Project Manager, The

Richard Newton is an experienced executive who has worked both as a management consultant and a senior manager in a number of major corporations. Over the past twenty years he has built a superb track record in the successful delivery of projects and business change, the setting up and management of project and business improvement teams, and advising companies on how to ensure successful delivery on an ongoing basis. He is an advocate and successful practitioner of simple approaches to project and change management.

Contents
Preface ix
Introduction
The secret art
Why read this book?
A brief word on job titles
Work-streams, projects, programmes and portfolios
A short overview of the contents
1 Some basics
What is a project? What is project management?
What is a project manager?
Who are projects for?
What is success?
2 Listening and talking
The most important chapter in the book
Your audience - whom you must listen and talk to
Listening - learning to understand what the customer wants
Communicating with your audience
3 What actually is your project?
The importance of understanding scope
The key scoping questions
4 Some key traits
The sense of ownership and involvement
Good judgement - project management style
Project management judgements - summary
A touch of creativity
5 Getting your project started
Planning
Estimating
Resourcing
Budgeting
Thinking about contingency and risk
Mobilising
Projects in the real world - common practical issues to overcome
6 Personal styles
Styles to avoid
Styles to encourage
7 Managing your project
What should you manage?
How do you know to take management action?
How should you manage?
Change control and management
Decision making
8 The team
Getting the best from the project team
9 The limits of knowledge
The generalist vs the specialist
What should project managers not do?
Specialist skills that should be recognised as not being the project manager's job
10 The mechanics of project management
The project manager's toolkit
What more can you learn?
11 Knowing when to say 'no'
When do you actually need a project manager?
Knowing the danger signals