On Projects*

The Six Fundamentals of Success

I only carry one professional development book in my briefcase…

…and its not a book on project management lore. It’s looking a little tatty these days but it’s been around the world with me, in airports, planes, trains, trams and taxis. I don’t read it all the time, just occasionally when i’m in a reflective mood and feel the need to reflect on my professional work.

The full title of the book is “The Six Fundamentals of Success: The Rules for Getting It Right for Yourself and Your Organization”, by Stuart Levine. It’s a small, notebook-sized, common sense book with short, sharp and targeted rules to remind you of the professional fundamentals you needs to get right on a daily basis to achieve the bigger picture.

I love the structure of the book, each rule (there are about 20 per fundamental) is presented in a short 2-3 page brief, which is the perfect format for the time-poor, thoughtful project manager. One of my personal favorite take-away is “Stop Financial Hemorrhaging” which is under “Fundamental #1: Make Sure You Add Value”, golden advice for project managers and a worthy reminder when you have some spare time on the plane.

If you’re not currently toting a book like this around and in the market for one, I can recommend this one.

• Publisher: Doubleday Business; Rev Upd edition (February 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• Cost: USD $13.57
• Available from amazon.com – The Six Fundamentals of Success

Filed under: Top Books Tagged: | book review, books, business, inspiration, motivation, self-help