 |
Entertainment > Reading >
Note: This was given to me.
A fantastic book which I highly recommend.
- Published 2005-01-01
See also:
- https://scottberkun.com/
-
Updated as Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management – (2008 book), by Scott Berkun
I picked up this book on a whim. My intuition was pointing me towards various related books and so I asked for this one from O’Reilly.
Curiously, this is a book unlike any others anyone appears to have seen. Having had a few conversations with others who are also interested in the topic, they all speak of how the look and tone of the book is quite unique. They express that it’s not only curious for the subject but also curious for O’Reilly. Perhaps O’Reilly is expanding themselves a little. I’d like to think they’re becoming more agile and are choosing to evolve.
When I read through the first hundred pages of this book, I was already repeatedly astounded. I stopped myself to loan it out. It got re-loaned out before I could get it back. The reviews that far were excellent.. this was not only a book which I arbitrarily liked (having no background in the subject) but others who were interested, and even experienced, in the topic were giving it high praise.
I’m reading through the book again. As I write this I’ve read just a bit past that same hundred pages. I must say that this is one of the most accessible books I’ve ever read. The author is truly standing behind an easily-digested flavour of presentation. So far the read has been not just straightforward but funny!
With combinations of description and story and bulleted-points, this book covers its topics from multiple angles. This is extremely important for the comprehension and ultimate retention of its content.
Going beyond that style, it seems to flow quite well when read from cover-to-cover, and yet it’s also designed to be a reference book. Picking it up and scanning through the table of contents I could indeed skip to any chapter or section therein to find inspiration on a specific topic.
What makes this book even more valuable is that it’s not directed towards a specific audience as such. Anyone who works near, or is curious about, project management-related tasks would find this book to be quite inciteful.
At the least it is an excellent introduction to some designs, methods and goals for project management. At the most it is a necessary set of new perspectives for someone to comprehend the topic from angles perhaps never before considered.
This book unashamadly steps beyond specifics to try to convey a more broad way of thinking of certain problems, solutions and goals. The author draws a kind of universal thoughtfulness from not just the specific popular niche but from any situation requiring the kind of organization and understanding which a contemporary “project manager” would have.
Just about any organized effort will have concepts of project management in it.. without the assistance of such direction, the pyramids would remain unfinished to this day. Every significant effort throughout history has required concepts the author liberally speaks of, making this book much more broadly applicable as an insightful book on general understanding and planning skills rather than a simple book on directing meetings, scheduling or requirements gathering.
ported