July Book Club

 

We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com July book club!  The book club provides an opportunity to participate in webinars and discussions around selected books relevant to the overall practice of project management.  The book club occurs in three parts:

1. Opening pre-recorded webinar which will be used to introduce the book. During this 30 minute pre-recorded webinar, the author will provide a high level overview of the concepts in his/her book, familiarizing participants with the information.
2. Discussion thread on ProjectManagement.com with input from the book club host and author.  During the last week of the discussion, questions will be collected to present to the author in the closing webinar.
3. **Premium and PMI-member exclusive** Closing Q&A live webinar with the author responding to questions submitted both through the online book club discussion thread and during the webinar.  The webinar will be a panel style discussion with open dialogue between the moderator and the author.

The first 25 PMI Members registered for the closing book club webinar will receive a complimentary copy of the book and will be notified via email.  Additional participants will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book at their own expense.  All community members will be able to view the book club opening webinar and participate in the discussion forum.  PMI members and ProjectManagement.com premium members will be able to participate in the book club closing webinar.  We will evaluate the content of each opening and closing book club webinar to determine the eligibility and breakdown for PDUs.   

Our book club book for July is The Project Manager's Little Book of Cheats by Beth Spriggs.  Beth Spriggs, PMP, is an experienced project manager, trainer, and speaker. For more than 17 years she's solved unsolvable problems, tamed unruly projects, and pulled off the impossible for organizations by deploying projects that work for customers while positioning clients for what's coming next. Her extensive portfolio consists of everything from bite-sized undertakings to years-long overhauls that impact every aspect of the organization. She began her professional career in information technology in 1999 and has combined her love for tech and project management by focusing her career on managing technology projects and portfolios. Some of Beth's contributions include delivering webinars for ProjectManagement.com, speaking at NTEN's Nonprofit Technology Conference and the DC Web Women's Conference.

About the book:

There is no such thing as cheating in project management, but if there were it would be this book. It includes quick steps, relevant tips, fun stories, and applicable advice to solving common problems and questions focused around the work of a project manager. 
 

The book is in question / answer format with 11 chapters covering 65 questions.
Some of the questions include:

• #12 I need to convince someone of my idea. How do I sell an idea?
• #16 Since most of my work communication is through email, how can I make my email communication more effective?
• #22 How can I convince those who are change resistant?
• #39 Assumptions introduce a lot of risk. What are some common assumptions to watch out for? 
• #41 How can I tell if a project is getting off track before it's too late?
• #47 What process could I use to evaluate project requests to determine if they should be approved or not?
• #51 How can I make my team meetings more productive?
• #58 My project tracking needs have grown beyond Microsoft Excel. What are some good project management tools?

When you have a question or problem do you have time to stop what you're doing and read a three hundred page book on a single topic? Wouldn't it be great if you could open a book and find a one to two page answer that you can apply immediately, in the moment when you need it? Now you've found one.

This book has hopes and dreams. It hopes that it will sit on or in your desk and be opened frequently when questions or problems arise. It wants you to write on its pages, make your own notes, and highlight what works for you. And it dreams that you will share its contents with your colleagues.
 

Our 2016 book club host is Tolitha Lewis, PMP.  Tolitha has been a PMI Volunteer Leader since 2008.  She was elected as a Director to the PMI Information Systems Specific Interest Group (PMI-ISSIG) in 2008 and served until the completion of the transition to a Community of Practice (CoP) in 2011. In 2012, Tolitha was appointed to the Leadership Team of the Consulting CoP, now referred to as the Consulting practice area, and has been a leader in the webinar program ever since.   Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Tolitha is a Sr. Project Manager.

To register for the closing live book club webinar, please visit the webinar page on ProjectManagement.com, find the book club closing webinar and click on the “Register for this webinar” link.

Please visit the book club information and discussion on the Project Management.com books page. 

For additional questions, please visit the ProjectManagement.com Book Club FAQ page.