At the beginning of every summer I generally kick off a discussion with my peers as to what PPM books we’re planning to read during the summer. To be honest the last couple of years it’s seemed that the choices have been few and far between. I’m delighted to say that’s changed this year thank;s to Dr. James Brown and his immenently readable book. The Handbook of Program Management is possibly misnamed. It isn’t a dry methodological tome. From the moment I picked up the book I realized that Dr. Brown actually knew what he was talking about and had taken the time to share his years of tacit learning with his readers. All the reviews posted at Amazon speak to the same thing. This book is like chatting with a master program manager who is willing to give you lots of practical tips about how to do something rather than just telling you what to do. Just to bring the point home as to how choke full of good advice this book is I randomly opened the book to page 137 and the first thing I was struck by is this quote:
“Asking for and thanking people for their followership is a powerful way to ensure commitment.”
Turns out the entire section I flipped to is about the importance of creating followership and since I’ve written on the same subject myself (see attracting followers) I was immediately left with the feeling that Dr. Brown and I have shared a common experience (managing programs) and that we’ve come to some similiar conclusions that we both think are important enough to share with others. I could probably flip to any random page (and I have) and find a topic that I’ve touched on in my research or written about elsewhere over the years. For those of you how have a PMCoP in your organization I strongly recommend purchasing this book and handing it out. There’s enough in here to keep you meetings going for a least a year.
Happy reading.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Bill Duncan // Jun 10, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Sergio Pellegrinelli has a new book out as well called “Thinking and Acting as a Great Programme Manager.” Try it. You’ll like it.
2 James T. Brown // Jun 11, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Hello Donna!
I appreciate the kind words about my book, especially coming from someone with your experience.
My goal was to write a conversational book that provided insight into things a program manager should know and things we wish we knew earlier in life. This proved a little challenging with the publisher since they wanted utilitarian, dry and academic but common sense prevailed.
I even had one PMI reviewer state my book can’t be used in academic settings because it doesn’t have references. The fact that it doesn’t have references is true but I believe truth rings universal and you don’t need a reference for the truth… people intuitively know its right.
I read your blog on attracting followers. So true. As you mentioned team members should always know the project manager will support them regardless of the circumstance. I have seen some ill-advised leaders throw people under the bus and then wonder why getting people to be aggressive, lead and take risks is so hard.
3 Denis // Jun 15, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Hi!
I’ve been a practicing program manager for 5 years now and have just ordered the book! I look forward to leaning something new.
As program managers I believe we should be constantly trying to sharpen our skills knife. Especially as a program manager is likely to encounter a huge variety of situations and personalities over the course of his/her career.
Denis
4 The Exercise of Power by the Powerless // Oct 2, 2009 at 1:35 pm
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