Project Management: It's All Bollocks! The Complete Exposure of the World of, and the Value of, Project Management

141 Pages·2020·2.434 MB·English

by  Susie Palmer-Trew, Peter Taylor

PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
’
IT S ALL BOLLOCKS!
Welcome to Project Management: It’s All Bollocks! where two people
who vaguely know each other and barely like each other will pick over
the sadly inadequate body of knowledge that is project management
today, and generally challenge just about everything, eliminating that
which you don’t need to bother to learn about, or should already
know, leaving you only with the parts that will give you the results
you want. This book is a shakedown of project management, the
profession, the myths it creates and promotes, its great ideas and
ambitions and a few ropey bits that we’re just not convinced about.
The project management profession continues to grow and mature,
but is at risk of excluding those who don’t fit the mould. There is
a mystique out there that only certificated project managers can be
project managers. This is nonsense. The project management skill
set is accessible to anyone, and how you choose to access it and
put it to use should remain the decision of the individual. There
shouldn’t be a right or wrong choice. This book is targeted at those
‘projects as usual project managers’ who will drive most of the
change inside organisations tomorrow and beyond, and who really
need help to do that.
The authors offer up a selection of seven cracking ideas, that when
applied to a project environment will ultimately result in you being a
good manager of projects in this modern world of business complexity.
SUSIE PALMER-TREW isanawardwinningprojectprofessionaland,at
thetimeofgoingtoprint,shewasDirector,ChangeandImprovementat
TheOpenUniversity,enablingotherstogetshitdoneinaworldtiedup
inredtape.Sheistheco-creatorofOpentoChange,avidrisktakerand
professionaltroublemaker.
PETER TAYLOR is author of the Amazon number 1 bestselling project
management book, The Lazy Project Manager, and professional speaker,
having given 350 lectures around the world in over 25 countries. He
has been described as ‘perhaps the most entertaining and inspiring
speaker in the project management world today’.
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT:
’
IT S ALL
BOLLOCKS!
THE COMPLETE EXPOSURE OF
THE WORLD OF, AND THE VALUE
OF, PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Susie Palmer-Trew and Peter Taylor
Firstpublished2020
byRoutledge
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andbyRoutledge
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©2020SusiePalmer-TrewandPeterTaylor
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andPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedor
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BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritish
Library
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Palmer-Trew,Susie,1985-author.|Taylor,Peter,
1957-author.
Title:Projectmanagement:it’sallbollocks!:thecomplete
exposureoftheworldof,andthevalueof,project
management/SusiePalmer-TrewandPeterTaylor.
Description:MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon;NewYork,NY:
Routledge,2020.|Includesindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2019041912(print)|LCCN2019041913
(ebook)|ISBN9780367140908(hardback)|
ISBN9780429030147(ebook)
Subjects:LCSH:Projectmanagement.
Classification:LCCHD69.P75P322020(print)|LCCHD69.
P75(ebook)|DDC658.4/04–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2019041912
LCebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2019041913
ISBN:978-0-367-14090-8(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-429-03014-7(ebk)
TypesetinMinionPro
byIntegraSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltd.
SUSIE:
To all the rough diamonds, getting by and getting on in a project
management world with little room for curiosity.
* *
To Peter insert your own compliment here
And of course, my very own Pigeon and Squab.
PETER:
To Susie for helping me to avoid becoming yet another old fart of
the project management world by agreeing to write this book and
generally challenging me every step of the way.
And to Juliet; simply, the love of my life.

CONTENTS
Theacknowledgements x
Susie x
Peter x
Theauthors xi
SusiePalmer-Trew xi
PeterTaylor xii
Thenon-foreword xiii
Theintroduction xv
Susie xv
Peter xviii
Thebook xix
CHAPTER1 THEBLOODYANNOYINGWORLDOF
PROJECTMANAGEMENT 1
Thepremise 1
Whatthehellisprojectmanagement,anyway? 3
Nobodyputsbabyinthecorner(Whatismyidentity?) 7
Whoownsprojectmanagement? 11
Whyisnooneevertoblame? 17
Doallprojectsneedaprojectmanager? 20
Whyaretheresomanytwatsinprojectmanagement? 23
‘Volunteeringelite’ 24
‘Firstlosergang’ 25
‘Gangleaders’and‘Tribes’ 26
Theconclusion 28
vii
CONTENTS
CHAPTER2 SEVENCRACKINGIDEAS 31
Thepremise 31
Crackingidea1:Everythingisasurprise 33
Crackon1 36
Inspiration–themarkerpensyndrome 37
Crackingidea2:Failureisanoption 39
Crackon2 41
Inspiration–theoneattheinterview 42
Crackingidea3:Communicationversusengagement–
choosewiselyorlivewiththeconsequence 44
Crackon3 46
Inspiration–bangersandmash 47
Crackingidea4:Engagethewilling,workwiththeable
anddealwiththerestlater 49
Crackon4 52
Inspiration–creatingsomethingfromnothing 52
Crackingidea5:Thereisneverasinglepointoffailure 53
Crackon5 55
Inspiration–jumpingtheshark 55
Crackingidea6:Youdon’tneedtobeempoweredand
youdon’tneedpermission 57
Crackon6 59
Inspiration–beyourownpostcard 59
Crackingidea7:Shapethefuture 60
Crackon7 62
Inspiration–theStarbucksMoment 62
Theconclusion 64
CHAPTER3 THEARTOFGETTINGSHITDONEAND
STAYINGCOOL 67
Thepremise 67
Gettingtoknowyou,allaboutyou 69
TheCinderellastory 70
Headlesschickensandheroes 72
Theultimatetriphazard 76
viii
CONTENTS
Howmanylicksdoesittaketogettothecentreof
alollipop? 81
X-Factor 85
Theconclusion 87
CHAPTER4 THEQUICKGUIDE 91
Thebookin300words 91
CHAPTER5 ONELASTTIME,FROMTHETOP 95
Thebloodyannoyingworldofprojectmanagement 95
Sevencrackingideas 97
Theartofgettingshitdoneandstayingcool 100
Whathappensnext? 102
Susie 102
Peter 103
Thenon-appendices 105
Afinalpieceofadvice 106
Howtocontacttheauthors 107
Thebirthofalegend(possibly)… 110
Onelastword… 114
Index 115
ix