New PM Reference: Gower Handbook of People in Project Management

Question: What's 2 1/2 inches thick, weighs over 5 lbs, and has 63 chapters all about Project Management?

Answer: The Gower Handbook of People in Project Management!

I am proud to be one of the book's 46 PM authors! I contributed Chapter 60, Project Management Certification: Taking Charge Locally. Please check out this great work created and edited by Lindsay Scott and Dennis Lock.

FYI: The chapter I contributed was based on these publications:

• Seven Benefits of Local PM Certification: Why Pursuing Locally-Relevant PM Skills Makes More Sense Than Buying Generic, External PM Certifications

• Do-It-Yourself PM Certification: How to Document Your Skills & Get the Credibility You’ve Earned without Jumping Through Someone Else’s Hoops

AAAS Journal "Science" Reviews The Project Manager's Partner!

Whoo hoo! I just received this good news in an email from Dave Jensen, AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Columnist and Forum Moderator:  "I loved the book [The Project Manager's Partner]. I offered our forum members (15,000 worldwide) the opportunity to review it and immediately had a dozen takers. Here’s a link to the review."

Having conducted PM seminars for many groups of scientists and engineers, I know that they typically appreciate the streamlined approach to PM that is presented in my books.  It's always been my goal to keep PM "out of the way" of smart technical specialists who are trying to complete their projects by providing "just enough" PM to get good results. You can see what they thought of the book by clicking on the image above. And many thanks to AAAS & Dave Jensen for this comprehensive review and discussion!

Related links: 

• The Project Manager’s Partner: Over a Decade Later It’s Still a Best Seller!
• The PM Minimalist
• Sharpening Galileo’s Quill: My Amazing Trip to ALMA in Chile

(Video) Stuck Pursuing PMP Certification? Take Firebrand Training for Free! [A Video Tour]

As regular readers of this blog know, I don't exactly push PM newbies toward PMP (or any other commercially available) certification. In fact, in several extended essays and PDFs, I've tried mightily to make the case for local, do-it-yourself PM certification while providing specific, step-by-step instructions in how to do so:

• Do-It-Yourself PM Certification: How to Document Your Skills & Get the Credibility You’ve Earned without Jumping Through Someone Else’s Hoops
• Seven Benefits of Local PM Certification:  Why Pursuing Locally-Relevant PM Skills Makes More Sense Than Buying Generic, External PM Certifications
• Beyond PM Certification: Achieving PM Performance Improvement
• How to Create a Locally-Relevant Set of PM Job Tasks & Competencies Based on Job Level
• Project Management is a Broad Human Practice, not Merely a Profession

Still, if your employer or clients have drunk the PMI Kool-Aid and are absolutely, positively convinced that you need their PMP stamp of approval to do your job, then you should know about Firebrand's amazing collection of powerful, “accelerated” PMP study tools, exercises and answers. The Firebrand collection can do two important things for you:

If you are undecided about pursuing PMP certification, it can help you take a very fast, efficient "deep dive" into the conceptual database that makes up the PMP certification body of content. This way you can quickly decide for yourself whether this stuff is going to be helpful to your unique PM career.

If you are committed to the PMP certification path, it can serve as a well-designed set of "crib notes," reference tools and practice exercises to speed you on your way to the certification exam.

Video Tour: Firebrand's Free PMP Training Below is my quick video tour of the free online training materials available at the Firebrand website to help you qualify for your PMP certification. Enjoy!

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