Program Management - Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Strategic Doing: Ten Skills for Agile Leadership

By Scott J. Pearson | September 10, 2024September 10, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Organizational life in America has grown much flatter and more mobile in recent decades. A lifetime career with one company is now the exception rather than the norm. As such, an individual’s ability to contribute quickly to a team has become more important than their upward mobility. However, much literature about leadership and cultural practices remain fixed on the idea of one all-powerful person at the top commanding legions of followers. To counter this narrative,…

The Practitioner’s Guide to Program Management

By Scott J. Pearson | July 31, 2024July 31, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Most businesspeople are familiar with the role of project managers. They ensure that projects become executed with quality, on time, and on budget. Not as many are familiar with the role of a program manager. As Irene Didinsky describes in this book, this role organizes a collection of projects to ensure that the organization benefits from them. The Project Management Institute, which publishes this book, supports certifications in both project management (PMP) and program management…

Management-Business Program Management Software-Technology

Managing IT Projects: How to Pragmatically Deliver Projects for External Customers

By Scott J. Pearson | July 19, 2024July 28, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Business projects involving information technology require their own set of required skills. The product is electronic, not physical, but the implementation is very abstract and technical. Planning and monitoring the work itself pose their own set of risks. Further, because everyone uses software, many think that designing software does not require special expertise, so projects become improperly designed from the start. Project management education does not routinely cover this niche of practical problems, but in…

Indie Management-Business Program Management

The Product Manager’s Guide: Strategy, Psychology & Leadership at Work

By Scott J. Pearson | June 4, 2023July 28, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

In a diverse business, a product manager oversees all of the projects for several products. That is, it sits a step above project managers on the org chart. This corporate designation seems to exist across many companies, especially those which are larger. Potential readers might be mystified by this role among their co-workers; others might aspire to this role and want to know what to do. In this self-published work, Daniel Chak, an experienced product…

Management-Business Program Management

The Unwritten Rules of Managing Up: Project Management Techniques from the Trenches

By Scott J. Pearson | July 11, 2022July 28, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

“Managing up” is a relatively new concept in the business world. It refers to taking care of your boss’ and senior management’s needs as a part of your duties. Managing down, presumably, refers to managing subordinates, but managing up, not just managing down, has a significant impact on one’s career trajectory. Brownlee seeks to explore this concept by describing what this looks like pragmatically as a newer employee. Most employees have encountered difficult bosses at…

Management-Business Program Management

Transforming Project Management

By Scott J. Pearson | May 29, 2022July 28, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

The field of project management is receiving amplified attention in recent years. Companies simply need people with skills that can transform action items of strategic planning into reality. The Project Management Institute (PMI) has even begun as a way to provide consistent education and certification. The author holds a Project Management Professional Certification (PMP) and concisely relates how those principles should inform more businesses’ practices. Project management comes down to achieving agreed-upon results on time…