‘Being a Project Manager’ is a book on project management with a difference. Focusing on the principles and practices of managing a project, the book clearly lays out the path for both occasional and experienced project managers, by walking them through the foundations of project management — planning, control and communication. The book goes on to provide clear and simple project management tools that are easy to implement and make a world of difference when taking on a new project. It is a must-have tool for anyone managing a project of any scope, in any field of expertise, and any discipline.

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Being a Project Manager – a Different Book on Project Management

At a glance

Planning, control and communication – the indispensable ingredients of any successful project – are also the three sections of this book, elaborating in a practical, easy-to-follow manner, and in great detail, the various steps that need to be followed and the tools that should be used in order to properly manage a project of any sort.

‘Being a Project Manager’ cleverly uses the analogy of baking bread to managing a project. To end up with a loaf of bread, the project’s desired outcome, a project manager must use the right amount of flour as the basic ingredient for the dough – planning; add the correct proportion of yeast for the dough to rise – control, and add the ‘glue’ that holds all the ingredients together, water – communication.

The same applies to project management. Planning is the essential first step – without it, the project is nothing more than a random set of actions. Control is the means of achieving the project’s objectives – without it, you simply have a lot of effort going everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Finally, communication bonds the various stakeholders – without it, you simply have a collection of individuals aspiring to reach a goal, without knowing what it is or how to get there.

Get the book on Amazon

You can also get the book on Amazon in paperback or Kindle format.

Practical tools

As the book walks the reader through the stages of effective project management, each topic is accompanied by practical tools that can be downloaded through this webpage and put into immediate use in any project. At the end of the book, a detailed project management checklist ensures the right tools have been put in place and all the necessary steps have been taken.

These tools are based on years of experience and have been designed to provide the reader with a convenient way to perform various project management tasks. Most of the tools are accessible via Word, PowerPoint and Excel, but some require MS-Project, one of the world’s most popular project management tools.

Free download

Complete the form below to download the following tools for free: The Project Compass Document including: Requirements and Priorities List; Stakeholder Interest and Influence Map; Project Life Cycle Table; Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Budget Estimates; Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS); Roles and Responsibility Matrix; Project Communication Plan; Gantt Chart in Excel; Preliminary Risks List. Project Approval Presentation; Project Kick-off Presentation; Project Work Plan (with special indicators); Risk Management Plan; Risk Contingency Plan; Project Baseline Approval Presentation; Project Manager’s Board; Project Log; Give & Get Report; Milestone Trend Analysis Report; Project Deliverables Report;, Change Management Log; Change Request Review Form; Project Goals Presentation; After Action Review Form; Lessons Learned Report; Periodic Status Report; Periodic Status Report Presentation; Meeting Minutes Report; Project Summary Presentation; Upcoming Tasks by Priority.

Get the book with the Compass Planning Notebook and the Course!

What people say

The book is really easy to follow, using simple words that anyone can understand. What I enjoyed the most were the illustrations and chart. The graphics follow the same creative metaphor (baking) throughout the book and it illustrates all the techniques and methods presented. It makes it even easier to grasp and does not bore the reader. Hands down, my favourite part!
Andreea Popia
This book had great examples and very clever advice for managing large and small projects alike. I learned some and re-learned techniques from management classes too long ago to want to remember. I loved their graphics with ingredients we can all relate to. Using the book itself and the way it was planned as one of the examples was very relatable.
Maria Catalina

Quick bits of knowledge and helpful tips directly from The Book