The Blind Men and the Elephant: Mastering Project Work FROM THE PUBLISHER
Using the "blind men and the elephant" metaphor, this useful guide explains how a "follow the leader" approach creates troubled projects by pulling attention from the real source of power and authority - the individual. Using real-world stories, it shows how anyone can transform a fuzzy project assignment into a meaningful, satisfying experience. Author David A. Schmaltz�— creator of True North's Mastering Projects Workshop and Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Project Sun Workshop — reframes the root cause of difficulties in project work, singling out "incoherence" (the inability of people to make common meaning from their common experience) as the main obstacle, and presents a set of simple, easily available techniques to increase a project's coherence and its participants' enjoyment of the process.
SYNOPSIS
A wry, cheerful prod to action by the founder of a project management consulting firm in which he offers a set of simple project-coherence-building techniques based on real-world stories. He examines the degree to which individuals involved in the project can exert control and explores the excuses that can keep people trapped in meaningless work. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Soundview Executive Book Summaries
In The Blind Men and the Elephant, teamwork consultant David Schmaltz uses real-world stories and expert advice to describe how managers can overcome the inevitable difficulties of project work. Poor planning, weak leadership, and fickle customers are no longer valid excuses for failed team projects. Schmaltz provides a set of simple, project-coherence-building techniques that any team can use to achieve success.© 2003 Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Home
