Episode 163: Book Review: "Lean Project Management" and "Silos, Politics and Turf Wars"

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Do you want more episodes with book reviews from The PMI LA Book Club? Please take our 2 question survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/pmilabookclub (Survey is open until Dec. 31, 2010)

About this episode:

In our last PM Podcast Listener Survey you (the listeners) told me that you would also like to hear book reviews on the podcast.

So we teamed up with The PMI Los Angeles Chapter's Book Club and in Episode 151 we brought you the first 2 book review.

Today, we continue with 2 more books.

1.  “Lean Project Management” by Laurence Leach, reviewed by Mark Layton
2. Silos, Politics and Turf Wars” by Patric Lencioni reviewed by Sani Abdul-Jabbar

Episode Transcript

Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.

Podcast Introduction

Cornelius Fichtner: This is The Project Management Podcast™. We bring project management to beginners and experts. Find us on the web at www.pm‑podcast.com or send your emails to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Cornelius Fichtner: Hello and welcome to Episode #163. I am Cornelius Fichtner. This is The Project Management Podcast™, nice to have you with us.

In our last PM Podcast Listener Survey, you, the listeners, told me that you would also like to hear book reviews on the Podcast. So we teamed up with The PMI Los Angeles Chapter Book Club and in Episode 151, we brought you the first two book reviews. Today, we continue with two more books.

First, we have “Lean Project Management” written by Laurence Leach and reviewed by Mark Layton. Second, we have “Silos, Politics and Turf Wars” written by Patrick Lencioni and reviewed by Sani Abdul-Jabbar.

And once you have listened to these reviews, we need your feedback. Do you want more reviews like this or do you want us to stop? We have a survey with two questions for you that should take about 90 seconds to answer. Please stop by at www.project-management-podcast.com and click on the survey link that you see in Episode 163. The survey will be open until December 31, 2010. If you want us to continue with these episodes then please answer "Yes, I want more book reviews" and if you want us to stop then please select "No, I don't want any more book reviews". The majority wins. So please vote.

This episode of The Project Management Podcast is sponsored by Wrike.

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Let's move on with the book reviews with Mark Layton and Sani Abdul-Jabbar:

Mark Layton, recognized internationally as Mr. Agile, is an organizational strategist and PMI® certification instructor with over 20 years in the project and program management field. Prior to founding Platinum Edge in 2001, Mark developed his expertise as a consulting firm executive, program management coach, and in-the-trenches project leader. He also spent 11 years as a Cryptographic Specialist for the US Air Force, where he earned both Commendation and Achievement medals for his accomplishments.

Sani Abdul-Jabbar is a certified project manager, entrepreneur, and founder of VezTek USA. As a consultant in business process and information technology outsourcing, Sani has advised executive leadership in a wide range of industries encompassing information technology, consumer electronics, automotive, hospitality, media and entertainment. Sani holds two MBAs and several post-graduate certifications from internationally acclaimed U.S. and foreign institutions.

And now, take out a blanket, cuddle up and let's read a good book. Enjoy the interview.

Podcast Interview

Female Voice: The Project Management Podcast’s feature Interview: Today with Joel Fleiss, Mark Layton, and Sani Abdul-Jabbar from the PMI LA Book Club.

Cornelius Fichtner: Hello Joel and thanks again for bringing members of the PMI Los Angeles Book Club here on the Podcast. Appreciate it!

Joel Fleiss: Hello Cornelius! We really appreciate the opportunity of being part of your Podcast.

Cornelius Fichtner: Alright! So tell me, what’s been happening with the PMI LA Book Club since we last talked? Do you have more members? Do you have fewer members? Have you remained the same?

Joel Fleiss: We are growing steady each week. We probably had about 50% growth in our meetings. We keep on reading about a book every 6-7 weeks and we seem to be continuously growing.

Cornelius Fichtner: Alright. So what are the books and the once that we’re going to be hearing from today did you read and discuss in the meantime?

Joel Fleiss: Well, we read “The Lazy Project Manager”.

Cornelius Fichtner: By Peter Taylor? Yeah, I had him on the program a few episodes ago, uh-huh.

Joel Fleiss: We read the “Alpha Project Managers: What the Top 2% Know and Everybody Else Does Not (Know)”

Cornelius Fichtner: Okay.

Joel Fleiss: And I think we discussed the others so far and right now, we are in the middle of reading “Getting Naked: A Business Fable about Shedding the Three Fears Sabotage Client Loyalty” that’s also by Patrick Lencioni.

Cornelius Fichtner: He seems to be a favorite author.

Joel Fleiss: We’re running out of his books so we believe we have to buy more or we have to go to somebody else. We read about 11 books so far.

Cornelius Fichtner: Why do you think people join the PMI LA Book Club?

Joel Fleiss: One is probably their love of books. Two is to gain some project management knowledge. Three is to network with a fellow project manager and business analyst. And four, he also get PDUs which help you maintain your credentials.

Cornelius Fichtner: Right! So would you recommend that other PMI Chapters around the world also start doing this for their members?

Joel Fleiss: Certainly! Or if they want to, they can probably join us remotely. Mark is our technical whiz and he can probably set him up via Skype if they wanted to join our LA Book Club.

Cornelius Fichtner: Excellent. So where can folks around the world learn more about your book club and possibly even join in?

Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete PDF transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.