Douglas Fain and Mark Hunt have a combined consulting experience in the field of project management of over 50 years working for four national governments and numerous corporations and government agencies. They have consulted on over $35 Billion in major projects in over 40 countries and have taught project management in graduate programs at Stevens Institute of Technology, Denver University, and Regis University as well as corporate settings in aerospace, telecommunications, manufacturing, and others. That experience facilitated the management of large, complex projects that were in the initiation stage or facing serious performance problems. They both agree that business can no longer afford the personal and financial costs of failed projects. Neither can organizations or their project teams afford the reputation for failure that so permeates the industry today. The opportunity costs of such failures is just too great for a society that has growing needs for its citizens. This book represents their findings regarding why projects tend to fail, and as true consultants, they have also included a clear and concise set of instructions of how to avoid those failures, how to do it right the first time. This book is mandatory reading for anyone working in the field of project management, especially project managers who struggle with the responsibility for the success of their projects.

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.

Do you see too many struggling and failed projects and programmes in your organization? The problem: they are being set up to fail. Learn what goes wrong, what not to do and how to succeed Projects do not fail - people fail. They simply fail to set their projects up to succeed. In other words, you better hire the right people - or get lucky! Projects fail because of deep, systemic errors in the way we think about and manage them. Project management is not about filling out templates - it is about people collaborating to win in the market. A project starts with a change idea, and many ways to fail. You must be able to manage the full project value chain to succeed. The challenge for many companies is, that we believe that everyone knows what a project is. That is not true. This is why so many projects fail. In project management, there are six basic elements that people must master - it all starts with the mindset! In this book, you will learn about the six basic elements that is paramount for succeeding with change initiatives, regardless of which framework, methodology or method you apply. Apply the SIX to succeed in winning with our projects! This unusual and highly captivating book starts with the author failing enormously with a change initiative (project & programme). This book is about the author's journey to investigate exactly why so many change initiatives fail, and how you can become a master craftsman in change initiative management. A change initiative starts with a change idea that is created within an organization when an issue, threat, or opportunity is identified. To implement a change idea, the organization must start a change initiative. A successful change initiative ensures that business continues and improves, the employees are happier, there is ideal use of funds and resources, and the customers are more satisfied. Unfortunately, a fair majority of them fail to deliver optimal results and many of them fail outright. This book encapsulates how people and organizations can become better at implementing their change ideas. The difference between a failed change initiative and one that meets its desired objectives can be described by six fundamental, universal and tightly interwoven elements as explained by The SIX(c) model. Here is a preview of this invaluable book, and what else you will discover: ● Understanding change initiatives and what drives them to succeed or fail ● What is the change initiatives value chain and how it fits into the larger picture ● Where do the systemic errors lay and how to better craft a plan of action ● The Mindset, attitude, skills and leadership abilities needed to deliver successful change initiatives ..... And much more! As a key bonus, you will get exclusive access to chapters on why change management initiatives fail and how you should pursue a successful maturity journey. As someone who has extensively delved into project and programme management, the author understands your specific concerns and has made the contents of this book as concise and simple to follow as possible for your convenience. It is a must-read for all who work in an organization. Whether you are the CEO, a change initiative leader or manager within your organization, you need to read and understand this book

If you’re aiming to innovate, failure along the way is a given. But can you fail better? Whether you’re rolling out a new product from a city-view office or rolling up your sleeves to deliver a social service in the field, learning why and how to embrace failure can help you do better, faster. Smart leaders, entrepreneurs, and change agents design their innovation projects with a key idea in mind: ensure that every failure is maximally useful. In Fail Better, Anjali Sastry and Kara Penn show how to create the conditions, culture, and habits to systematically, ruthlessly, and quickly figure out what works, in three steps: 1. Launch every innovation project with the right groundwork 2. Build and refine ideas and products through iterative action 3. Identify and embed the learning Fail Better teaches you how to design your efforts to test the boundaries of your thinking, explore crucial interdependencies, and find the factors that can shift results from just acceptable to groundbreaking—or even world-changing. Practical instructions intertwined with compelling real-world examples show you how to: • Make predictions and map system relationships ahead of time so you can better assess results • Establish how much failure you can afford • Prioritize project activities for disconfirmation and iteration • Learn from every action step by collecting and examining the right data • Support efficient, productive habits to link action and reflection • Distill, share, and embed the lessons from every success and failure You may be a Fortune 500 manager, scrappy start-up innovator, social impact visionary, or simply leading your own small project. If you aim to break through without breaking the bank—or ruining your reputation—this book is for you.

In this groundbreaking book, Tim Harford, the Undercover Economist, shows us a new and inspiring approach to solving the most pressing problems in our lives. When faced with complex situations, we have all become accustomed to looking to our leaders to set out a plan of action and blaze a path to success. Harford argues that today's challenges simply cannot be tackled with ready-made solutions and expert opinion; the world has become far too unpredictable and profoundly complex. Instead, we must adapt. Deftly weaving together psychology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, physics, and economics, along with the compelling story of hard-won lessons learned in the field, Harford makes a passionate case for the importance of adaptive trial and error in tackling issues such as climate change, poverty, and financial crises—as well as in fostering innovation and creativity in our business and personal lives. Taking us from corporate boardrooms to the deserts of Iraq, Adapt clearly explains the necessary ingredients for turning failure into success. It is a breakthrough handbook for surviving—and prospering— in our complex and ever-shifting world.

Detailing a project management perspective which stresses the involvement of stakeholders, management, and clients, and which accepts as a premise the fact of constant change, this book describes the necessary tools and offers guidance for fitting the strategy to an existing organization. It offers advice on understanding the project's context, analyzing success and added value, defining its scope and objectives, identifying stakeholders, defining quality, selecting a development strategy, navigating risks, estimating tasks, creating a schedule, tracking and reporting, troubleshooting, and ethics. Thomsett is a consultant. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

No project management training? No problem! In today’s workplace, employees are routinely expected to coordinate and manage projects. Yet, chances are, you aren’t formally trained in managing projects—you’re an unofficial project manager. FranklinCovey experts Kory Kogon and Suzette Blakemore understand the importance of leadership in project completion and explain that people are crucial in the formula for success. This updated and revised edition of Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager offers practical, real-world insights for effective project management and guides you through the essentials of the value, people, and project management process: Scope Plan Engage Track and Adapt Close If you’re struggling to ensure multiple projects are finished with high value and on time, this book is for you. If you manage projects without the benefit of a team, this book is also for you. Change the way you think about project management—"project manager" may not be your official title, but with the right strategies, you can excel in this project economy.