Project Delivery, Uncertainty and Neuroscience: A Leader's Guide to Walking in Fog

by Carole Osterweil

Project Delivery, Uncertainty and a Leader’s Guide to Walking in Fog was described as groundbreaking when it came out in 2019. This led the Association for Project Management to invite the author to expand on her ideas and write a follow up, Neuroscience for Project Success, why people behave as they do .

Since then, we’ve seen PMI (Project Management Institute) update their talent triangle of the ‘ideal skill set for project managers’. The new triangle includes power skills . PMI explains, they talk about power (rather than interpersonal or soft) skills to reflect the value these skills bring to project professionals, teams, and organizations.

Project Delivery, Uncertainty & Neuroscience was written to help you build your power skills .

Fully referenced, yet concise and easy to read , it draws on recent research in neuroscience, mindfulness, complexity, and project management.

The subtitle, a Leader’s Guide to Walking in Fog reflects the reality of organizational life where so much is changing it can seem impossible to keep up - let alone influence the way forward! At times we get stuck, and frustrated, unable to put a finger on what’s going wrong or why. It’s like being caught in a thick fog. Unable to see a way forward, all we can do is keep walking and take cues from those around us.

Part One is a primer . It explores how the human brain works to build an understanding of why people behave as they do in organisations (the social dynamics). It uses this as a platform to examine the dynamics of complexity, and attitudes to risk and uncertainty; three factors which have a fundamental impact on stress levels and project outcomes.

Part Two is primarily a toolkit . It includes a series of practical frameworks and suggestions to help you apply your knowledge from Part One. Use them to develop your power skills – your capability to read and influence the behaviors and emotions of everyone involved.

Do this and you’ll take the stress out of delivery, reduce complexity , and improve business and personal outcomes.

Some people describe Project Delivery, Uncertainty and Neuroscience as a truncated version of Neuroscience for Project Success.

Project Delivery, Uncertainty and Neuroscience is the ideal purchase for people who :

46 pages, Paperback

Published April 7, 2019

Reviews

[Saeed Ramazany · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب کلا ۴۰ صفحه‌س.
من دنبال کتابی بودم که به نقش ابهام تو زندگی و تصمیم‌گیری بپردازه و کمک کنه تو دوران فرینلسی با فشار روانی کمتری فعالیت کنم.
ولی این کتاب در مورد مدیریت پروژه‌ها و افراد بود (همان طور که در عنوانش هم هست).
خوبی کتاب اینه اضافات بیخود نداره. یه ایده رو مطرح می‌کنه، از دو سه تا مقاله و یه پژوهش اسم می‌بره و میگه بر اساس این حرفا چه کار کنیم که یک تیم به نتایج برسه. ایده اصلی هم اینه که ابهام یه چیز تنیده شده تو پروژه‌هاست و افراد ایده‌ی مختلفی از وضعیت ابهام و شفافیت پروژه دارند. هم باید این ابهام رو فهمید، هم تلاش کرد ایده افراد بهم نزدیک بشه و البته کمتر درگیر استرس بشند که کارایی تیم پایین نیاد.

[Dave Snowdon · Rating 3 out of 5]

At 43 pages it's more of a booklet than a book. What information that is presented is useful but I feel there could have been a bit more in the "walking in fog" - perhaps some more hints on how to tackle this; the book(let) is quite vague in this area.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical, helpful