Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Categories: books
Looking for something to read over the summer? I’ve picked six of my top choices from this blog and one bonus review so that you can choose the right book to improve your projects over the summer holidays.
Most of them are available as ebooks so you don’t need to worry about weighing your suitcase down!
Value Management: Translating Aspirations into Performance
Roger H. Davies and Adam J. Davies
This book will help you answer questions from the executive group about how projects are adding value to the bottom line. They define value as ‘outcomes minus inputs’ so it’s a broad-ranging approach to working out how you are contributing, and applicable whatever ‘value’ means to you and your stakeholders.
It’s not an easy read but there are plenty of anecdotes, tables and graphs that explain the core concepts and help you get the most out of every project and programme that you do.
Business Case Essentials: A Guide to Structure and Content
Marty J. Schmidt
This is another of my favourites (I know, I have a lot!) because it is so practical. If you are preparing a project business case for the first time then this will really help you get your ideas clear and your figures in order.
Math for Grown-Ups
Laura Laing
I read this a long time ago but it’s still one of my all-time favourite books. I did OK at Maths (as we call it over here) at school but only because I really worked at it. It never came naturally to me.
As project managers we need to be confident dealing with numbers because they are everywhere: estimates, schedule variances, earned value, the budget, risk assessments – lots of project management techniques involve processing data and crunching it until the numbers look right. This book will help build your confidence and learn what ‘looks right’ and how to handle things if they don’t.
Tame, Messy and Wicked Risk Leadership
David Hancock
Hancock explains that the equation risk = likelihood x consequence only works when the risk is as a result of a knowledge gap and you can easily plug it. That isn’t the case in real life, where most risks are complex and you can’t easily control exactly what the outcome will be, even if you work meticulously through your risk management plan.
If you work on large or complex projects this will help you take risk management to the next level.
Make Every Second Count:Time Management Tips and Techniques for More Success with Less Stress
Robert R. Bly
Struggling to fit everything in to your working day? The strategies in here will help you get a grip on the time available and deal with your To Do list in a more productive way.
Essentially, he asks: “Do you want to be productive?” If you do, then get on and do the work. As a professional project manager you might not find any brand new tools in here, but you will get a dose of motivation to not complain that you can’t get anything done when in reality you surf the internet for a few hours a day.
Get-It-Done Guy’s 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More
Stever Robbins
This is another great book about time management (and if I had to choose between the previous book and this one, I’d go for this one although they both have their merits). In fact, I still get the email updates I subscribed to when I first read this book, and I unsubscribe from a lot of things.
I like the style of this book so if you are looking for something that isn’t dry reading and that still offers you practical tips for eking out a few more hours in the day, this is it.
If I remember rightly, there might even be zombies.
The Power of Project Leadership
Susanne Madsen
Finally, here’s a book about soft skills that is not at all soft in nature. This leadership primer from Susanne Madsen will have you reaching for a notebook and pen to make copious lists about what you can be doing differently to drive success on your projects.
I think many guides about leadership talk about it in an abstract way. This is a concrete look at what ‘doing leadership’ actually means, with exercises and tools to help you on the way – things you can implement tomorrow, if you wanted.
What will you be packing or reading over the summer? Let us know in the comments.
Posted on: July 03, 2015 06:44 AM |
Permalink