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For decades, organizations of all sizes and in all industries have struggled at managing projects. Even though employees primarily worked together in physical offices, rare was the project that came in on time and on budget and delivered what stakeholders expected.
The M-F/9-5 in-person world of work is gone forever. Depending on the country, more than nine in ten people would rather quit their jobs than return to the office five days per week. Brass tacks: Remote and hybrid workplaces are here to stay, and they pose formidable obstacles that complicate managing projects and launching new products.
Against this backdrop arrives Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace, Phil Simon’s timely and highly anticipated follow-up to his award-winning book Reimagining Collaboration.
In his inimitable style, Simon adeptly fuses critical research and concepts from a slew of diverse and seemingly unrelated fields, including Agile software development, human resources, supply chain management, cognitive psychology, organizational behavior, and labor economics. Brimming with detailed case studies, penetrating insights, and practical advice, Simon’s twelfth book is a tour de force. Product owners, new and seasoned PMs, service providers, freelancers, small business owners, and students taking PM classes will benefit from Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace.
In this inviting, clear-eyed business management guide, tech authority and business podcaster Simon (Reimagining Collaboration) urges readers to reevaluate the way project-based work and product launches are executed in remote and hybrid work environments. Written for product developers, service providers, students, and seasoned project managers, Simon provides βessential guidance for managing projects β¦ in remote and hybrid work-places,β which are becoming increasingly popular thanks to a galvanized workforce that is reluctant to return to pre-pandemic work conditions. Simon does not expect that trend to reverse, and he lays out practical advice to of-the-moment questions facing managers like βWhat happens when a high-inflationary environment collides with woke employees and an unprecedented rise in remote/hybrid work?βAfter a list of important figures and a brief yet insightful introduction, Simon dives into the circumstances responsible for creating an American workforce no longer interested in reverting back to a traditional office setting before delving into the unique challenges of hybrid work environments, such as collaboration overload, communication delays, varying levels of digital literacy, plus the exacerbating effects remote work has on our cognitive biases. Simonβs thorough and persuasive, offering that data (often in engaging graphics) to bacon up his straight talk. The most significant information is found in the third and final section of the guide, with each chapter dedicated to a specific prescription or guideline to ensure the success of projects managed for a remote team, including βPerform a Project Premortemβ and βInstitutionalize Clear Employee Writing.β
Simon lays out his guidelines for success on managing projects following the principle-based approach of Googleβs management team, which emphasizes simplicity above a code of stringent, detailed rules. Using several research studies and labor statistics to back his assertions, Simon doesnβt introduce new methodologies but instructs readers on how to best alter their approach, techniques, and processes to better fit remote workplaces, while addressing the additional constraints both employers and employees face when working outside of a traditional nine-to-five setting.
Takeaway: A clear-eyed call to reevaluate project-based team projects in the days of remote work.
Great for fans of: Kory Kogonβs Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager, David Pachterβs Remote Leadership: How to Accelerate Achievement and Create a Community in a Work-from-Home World.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
