Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager: A FranklinCovey Title
Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager: A FranklinCovey Title book cover

Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager: A FranklinCovey Title

Paperback – April 7, 2015

Price
$13.40
Format
Paperback
Pages
256
Publisher
BenBella Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1941631102
Dimensions
5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
Weight
9 ounces

Description

"In this book, Kory, Suzette, and James have created the ultimate blueprint for ’unofficial’ project managers. You'll go from amateur to adept in seven easy chapters." —Jay Wilkinson, founder and CEO of Firespring " Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager gets to the HEART of a challenge so many now face in the workplace—the need to ORGANIZE Projects, on the fly, without training, to lead their companies to a new future. This is a GREAT book . . . you’ll take control fast with the knowledge in these pages." —Julie Morgenstern, New York Times bestselling author of Time Management From The Inside Out "The new benchmark for real and truly effective project management. This is a must-read…" —Gerry Aquino, Organizational Development and Learning, Össur Americas, Inc. " Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager is the best business improvement book that I have ever read. This book will become the guide for all of our future projects. . . . Any person who follows the advice in this book will find a tremendous, positive impact on their career." —Tim Rancourt, President of Engineering and Manufacturing at Northern Tool + Equipment "Finally! A project management book that acknowledges and supports the 'people' part of projects. . . . Practicing the Four Foundational Behaviors will help every ‘unofficial’ project manager engage their team." —Deanna Carrera, Director of Leadership and Learning at First Things First "In this age of lean corporate headcount, everyone, no matter what their title, is required to fill the role of project manager. And the new book, Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager, covers the core areas that any project professional needs to be successful." —Robert Fitt, Sr. Director of Human Resources , Broadcom Corporation "If you are involved with executing projects of any size, you owe it to yourself, and your team to read this book." —Kenneth Johnson, Director of Training and Development, State of Colorado "Sometimes we think as projects as large capital expenditures, but often all of our work is an ‘unofficial’ project, and too often, we find ourselves ill equipped to manage the process to a successful outcome. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager ties together a process that everyone can use for project work, as it is for all levels of an organization." —Bonnie Stone, Centralized Learning and Development Manager at Central Arizona Project Kory Kogon is the Global Practice Leader for Productivity, focusing her research and content development around time and project management, and communication skills.Before joining FranklinCovey, Kory spent more than six years as the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations for AlphaGraphics, Inc. She was responsible for the teams helping franchisees start up their business, develop staff, and reach profitability in a highly competitive, commodity-driven industry. She also led the implementation of ISO 9000, supervised the move of the corporate headquarters from Tucson to Salt Lake City, and managed the installation of the first company-wide global learning system. In 2005, Utah Magazine honored Kory as one of the Top 30 Business Women to Watch in Utah. James Wood holds a Doctorate of business Administration and is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute. He is a leadership consultant and coach based in both Denver, Colorado, and Honolulu, Hawaii. He has more than 25 years of diverse leadership experience with project management, software development, engineering, operations, and training organizations. He is deeply passionate about utilizing brain-based, results-focused techniques to consult with and coach individuals and organizations to realize greatness. To that end, he is ardently driven toward teaching, inspiring, and guiding others in discovering methods that lead to fulfilling and enriched personal and professional lives. Suzette Blakemore joined FranklinCovey in 2012 as a Regional Productivity Practice leader where she brings concrete understanding and the productivity challenges facing workforces today. Prior to joining Franklin Covey, Suzette spent over 20 years in the corporate world, moving from a top producing sales person to Executive team member. Suzette has led both Learning Development and Business Development divisions working with thousands of businesses from Fortune 500 companies and small business in the U.S., Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brazil, Russia, Japan and the UK.She has led many projects having created over 40 training and development offerings focused on creating successful Sales, Team, Marketing, Operations and Profit strategies while at the same time helping organizations achieve double digit revenue growth despite the economic down-turn. Suzette is a Certified Franchise Executive and holds additional certifications from the Direct Marketing Association, and ASTD. She currently serves as a board member for the EcSell Institute.

Features & Highlights

  • No project management training? No problem!
  • In today’s workplace, employees are routinely expected to coordinate and manage projects. Yet, chances are, you aren’t formally trained in managing projects—you’re an unofficial project manager.FranklinCovey experts Kory Kogon, Suzette Blakemore, and James Wood understand the importance of leadership in project completion and explain that people are crucial in the formula for success.
  • Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager
  • offers practical, real-world insights for effective project management and guides you through the essentials of the people and project management process:InitiatePlanExecuteMonitor/ControlCloseUnofficial project managers in any arena will benefit from the accessible, engaging real-life anecdotes, memorable “Project Management Proverbs,” and quick reviews at the end of each chapter.If you’re struggling to keep your projects organized, this book is for you. If you manage projects without the benefit of a team, this book is also for you. Change the way you think about project management—"project manager" may not be your official title or necessarily your dream job, but with the right strategies, you can excel.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(1.1K)
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(456)
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15%
(273)
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Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

A Comprehensive Practical Guide

I have managed projects large and small over the years, both formally as a PM as well as informally. It's usually not easy, and certainly takes more discipline than most people would think. In order to be successful, I have had to develop my own tips and tricks - or what my peers call "best practices" - which have served me well. Stumbling through some incredibly complex projects created the need for me to develop my skills and it was painful. As a matter of self-preservation, I became an expert on the PMBOK, which helped immensely.

I wish I could have had Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager years ago. It would have simplified a number of things for me. The basics are all there and simply described. There are well-placed references to PMBOK and other traditional project management staples, which are helpful but not obtrusively academic. This is a practical guide, and would serve all beginning to post intermediate project managers well. It's a well-done book, and if you have interest or need in learning this topic, you should carefully consider buying.
169 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Perfect book for those of us who need PM skills but don't want to be become PMs

This book is fantastic!

Keep in mind its purpose (which is pretty clear, but a reminder). This is NOT for people who want to be true Project Managers with a PMP after their name. This is for the rest of us who often have to wear the PM hat for smaller projects. This is the minimum 20% that I need for 80% of my projects (80/20) rule and it's just the right amount of content. Not too much, but not skimpy either.
76 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

This book is Project Management 101

If you are looking for "Project Management 101", you have found it. It's a quick, concise read that follows the PMI PEMBOK project management formula but breaks it down into just the essentials. If you are an engineer like me who occasionally has to manage a small project but find yourself thinking "There must be a better way!", this is the book for you.
It's also a great introduction to the PMI methods if you are considering studying for the PMP certification.
29 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Waste of time

I struggled through this book because it had received so many good reviews, but it was not worth my time.

The example scenarios used were unrealistic and overly ideal situations where everything came out with a little bow on the package. That aside, the example conversations were so contrived it was as though the project team was a group of automatons. Nothing in this book felt authentic and it did little to convey actual project management.

One positive thing - it's saving me time and money because I have zero desire to become a certified PMP and this helps me feel good about that decision.
28 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Best PRACTICAL Book on Project Management

I absolutely LOVED this book! When I purchased it, I had not realized that it was associated with the FranklinCovey organization that has put out several good materials involved with enhancing performance. I just passed the PMP exam a couple of months ago and have had my fill of the “academic” side of Project Management. These authors cut to the chase and layout very concisely the key behaviors for effectively leading teams and then go through a focused review of a few essential skills/tasks and relevant tools to be applied in each of the five PM Process Groups. The information is so well organized and summarized that many people will digest this book in one sitting as a first pass. I would compare it to a PMBOK “pocket guide” that you would keep handy for day-to-day use while working toward project success. There is just enough elaboration to ensure that you fully understand the points that they are trying to convey. This book is OUTSTANDING!
17 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

An excellent resource for the unofficial project manager and the PMP

Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager uses case studies (storylines) to illustrate application of project management principles elicited in the PMBOK. The magic formula (my term): People + Process = Success. While the book addresses tools and techniques of the five process groups of a project, its emphasis is on leadership and some technical aspects of project management. It offers case studies to underscore the importance of effective communication with stakeholders and addressing their particular interests.

In one of the scenarios, where a company relocation is illustrated, stakeholders range from the company CEO to employees and their families. The company is functionally oriented, and the project manager seeks understanding of the goals from the C-suite, builds a team, deals with the stresses of not having a dedicated team, and contends with scope changes (“scope discovery”—a term identified in the book—vice scope creep).

Along with suggestions for successful interaction among team members and with key stakeholders, the book provides sample templates outlining some communication strategies and for documenting some project related tasks. It is not exhaustive in either of these areas, though it is comprehensive enough to spark creative thinking in project teams.

This reader can relate to the protagonists (project managers), the challenges they faced, their lessons learned, and their successes.

This book is an excellent resource for both the unofficial project manager and the PMP, and I recommend it.
12 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

I felt the book was well written, providing several ...

I felt the book was well written, providing several examples that were carried out through the various stages of a project. I just got assigned to a new project and am looking forward to applying the techniques presented to define success, build teamwork and clarify accountability.
If you are a formal project manager then this may not be the read for you but the elements on team building, respect and open communication may still be of value,
10 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A great book for anyone working on projects or programs of any size.

In this interesting take on what the essence of project management really is, the authors draw on a variety of experiences in which people who are individual contributors on a project actually use one or more project management competency. Considering any project or program of decent size normally involves the efforts of dozen to hundreds of people, there is a vast audience for this book. While this work does show how project management can inform and even make the working lives of non-project managers better, it is careful to caveat its advice by showing areas where more advanced study or experience is needed to fully execute a function to the level expected of an official project manager.

As a credentialed program manager (PMP), I really did not get a lot out of this book personally, but I did like its bare-boned and practical nature. I think that had I read this book before obtaining my credential it would have been very worthwhile. In my case, this book was a monthly pick by our local Project Management Institute book club to which I'm a part. I highly recommend this book for professionals of all types since even if they are in a technical field, to progress they will have to use and / or master many of the skills in this book someday.
7 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

then this book is an excellent read! It's written in a very easy style

If you're not a PM, but find yourself being delegated projects to oversee, people to manage, and deadlines to meet under budget, then this book is an excellent read! It's written in a very easy style. If you're an underliner, you'll have to be careful - the author makes so many good points, and outlines the five principles of project management in a very clear and understandable way. I found that I could easily implement so many of his ideas and suggestions. I highly commend this book!
5 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Great!

I was skeptical looking for a textbook to help me in my new job that is more project management oriented than expected. I have only read 50 pages so far and it’s already helped me IMMENSELY. Highly recommend. (I am also not a project manager, but an “unofficial” one!)
4 people found this helpful