The Berkun Blog
Management, design, and the making of good things.
Now in stock: Making things happen
March 31st, 2008
Since my book the art of project management went out of print, I bet your world has been gray. You’ve been unable to sleep. You’ve been nervous at work. You’ve lost interest in food. Your spirits have been so low, at times it’s even been hard to breathe. “When will it end!” you’ve cried. But still, the book has stayed out of print.
Well… your deepest, most secret wish has been granted: it’s here! The universe will be saved! All project management challenges will flee at the sight of this mighty tome in your hand!
Oh, the joys of authorial sarcasm - anyway, I’m proud to say the book is now available and looks great.
Now titled Making things happen: mastering project management it has all the good stuff from the original edition, plus:
- A cover than doesn’t suck
- 120+ brand new exercises
- carefully re-edited and revised chapters.
- improved footnotes (actually on the same page as the text! amazing!)
- A discussion guide for using the book with reading groups
- Tons of suggested improvements from pmclinic rock stars
It’s the definitive edition of the bestselling book. I hope you’ll check it out and spread the word: buying my books helps fund free stuff like the essays and the pmclinic.
Available now on amazon.com.
Art of project management for $139!
March 14th, 2008
Not sure how to explain it, but while the book has been out of print, it appears to be in short supply. The prices for used copies of The art of project management are hovering over $100 at amazon. And I couldn’t find a single copy listed on ebay. My guess is many folks hold onto the book as a reference, so despite the book’s sales numbers while in print, it’s hard to find.
The updated edition should be in stores and on amazon in a few weeks, so if you wait, you’ll save some cash.
Making things happen - the cover & more
March 12th, 2008
The book is on the home stretch - final pass at editing is almost wrapped up and off to the printer. Here’s the cover for the new edition - looks sharp! WooHoo! Can’t wait for this to be out there and to have the book back in print.
The update includes:
- Much tighter writing in all chapters: it’s a lean, crisp read.
- Many corrections, figure improvements, and improved references.
- 120 exercises to help you apply and practice what you’ve learned.
- A discussion guide for forming reading groups and getting value from them.
You may notice that the new chapter I promised isn’t listed. It didn’t make the book for the following reason: it wasn’t that good. It didn’t feel right to cram it in there, and have people think I stuck it in just to draw more sales. Instead I plan to finish up the chapter and post it online, for free.
Stay tuned - As soon as I know when it will be available in physical stores, I’ll let you know.
You can pre-order the book now.
Why revision should feel like torture
January 3rd, 2008
Reading my first book is infuriating at times, yet I’m happy about it. How can this be?
Given the unusual task of revising something already published (in this case, a book), there are two likely ways to feel about it:
- This is great! I don’t want to change a thing.
- This sucks! I want to rewrite this thing from scratch.
The first case is only superficially good. If I can’t see ways to improve the writing, or to give better advice, then what have I learned about writing (or management) in the last three years? Not much.
The second case, while painful, illustrates growth. If I don’t like it, it suggests I’m capable, now, of making the same points in less words, from a better perspective, or with a clearer structure that’s more fun to read.
In truth, the book is what it is. I’m not the same guy I was when I wrote the thing, and part of what makes the book good is who I was. It has to fit together and I don’t want to wander into George Lucas territory. But it’s fun snipping sentences, tightening paragraphs, updating references, and getting those exercises in there. I get to play my own editor for awhile.
My point I suppose is it’s healthy to go back to old writing and cringe. If you’re a blogger, go back and read your first posts - you’ll laugh and cry, I’m sure. That’s good - you’re still alive and getting better.
Any artofpm corrections?
January 3rd, 2008
The revision of Making things happen (formerly known as the art of project management) is wrapping up.
As a last call for anyone with a correction, typo, or reference suggestion they’ve found in their edition of the book, Speak up now! Anything that you’ve though should or could be fixed is fair game.
Reward: If you’re the first to suggest a correction that gets made, I’ll get you a copy of the updated book!
Deadline: 1/10/2008.
Leave a comment if you’ve got something. Cheers.
What new chapter do you want?
December 17th, 2007
The work on Making things happen (the book formerly known as the art of project management) is well underway. Months ago, I asked you to vote on what you wanted. There were many excellent suggestions, which I’ve read and am reviewing, but top votes went to a new chapter:
One remaining decision is what the new chapter will be. I’ve heard three good candidates so far.
Possible new chapters:
- How to build/grow a team
- The secrets of morale
- Learning from projects after they ship (or your iteration ends)
They’re all good fits, and I have my opinions, but I want yours. For reference, here is the full outline from the existing book (I’ll give you a dirty look if you ask for a chapter that’s already in there :)
So leave a comment and let me know: does one of the above rock for you? Or is there something else you want to see as Chapter 17?
Thanks!
Should you ban blackberries at meetings?
December 6th, 2007
I’m volunteering to go to the front lines in Todd Wilken’s war against blackberries in meetings. Lifehacker and the NYTimes have taken on similar issues before, and I’m all for it. Here’s why.
Any real meeting, where decisions are being made (e.g. not a status meeting) should require people’s full attention. If people are voluntarily comfortable half reading e-mail and half-listening, it’s an indicator to me that:
- There are too many people in the room.
- Few decisions are being made.
- I’m failing to facilitate the discussion to keep it on target.
- The information being conveyed is low priority.
- I’m wasting f2f time with information I could deliver in other ways.
If I allow this to go on, I encourage passive attention in meetings, further allowing stupid people to prattle on about low priority things, which further encourages more people to tune out. As as Steven M. Smith points out, the blackberry use is a symptom of bad meetings, not the cause. The person running the meeting is the place to point the finger (who is responsible for answering the question is this type of meeting right for the agenda we have?).
Instead, I believe in making attendance at meetings binary. Either you are in, or you are out. If the meeting is too boring to keep your attention, then it’s a good sign to both of us that you do not need to be in the room - so get up and leave. Most meetings should be optional anyway: you don’t have to come, but don’t cry if we decide something you wanted to have input on.
Moreso, 95% of the time what people claim to be urgent status is stuff that can wait. Call bullshit on people. Unless they’re heart surgeons, or front line web people, the world can wait 20 or 30 minutes for the meeting to end for them to get to whatever it is. The web will wait. IM will wait. It can all wait for you if you have your shit together. This is doubly true for leads and managers: if they’re managing their teams well, they should have subordinates who can be effective for a few hours without their hands being held. Most managers should be embarrassed, not proud, to be in hyper-crackberry panic mode all the time.
However, if we’re talking status meetings, where 15 or 20 people are all crammed into a room, that’s another story. These are often a waste of time, but if you must have them, the arguments for passive attention have more weight.
I like Todd’s list of recommendations - worth a look.
The new name for the artofpm book is…
November 29th, 2007
Three months ago, I asked all of you to help me decide the name of the revised edition of the art of project management (if you want to know why we’re changing the name, read that last post).
After more than 300 votes, here’s what won: Making things happen
After many discussions with the fine folks at O’Reilly, the final name is Making things happen: mastering project management. I’m excited about the name! My favorite chapter in the book is #12, the one called how to make things happen, and now it gets top billing.
For those interested in the behind the scenes drama: this was not a fun process. Like naming a child, naming a book is something one only expects to do once. If you don’t like the outcome, or the fact that there is a name change, I understand, but do consider this was 20 times less fun for me to deal with, than it was for you.
What’s most interesting is this - behold the power of the web! You guys say it and it happens! I must thank all of you who took the time to vote: the ability to point to data from actual customers played a key role in my discussions with the editors at O’Reilly Media on the new title.
The revision is well underway, and I’ll post more about it, and its timeline for release, soon. In related news, the existing book will be out of print soon, so pick it up if you want a collectors item.
For fun, here were some of the best, and funniest, write in votes:
- TBFKATAOPM2 (The book formerly known as…)
- What the #$!#!@$% is Project Management and How Did it Get inside this book?
- Projects. Managed. Berkun’s Way.
- Kill the messenger
- Who stole my project manager?
- Real world project management
- How to make enemies and derail projects in 5 minutes a day
- OH MY GOD, HOW DID I BECOME THE PM?
- The bible of mastering the zen and art of agile project management for dummies
- From bad to worse: how bad managers become horrible
- Who stole my project manager?
The art of project management - going out of print
November 29th, 2007
The time has come. As mentioned a few weeks ago, the book formerly known as the art of project management will be going out of print. A revised edition, with a new title, will be out in 2008 (If you want to know why, read the post).
If you’ve been waiting to buy a copy of the book, you should do so soon. Amazon and other retailers already have limited inventory (noted by 5-10 day ship times). The used inventory on amazon and e-bay look good, but I don’t know how out of print status will effect that.
Once the book is out of stock, you’ll have to wait for the new edition, which will be out next year.
Do you use / teach with the artofpm book?
October 30th, 2007
Work is underway for the revision of the art of project management. One goal is to make the book more useful for teachers, professors, or even team leads who work through the book with their team.
If this is you, I want to chat and get your input - Either leave a comment, or contact me. Thanks.
Help decide the title of a book
August 17th, 2007
For reasons I can’t fully explain here, the 2nd edition of Art of project management will have a new title. Yes, it’s a huge pain in the ass, but this stuff happens - and i swear, my publisher and I would avoid this if we could, but as things turned out, we can’t - that’s all I can say. We’ll do everything we can to make sure this change is clear to people who pick up the book.
As far as the 2nd edition itself:
Based on your feedback, the current goal is to add:
- Exercises & situations for applying lessons from each chapter (TOC here)
- A discussion guide, for use in reading groups
- A new chapter (topic TBD)
- Updated references, corrections, and other trivia
Now - the hard part - the title: my editor are debating options and wanted to ensure input from readers of the first edition, and possible readers of the 2nd - That’s you. If you want to write in a candidate, hit other. Some candidates are close to the original title, others go their own way.
I promise the results will be part of the decision making process. Cheers.
Art of PM book: what do you want in 2nd edition?
July 23rd, 2007
I’m working w/O’Reilly on an updated 2nd edition of The art of project management.
We’re brainstorming ideas for how to improve the book, but agreed to start with you folks. How can we improve the book? Here are a few ideas, but feel free to add your own.
If you have longer suggestions/gripes or want to help with the 2nd edition, leave a comment.
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