How to manage a team and yourself: 15 books for a project manager
Teachers of the Project management in IT course - managers from MegaFon, OneTwoTrip, Redmadrobot have compiled a list of books for the summer that will be useful to every project. Find out why the modern manager needs an ancient military treatise, what the cats and developers have in common, and where CEO General Motors and Zappos were mistaken.
Olga Drozd, Product Manager, MegaLabs (MegaFon)
Anthony Mersino, Julia Gimatova “Emotional intelligence for project managers. Practical Guide »A
useful book not only for project managers, but also for everyone who works with people. After reading, you will understand how to communicate without conflict, control your emotions and begin to better understand others.
Sun Tzu “The Art of War”
A short but very informative book. An ancient military treatise that can be applied to both personal development and team management. She will help the project manager to see the hidden benefits and understand when to act and what to look for.
J. Hank Rainwater "How to Graze Cats"
A book for developers who lead other developers. From it you can find out what types of programmers are, how to behave with each of them and how to ensure that you are listened to and completed tasks on time.
Fergus O'Connell “How to successfully manage projects. Silver bullet ”
The author talks about the specifics of project management in IT. The book destroys the stereotype that such projects are more difficult to manage and easier to fill up. It is easy to read and contains many good examples and good leadership ideas.
Leonid Yevtushenko, Project Manager, OneTwoTrip
“Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide).” The fifth edition of the
Base, which is necessary for all project managers. For beginners - an excellent reference book, and for practitioners the book will help to replenish knowledge and structure existing ones.
David Ogilvy "Ogilvy on Advertising"
This book is quite rare among people involved in project management. But I recommend it, because it teaches us to understand and determine the value of a product for users, as well as to think about its “packaging”.
Alfred Sloan “My Years at General Motors”
Tony Shay “Delivering Happiness. From zero to a billion "
Both books are written by CEOs of large companies; in them they tell their stories and describe mistakes that are invisible at first glance. Through their experience, the authors reveal the flip side of “apparently useful” solutions. These publications also help you understand how to better build long-term planning.
Robert Sutton "Do Not Work With M * Ducks"
The book tells project managers the best way to build a team. It is worth reading to everyone who works in the office: you will learn how to minimize the loss of nerve cells and understand how to ignore the annoying factors that will always be there.
Vilensky P.L., Livshits V.N., Smolyak S.A. “Evaluation of the effectiveness of investment projects. Theory and practice"
The book has many decisions on assessing the viability of projects. The authors also explain how to calculate expected performance, potential risks and costs. Not the easiest to read material, but gives a good understanding of the topic.
Mikhail Kosenko, Head of Project Management, Redmadrobot
Books on the Theory of Systems Constraint
Eliya Goldratt “The Critical Chain” by
Lawrence Leach “On Time and Within the Budget. Critical Chain Project Management »
Reading a book is in that order. Goldratt is very easy to understand, while allowing you to understand the basics of the critical chain method. It offers a very logical and even scientific approach to managing project timelines. The book fell into my hands at the very beginning of the managerial path and made it possible to realize that planning and project management is a very systematic and interesting story.
After comprehending Goldratt’s book, I recommend reading “On Time and Within the Budget”, which not only details the critical chain method, but also reveals other aspects of project management (planning, risk management, etc.).
Kanban and Lean Manufacturing
James Woomek, Daniel Jones “Lean Manufacturing. How to get rid of losses and prosper your company ”
David Anderson“ Kanban. An alternative way to agile ”
Lean Manufacturing is not entirely about project management, but about continuous improvement in the quality of work. After reading this book, you will understand the basics of this approach and get acquainted with the kaizen philosophy. Read it first, after - go to the kanban.
Anderson’s book introduces you to the kanban system, which you can quickly implement on top of your current management processes and start getting tangible results right away. The author also talks about how to combine kanban with other approaches (for example, six sigma).
A series of books “One-minute manager”
These books are very easy to read, they are small and written in a clear language, while novice managers will provide an excellent base for interaction with subordinates. How to set the task? How to give feedback? How to make sure that the tasks assigned are carried out, and not come back to you?
You can learn how to apply knowledge in practice and personally communicate with speakers at the Project management in IT course . The next one will be held June 23 and 24.