There
are myriad books about how project management should be done in the ideal world.
And the Project Management Institute has created a whole Body of Knowledge, the
PMBOK, to explain and codify a nice, clean, surgical description of what a project
should look like from end-to-end.
Hog wash!
Projects are MESSY! From the minute the project begins all manner of changes,
surprises and disasters befall them. Unfortunately most of these are PREDICTABLE
and AVOIDABLE. In fact, many project retrospectives produce “lessons learned”
that are identical to the LAST project lessons learned. As a matter of fact, the
#1 reason that teams fail to achieve their goals is . . . well, they don’t
HAVE goals, at least not clear ones that everyone agrees upon. And the #2 reason
projects fail is that communication is, shall we say, less than sub-optimal –
it sucks.
Let’s admit it – project management
is not for the faint of heart. Many projects start in the deep recesses of some
corporate hallway, and the project manager only hears about them long after they
are well underway. And even when a project is carefully planned and properly kicked
off, the plan changes before the ink is dry on the schedule! Tact and diplomacy
can only get you so far in the wild and whacky world of project work. A combination
of outrageous creativity, sheer bravado and nerves of steel will serve you far
better than any fancy-schmancy Microsoft Project Gantt chart!
Scrappy
Project Management gets down to the real deal. Structured around “the dirty
dozen” of project worst practices, this book is about what REALLY happens
in the project environment, how to survive it, and how to make sure that your
team avoids the predictable and avoidable pitfalls that every project faces.
The
converse of the dirty dozen are 12 best practices for project management that
have been proven to help leaders steer their teams clear of avoidable disaster
and as much as double the chances of project success.
If
knowing "how" were enough we'd all be rich and thin. Don't just read
the book, do it!
"The door was opened to
improvement where process is no longer a four letter word. I would love to work
with you again sometime." D.C., VP of Manufacturing
"Kimberly
took me to the next level in taking on a leadership role. She encouraged me to
success." Sherry Parsons, Executive Administrative Manager, Earthbound
Farm
"Kimberly is a whole energy level
unto herself. I call it the "Kimberly Factor". Her passion to give,
teach and mentor excels people, programs and companies." Bonnie
Savage, CEO Assistant, JDSU
"Kimberly's
'Leading From Any Seat in the Org' class is the single most powerful class I've
attended, and the highest rated class I've participated in. Her teachings have
fundametally changed me as a leader, a coach, and a team member."
Lesley Kew, Intuit
Book
from Happy About "Scrappy Project Management®"
by Kimberly Wiefling
Comments on the Scrappy Guides™
The
Scrappy Guides are books with ATTITUDE! They are your edge in accomplishing what
seems impossible, but is actually just real hard. These are real books for real
people living in the real world. They are your secret weapon in creating courage
and commitment to your goals even when there is no evidence that you will succeed.
They are your shield against the inevitable critics who will try to undermine
you, and your comfort in the inevitable failures that accompany any worthy pursuit.
Scrappy
means not relying on a title to be a leader, being willing to take chances, take
risks, put yourself out there in order to do the right thing. Scrappy means having
the steely resolve of a street-fighter when necessary, being willing to be scared
while sticking to your guns, being committed beyond confidence and ability, committed
to making a difference. Scrappy means focusing on creating something extraordinary
more than worrying about social acceptance and the approval of others. Scrappy
is EDGY!
This book
is for people who need to get things
done . . . especially project managers,
either those who are new to the
field and want to learn about what
REALLY works, or seasoned project
managers who don't buy the rhetoric
of the PMI "party line"
about how projects ought to and
do run. It will also appeal to people
who are involved in projects that
they are not running, but no one
else is either! In fact, any manager
can benefit from many of the insights
contained in this book.
The
goals for the reader, in priority order:
Entertain
Enlighten about what REALLY happens
in real projects.
Provide them the relief
of knowing that what they are experiencing is normal!
Inspire to action that will help them achieve their goals.
Endorsements of the Book:
"Put
this spine on your bookshelf, or in your survival kit. This is THE resource for
the power starved PMs who need to learn how to street fight for resources, deal
with customer insanity, and dodge the falling rocks as you stay on top of everything.
A fighting spirit and a confident strategy is the RETURN ON THIS INVESTMENT."
Michele Jackman, Michele Jackman Enterprises and Adventures, co-author
of Star Teams, Players.
"This book unabashedly
puts forward a new, unambiguous, non-shrinking, and ultimately empowering view
of what we all as project managers should commit to be and do every day in our
project roles." Cinda Voegtli, CEO of Emprend, Inc. and President
of ProjectConnections.com
"You can take the long, hard road
to your dreams, or you can accelerate your success by grabbing a copy of Kimberly
Wiefling's Scrappy Project Management and following the rock-solid advice there
to achieving results. If you want to build energy, velocity, and momentum toward
an outrageous goal, Kimberly's Scrappy Project Management is just what you've
been waiting for to help you get those results with more pleasant surprises and
fewer disappointing shocks along the way. Some of my favorite nuggets of wisdom
from Kimberly's tome are:
The top reasons
that teams fail are completely avoidable, and due to leadership in absentia. Wake
up before it's too late!
How to avoid
the rip-tide model of teamwork, where everyone jumps in and drowns together.
Ignore
the voice of the customer at your own peril. They are the ones with the money,
after all!
Are you a wage slave? If
you want to be a great project leader you'd better be able to put your job on
the line.
Stop pretending that everything
is top priority. Sometimes you've got to choose between your heart, lungs, and
kidneys!
Whether you're on the
hook to deliver results for your company or you're getting your business off the
ground, you'll learn a lot and avoid some common pitfalls by reading this book." Christine Comaford-Lynch, CEO of Mighty Ventures, author of Rules for Renegades
“Your
book is going to help people survive
the corporate zoo that is project
management!” Brenda Keiner, CEO, Elite Horse
Clothing
“Kimberly's
'Leading From Any Seat in the Org'
class is the single most powerful
class I've attended, and the highest
rated class I've participated in.
Her teachings have fundamentally
changed me as a leader, a coach,
and a team member.” Lesley Kew, Intuit
"The biggest compliment I have about this book is that it is not an academic book. It is a book intended for practitioners of the project management craft written by a practitioner. I like books that provide the kind of advice a mentor would give you over a cup of coffee and Scrappy Project Management® fits that mode." Dr. James T. Brown, PMWorldToday: Project Management eJournal
Kimberly Wiefling is the founder of Wiefling Consulting, and co-founder of Silicon Valley Alliances. She helps individuals, teams and organizations overcome the most predictable and avoidable causes of failure, human beings, through her highly engaging, experiential, interactive "Learning Laboratories", enabling them to fix things that will damage and destroy their company, and survive in a world of disruptive change. She lives in Silicon Valley, and has worked all over the US, Europe and Asia. Her superpower is bringing people together across borders and boundaries of every kind to achieve what seems “impossible”, but is merely difficult. Her first book, Scrappy Project Management, was also published in Japanese. She has edited and co-authored 8 other books and dozens of blogs. Her latest is "Turning Ideas Into Impact – Insights from 16 SV Consultants". Her amazing mentor, Dr. Edgar Schein, wrote the foreword to her company culture workbook, “Inspired Organizational Cultures”. Kimberly strongly believes that companies doing business across borders and boundaries of every kind are a powerful force for peace in Our World. She is committed to supporting purpose-driven organizations in attracting high-quality investors and the best people through the competitive advantage of a healthy organizational culture. Her big dream is that, one day, both investments and workers will preferentially flow to these kinds of organizations instead of the soul-sucking variety, and the sick, twisted, dysfunctional organizations of Our World will wither and die for lack of financial resources and the talented people they've driven away to more life-affirming workplaces . . . for a better world.
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