistently". What he is saying is that what separates the Alphas from the average is a kaizen approach to constantly making fine tuning adjustments in how they manage projects. My key take aways from the book where: Alphas take ownership of the project and don't wait for it to be given to them, Alphas focus as much a leading the project as on merely managing the project, Alphas possess a big picture view of how their projects fits into the overall goals and strategies of the company, Alphas take active ownership of the relationships with stakeholders to the project as well as key players throughout the organization, and finally Alphas do more than just manage their projects by taking an active domain intensive value add role on the project as well.

The book was a short but very concise read packed with statistical findings from the research that was performed. The gaps in perceptions between what the Project Manager believed and what the stakeholders believed was very eye opening. I highly recommend this book to any Project Manager interested in surviving and thriving in their career.
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3.0 out of 5 starsA Good Read for New Project Managers
By Tom G on April 12, 2015
Format: Hardcover
This is one of the few books that I have read on Project Management that attempts to evaluate and understand project management performance through a rigorous series of surveys and interviews. I found most of the content to be within the realm of the expected but I do appreciate the author in his efforts to find reason and validation to the question, “Why do some project managers outperform their peers?”
Key points that I related to include:
• Believing you have authority until proven otherwise
• Varying approach is more effective than scripted performance
• Communications is 90% of the role and doing it well is a primary factor in being on par with what the author refers to as the Alpha Project Manager
• How the organization embraces the role of Project Manager is a key factor in success, but not the only reason for it
• The organization’s commitment to training influences project manager success
• Alignment of strategy of the project, the stakeholders and the organization influence a positive outcome
• Leadership is highly valued, not properly embedded in the project manager training regiment, and often takes a career to reach a notable level of competency
• High performing project managers find it difficult to articulate what sets them apart
• High performing project managers continue to grow their knowledge more aggressively than their average performing peers
The book was a quick read and it did give me a few points worthy of writing down for future reference. I would recommend this for more junior project managers as a good foundational resource but for those who have 10+ years of varied experience the points the author makes should be common knowledge.
As for the book itself I would have revised the graphics.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsQuick read and great insights from the top 2%

A good survey based insight into project management and the core disciplines / areas of competence.
I like the structure, where the focus is on what the top 2% does different... Read more

Published 2 days ago by Jacob Heiberg
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

superb read for project managers in the making

Published 1 month ago by Puneet
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

An excellent book that addresses many of the key elements associated with project leadership.

Published 2 months ago by Wilson45
5.0 out of 5 starsThere's a difference between management and leadership

I liked how this book focused, in a clinical way, on the differences between the study's overall population and the alphas. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Jim
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat Metrics on Project Managers

Exactly what I wanted. Gave me some metrics regarding good vs. great project managers.

Published 6 months ago by John D. Vaughan
5.0 out of 5 starsthis is an excellent resource for the novice project manager as well...

this is an excellent resource for the novice project manager as well as the seasoned one who may want to polish or upgrade her skills.

Published 6 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Very detail book on how to stand out in project management.

Published 7 months ago by Orban Mendoza
3.0 out of 5 starsThree Stars

good research

Published 8 months ago by Mario Velazquez Breton
4.0 out of 5 starsVery insightful and appreciate the effort spent with the research ...

Very insightful and appreciate the effort spent with the research. It validated for me, and I'm sure others, what does make up a quality PM.

Published 8 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsShort and to the point

I loved this book. It points out weaknesses in my project management approach as well as strengths and will help me improve in the future.

Published 9 months ago by Matthew

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