First, Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto
For the actual nuts and bolts of project management, my favorite book is The Art of Project Management
I also like some of the management-centric posts on the Rands in Repose blog. Again, though, this has a software focus.
I don't find the PMP (Project Management Professional) materials particularly useful for day to day project management on the types of projects I run. However, if you're interested in managing projects for a government contractor or a large pharmaceutical company, you'll probably need to get PMP certified. To be fair, there are some concepts in there that you could argue I use- but I would argue back that I was doing those things before I'd ever heard about PMP. (I am not PMP certified, but I have taken training classes that aim to prepare students for getting the certification.) I have no specific recommendations for PMP materials, but there are lots of them.
Finally, I have always argued that some aspects of parenting have a lot in common with project management- in both cases, you're trying to get people to do things on your schedule, and frankly, some of my past colleagues were about as easy to argue with as my two year old. And apparently, I am not the only one who sees the similarity between parenting and project management. So you could also read some parenting books... And all joking aside, I think Faber and Mazlish's classic Siblings Without Rivalry
I *really* should get some sleep but had to comment as this topic is near and dear to my heart. (I feel another Cloud-inspired blog post coming on...)
ReplyDeleteYour post was full of my colleagues (or ex-colleagues, as the case may be). I don't actually know them in person :)
Thanks for the Hanselman link. I read his blog occasionally, but mostly for the non-technical stuff.
I should probably try to read the Berkun book. I just can't get past the fact that the one time I saw him speak, it was AWFUL. Boring, full of himself, and not that useful. I remember thinking *I* could be a famous PM speaker if that's all it took. Maybe it was an off day ;) He's friends with people I know so I should probably give him another chance.
My favorite PM book is one that I can't remember the title for - it's something like like the "Fast and Easy MBA Guide to Project Management". Easy read, and tons of useful templates and tips.
Also, your post gave me some enlightenment on why I'd probably be happy as a SAHM. I love the day to day nitty gritty details of project management. And it is very similar to my days at home with BabyT. Huh, cool.
I should add SWR to my reading list, for work purposes :)
Do a search on YouTube for Sh*t Project Managers say. It's hilarious :)
ReplyDeleteI am thinking I need to read Siblings without Rivalry again after a major biting episode last night. Yikes. Hopefully that never happens on the work projects :)
ReplyDelete@Laura- Pumpkin was a biter. It is such a frustrating thing to deal with! In her case, I think she lacked the ability to handle her anger/frustration any other way. We eventually got her to stop- it was a combination of our day care's response and us "playing it out" with stuffed animals.
ReplyDeleteBut Siblings without Rivalry is a great book! I got so many good ideas from reading it. I want to re-read it now that my girls are older and starting to play together a bit.
I agree. Siblings without Rivalry is a really nice book.
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