How a Little Planning Beats a Lot of Firefighting: Use simple planning skills to transform your productivity

by Fergus O'Connell

If you’ve ever been told that you ‘have to do more with less’ or ‘work smarter not harder’ and wondered what these things are supposed to mean, this book gives you the answer.

It shows how a little planning - normally thought of as being the preserve of large undertakings, great construction projects or huge sporting events or military offensives – will indeed enable you to get more done with less effort.

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2015

About the author

My mum read Treasure Island to me when I was four and I think that was when I decided to become a writer.

I used to think I’d like to spend all my time writing, but spending all day alone in a room with your imaginary friends isn’t necessarily the healthiest way to pass the time. (It’s easy to see why so many great writers’ best friend has been the whisky bottle!) So I also write books and teach and speak on project management. I’ve written sixteen non-fiction books and had seven novels published. My most recent, The Paradise Ghetto is now in development based on my own screenplay.

I’ve been shortlisted for prizes – the Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Prize for my first novel, Call The Swallow; in non-fiction, for my book on common sense, Simply Brilliant which was runner-up in the W H Smith Book Awards. My books have been translated into twenty-five languages.

So far, all my novels have been set during wartime but I don’t think of myself as a war novelist. I write about people caught up in great events and how they try to find love in the most difficult of circumstances.

I’m widowed, have two grown-up children and have lived in lots of places. Currently I’m living in England but that could be about to change.

Reviews

[Odai Al-Saeed · Rating 4 out of 5]

لطالما عانيت من شهوة الاقتناء وهذه المعاناة تزيد مع الايام لانها ترتبط بالافراط والافراط يؤدي الى الفوضى .
كتاب ( جوشوا بيكر) كان عويناً ساحراً لكثير من معانتي لهذا الأمر على المستوى الشخصي لذا أنصحك لكل من إبتلى ببلوتي أن يقرأ هذا الكتاب المفيد

[بشرى السيف · Rating 2 out of 5]

أعتقد انه مناسب لفئة محددة جدًا. فئة سبق انها جربت إدارة مشروع
لأن الكتاب مثل دليل استخدام جهاز معين
فإذا الجهاز مب عندك تطبق عليه فأنت جالس تقرأ كلام ملغّز

الأمثلة فيه والجداول عبارة عن طلاسم، غير مفهومة أبدًا
ويمكن يرجع هذا لكونها في مجال غير مجالي (خطة مشروع تسويقي)
شخصيًا استفدت منه بعض الأفكار العامة العابرة

[Dony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts of the typical things heard countless times about planning and managing your time. But does about halfway through the book you do get some clear actions to get set up doing things the right way and to stay on track. If you are in the midst of a company swirling with runaway projects with nothing seemingly tracked, or if it is, not tracked accurately, until it is too late, then this does offer very pragmatic advice on how to take the reigns and to steer away from brink of pandemonium.

Mind you this is a project management booklet from a project manager so it does favour adding more bias, in terms of project time and resources than project management actually should deserve, but overall it is something that anybody running a business or managing a project should read. Especially if you had the privilege of having worked in a prime example of a company where things were quite gloriously absurd that books like this will make you appreciate that even though it is what occurs in most organizations, it's not how it should be.

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Fergus O'Connell's books. He may not be particularly well known and there is a lot of overlap between his different books but he has a knack for breaking down complex ideas in simple ways.

In this case, it's the idea of planning and project management. I instantly want to try out all the new ideas I've learned. Highly recommended.

[sindiman · Rating 1 out of 5]

ماذكر منه شيء ولا اعتقد اني استفدت منه شيء