Alpha Project Managers: What the Top 2% Know That Everyone Else Does Not by Andy Crowe, Velociteach (Manufactured by)

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The Barnes & Noble Review
Sometimes it seems like everyone's calling themselves a project manager these days. Some of 'em are even certified. But let's face it, not all project managers are alike, and great ones are worth their weight in gold. This book is about being a great project manager: one who consistently delivers maximum value, on time and on budget.

It's about learning from PMs who know how to orchestrate projects and teams like symphonies. It's about overcoming the mistakes even many experienced PMs fall into: problems in communication, motivating teams, managing scope, tracking actuals against plan.

The techniques and ideas in this book don't come out of thin air. They come from the Alpha Study, a survey of more than 3,000 project managers -- especially, those identified as the top 2 percent in performance. What do they do differently? You may be surprised -- and you can't afford not to know. Bill Camarda, from the December 2006 Read Only

From the Publisher

The top 2% of the world’s project managers (“The Alphas”) outrank their peers in almost every measure. This book focuses on what they know that the other 98% do not.

The majority of professional project managers generally share a common set of misconceptions about the knowledge and tactics that make the Alpha project managers highly successful. The Alphas work approximately the same number of hours as everyone else, face the same challenges, and deal with the same difficulties; yet they manage their projects, teams, and stakeholders in a way that takes them far ahead of the pack.

Building on a landmark survey of over 800 project managers from around the world, author Andy Crowe identifies the traits that make the Alphas stand out in the minds of the teams, senior managers, customers, and stakeholders who ranked them at the top. Through in-depth interviews, Crowe draws out common knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the Alpha project managers that contribute to their success. By interviewing not only the Alpha group, but also other sub-groups of project managers, Crowe uncovers and explains the underlying factors related to attitudes and beliefs, communication, project alignment, approach and organization, management of priorities, issue management, relationships and conflict, and leadership.

Crowe also delves into the myths and realities surrounding the world’s top project managers, as well as the underlying traits that make the Alphas stand out among their peers. The book is filled with knowledge, skills, and techniques that all project managers can incorporate into their management style

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