Project Managers Are Too Soft; Says Neal Whitten

I've been reading Neal Whitten's book, No-Nonsense Advice for Successful Projects, and I must say it's an amazing book (I've long admired his column in PM Network magazine). While not a "how to" book, it offers plenty of practical advice for achieving project success. Rather than focus on a methodology or project management fundamentals, it offers just what the title says: No-nonsense advice. It especially focuses on the "soft" leadership skills that so many project managers lack.

It reviews the need to ask questions; ways to provide and seek mentoring; how to recognize professional immaturity; how to deal with superiors; tips for creating the right project environment; how to handle being given a project target end date; reasons to use rolling wave planning; why to avoid multitasking; why to focus daily on your project's top 3 problems; and many more practical tips.

Check his list of examples of actions (or inactions) that illustrates "too soft" behavior by project managers - which Whitten cites as the #1 reason why project managers fail. He's right on...

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