I have a new project. In fact, I’m always getting involved in new projects. But I’m no expert in project management, and sometimes I make some truly stunning errors because of it. For example, there was the time I actually believed one of my staffers when he said he expected we’d be able to launch the new version of the Web site in a week — which I duly announced to a panel of executives without first confirming with my own eyes. Surely, you’ve never performed that kind of gaffe!

I suppose I could buy myself a copy of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge in print and spend the next year of my life reading through it when I’m tucked into bed. (Let’s just say, it would give me a chance to catch up on my sleep.)

Or I could attend a week-long seminar to learn all there is to know about leading successful projects. But I’m not sure my spouse would survive that long on her own in the company of our five-year-old.

That’s why I’m thinking about spending $20 or so and buying myself a copy of Scrappy Project Management. It looks highly readable:

“The Moose is Not Loose. Scientists tracking the migratory behavior of moose asked some engineers to design and build a satellite receiver/transmitter for them. When it was ready, the researchers fitted it into a collar that would fit around a moose’s neck. They stealthily crept out of their camouflaged den, tranquilized and tagged the object of their scientific desires, then scurried back to their observation post. They patiently waited and watched, but the blip on the radar screen showed no movement. Moose were known to be highly territorial, but the researchers were still a bit surprised at how very small their territory seemed to be. They finally went to check on their reclusive hoofed mammal, only to find him dead in the very same spot where they first attached the tracking collar.

“Cause of death? The transmitter weighed so much that the animal was unable to stand while wearing it. Aghast, the scientists went to the engineers, exclaiming, ‘You killed our moose!’ to which the engineers replied, ‘What moose?’ They were oblivious to the fact that their product was going on a moose’s neck. Yes, this really happened.”

Best of all, it’s 156 pages with BIG margins. Don’t worry, boss. I’m on it! That deadline is mine.
 

Posted on December 20th, 2007 by dian