Project Management, Denial, and the Death Zone: Lessons from Everest and Antarctica - Hardcover

Grant Avery (author)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1604271191 ISBN 13: 9781604271195

Publisher: J. Ross Publishing, 2015

Synopsis

Project success rates haven't changed in 20 yearsLearn why, and what you can do to improve them in your organizationUsing examples and lessons learned from the failures and achievements of Antarctic explorers Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton, and Mount Everest expedition leader John Hunt and others, this captivating guide provides powerful insights into the causes of project and program failure and how to manage them to significantly improve project success rates.Key FeaturesExplains the consistency of project failure, risk homeostasis, the principle of outcome-maximizing, the emerging concept of risk appetite, and provides real-world solutions that can be applied in organizations to improve project resultsIntroduces new concepts such as the CORA triangle that focuses on achieving balance in the management of Capabilities, Outcomes, and Risk Appetite; and neuroleadership and its importance to complex, high-risk projects and managing changeDefines the circle of project ethos and the narcissistic and organizational-structural factors in common between Everest climbers and major ICT-EB projects today, including the risks they can create and how to deal with themWAV offers multi-factor tables to test for high risk-propensity and Death Zone risk factors, Level-3 project maturity success factors, estimating a project's relative complexity, and assessing potential leaders to manage complex projects - available from the Web Added Value(TM) Download Resource Center at www. jrosspub.com

About this title

Review:

"I loved how the exciting stories from the high risk mountain top explorations demonstrated the CORA triangle (capabilities, outcomes, and risk appetite). Grant Avery then applied modern tools to business high-risk projects and led us down a path for improving project success. Project managers, organizational leaders, board members, and team players can all benefit from the valuable lessons to improve project success by understanding decisions that influence how projects are selected and implemented. Leadership skills and behaviors can positively or negatively influence outcomes in high-risk environments. There are principles shared from a wide variety of recognized organizations and highly regarded experts." -Jan Watson, MBA, PMP (from PM World Journal); "Avery has written a fascinating and unique book about the challenges of project management in high-risk environments. The lessons learned from various high-risk adventures from the past should give project managers new insights into the challenges they face in their current project environments." -Prof. Michael Elmes, Ph.D., Professor of Organization Studies, Foisie School of Business, WPI, Worcestor, MA, USA; "...a genuinely insightful book that confronts the real reasons behind the constant unacceptable failure rate of so many large projects. I strongly commend it." -Professor Brad Jackson, Head of School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington; "... a book filled with inspiring and useful lessons." -Margot Morrell, Author of New York Times best seller Shackleton's Way; "Wonderful, instructive, and exciting reading... from mountain top to ice field to business boardroom, Avery carefully analyzes the wide landscape of risk and opportunity, hubris, aspirations, and failure."-Dr. Gerald J. S. Wilde, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Queen's University

About the Author:

Grant Avery is a leading expert and international speaker in the subject of risk, quality assurance, business cases, and capability maturity models in project and program management.

About this edition

• Publisher: J. Ross Publishing
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1604271191
• ISBN 13: 9781604271195
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 264