The Rational Project Manager: A Thinking Teams Guide to Getting Work Done

The Rational Project Manager
"Change for business today is not a spectator sport. Translating strategic vision into bottom–line results requires discipline, execution, and participation—a theme that resonates throughout The Rational Project Manager. Longman and Mullins present a commonsense approach to executing against opportunities that is grounded in logic and resourcefulness."
—George W. Buckley Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brunswick Corporation
"The Rational Project Manager provides much–needed insights and tools for leaders at all levels. The bane of any leader′s worklife is those initiatives that lack focus, engender poor decision making, and are misaligned with organizational culture and goals. Given the ambiguity, complexity, and change that are the new baseline assumptions in the workplace, The Rational Project Manager′s simple, flexible approach fills an important gap overlooked by most books on the subject."
—Steve Schloss Vice President, Human Resources Time Inc.
"The Rational Project Manager does a terrific job of dealing with both the art and discipline of project management. It focuses on the critical thinking that is essential to project success and also provides a wide array of tools and techniques for driving up performance."
—John Case President and Chief Executive Officer Electrolux Home Care Products North America
"Significant projects frequently are planned and executed by cross–functional teams of people who don′t normally work together. For a project to be completed successfully, the team and each team member must quickly develop both goal and role clarity. Kepner–Tregoe′s rational process tools, including the project management tools well described in this book, have been critical to improving my organization′s ability to execute projects and have become a core part of our culture."
—Ray Baxter President and Chief Executive Office r Interbake Foods LLC
"Half the trouble in modern life comes from ambitious projects gone awry. Some were not thought–through before they were embarked on. Others started with good intentions but fell apart when their leaders could not adapt to changing circumstances or keep their team moving toward the proper goal. The sensible principles laid out in this clear and useful book would go a long way toward making both public and private organizations more effective. Personally, I′d start by passing out copies throughout the U.S. government."
—James Fallows National Correspondent The Atlantic Monthly

Spis treści:
1. The Missing Pieces of the Project Management Puzzle.
Project Management as the New Imperative.
Project Management Unplugged.
Project Management in Action.
The Stuff of Projects.
Today’s Projects: What Makes Them Different?
Today’s Game Is Speed.
Disembodied Goals.
The Ebb and Flow of Today’s Teams.
The Competition for Resources.
The Revolving Door.
The Penchant for Complexity.
Projects Aren’t Going Away.
The Missing Pieces of the Project Management Puzzle.
What’s Ahead.
2. Project Definition.
Why Are We Doing This Project?
State the Project.
Develop Objectives.
Develop the Work Breakdown Structure.
Identify Resource Requirements.
Additional Definition Topics.
3. Project Planning.
Assign Responsibility.
Sequence Deliverables.
Schedule Deliverables.
Schedule Resources.
Protect and Enhance the Plan.
Enhance the Plan.
Additional Planning Topics.
Planning Summary.
4. Project Implementation.
Are You Ready to Do the Work?
Start to Implement.
Monitor the Project.
Modify the Project.
Closeout and Evaluate.
Additional Implementation Topic.
Implementation Summary.
5. Managing People in Projects.
Influencing People.
The Performance System.
Involving People.
Communicating with People.
Meetings and Communication.
Summary.
6. Project Decision Making and Problem Solving.
Situation Appraisal.
Decision Analysis.
Problem Analysis.
Decision–Making and Problem–Solving Summary.
7. Installing Project Management within an Organization.
Ensuring Systematic Use of Project Management.
Installing Project Management.
How Should You Install Project Management in Your Organization?
A Final Word on Project Management.
Index.

Nota biograficzna:
ANDREW LONGMAN is a partner and Vice President of Marketing at Kepner–Tregoe, a consultancy specializing in strategic and operational decision making and critical thinking, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey.
JIM MULLINS is a Senior Consultant and Worldwide Product Manager for eThink®, Kepner–Tregoe′s enterprise–wide software product for tracking and improving organizational problem solving and decision making.
www.kepner–tregoe.com

Okładka tylna:
The Rational Project Manager
"Change for business today is not a spectator sport. Translating strategic vision into bottom–line results requires discipline, execution, and participation—a theme that resonates throughout The Rational Project Manager. Longman and Mullins present a commonsense approach to executing against opportunities that is grounded in logic and resourcefulness."
—George W. Buckley Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brunswick Corporation
"The Rational Project Manager provides much–needed insights and tools for leaders at all levels. The bane of any leader′s worklife is those initiatives that lack focus, engender poor decision making, and are misaligned with organizational culture and goals. Given the ambiguity, complexity, and change that are the new baseline assumptions in th e workplace, The Rational Project Manager′s simple, flexible approach fills an important gap overlooked by most books on the subject."
—Steve Schloss Vice President, Human Resources Time Inc.
"The Rational Project Manager does a terrific job of dealing with both the art and discipline of project management. It focuses on the critical thinking that is essential to project success and also provides a wide array of tools and techniques for driving up performance."
—John Case President and Chief Executive Officer Electrolux Home Care Products North America
"Significant projects frequently are planned and executed by cross–functional teams of people who don′t normally work together. For a project to be completed successfully, the team and each team member must quickly develop both goal and role clarity. Kepner–Tregoe′s rational process tools, including the project management tools well described in this book, have been critical to improving my organization′s ability to execute projects and have become a core part of our culture."
—Ray Baxter President and Chief Executive Officer Interbake Foods LLC
"Half the trouble in modern life comes from ambitious projects gone awry. Some were not thought–through before they were embarked on. Others started with good intentions but fell apart when their leaders could not adapt to changing circumstances or keep their team moving toward the proper goal. The sensible principles laid out in this clear and useful book would go a long way toward making both public and private organizations more effective. Personally, I′d start by passing out copies throughout the U.S. government."
—James Fallows National Correspondent The Atlantic Monthly