WHEN PROJECTS TURN TOPSY-TURVY AND
CLASSICAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT FAILS
What you just read are the title and sub-title of a book I received today. I open it – and I am fascinated.
All is being said! All that is modern and important in project management. And everything fits, adds up and enlarges my “mental concept”!
Formerly, you would have called it a “bible” – probably a “project bible” or “universe of project management”. Or some such. Because it is truly a great piece, a collection of wise stories. They all complement each other, describing in a fantastic way how project management can be done “just right”.
It is a book where every story introduces something individual. With much of it, the “agile manager” will be quite familiar. For the “dogmatic manager”, it will not be news, either. However, it might hit him surprisingly (but healthily) like a cold shower.
The important issues are described in very simple and clear images. And in order to prevent misunderstandings, you get excellent illustrations along with them.
It is actually a non-fiction text the reading of which is delightful and brings real joy. Well, it is basically not a non-fiction book where the author and his helpers force the reader through hundreds of pages, always wanting to convey the same message and wishing to prove with ever more examples what actually was clear after the first fifty pages.
No, there is no obligation for you to read the “Turn/around” book from the first through the last page. In fact, you can jump through the book. The way it is usually done today. And you will always find the next “Highlight”.
It has been written “collaboratively”. The entire project was initialized and controlled by Roger Dannenhauer, Torsten J. Koerting and Michael Merkwitza. Together with more than 40 co-authors, they made up the developing team.
Some of them are well-known to me. For instance the motor (and super-marathon-racer) Torsten. And all the authors more or less speak directly from my heart.
In fact, they offered me a co-authorship. Unfortunately, however, I felt there was not enough time for me. Now I regret it. It would make me so proud if I were now part of the team of authors.
But it is too late. If there is a second volume, I will definitely be part of it.
As to the book itself, I will occasionally describe one or two of the chapters particularly important to me. That gives me the opportunity to share with my readers the joy of seeing how there are simple approaches to problems that seem to be unsolvable.
It is definitely about time I complimented all the authors on their work!
RMD
(Translated by EG)