The Competitive Advantage of Common Sense: Using the Power You Already Have (Financial Times Prentice Hall Books) - Hardcover

O'Connell, Fergus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0131411438 ISBN 13: 9780131411432

Publisher: Ft Pr, 2003

Synopsis

Author identifies seven 'common sense' principles for becoming dramatically more effective. He shows how those sometimes surprising solutions flow naturally from simple common sense.

About this title

About the Author

Fergus O'Connell is the founder of ETP, one of the world's leading program andproject management companies. He has taught project management in Europe, North America, SouthAmerica and the Far East and has written on the subject for The Wall Street Journal. Prior tofounding ETP, he served in IT, development, and management roles with several global companies,including CPT, ICL, and Retix.

O'Connell's books include How To Run Successful Projects: The Silver Bullet, Third Edition; How ToRun Successful High-Tech Project-Based Organizations; How To Run Successful Projects In Web-Time(Financial Times Prentice Hall); and Call The Swallow, which was short listed for the 2002 KerryIngredients Irish Fiction Prize.

From the Back Cover

Smart businesspeople do dumb things. Why? They forget to apply the same common sense that works for them when they're not at work. In The Competitive Advantage of Common Sense, leading project management consultant Fergus O'Connell identifies seven "common sense" principles for becoming dramatically more effective on any project, and in any business environment.

As O'Connell points out, even the most difficult business problems often have simple causes—and equally uncomplicated solutions. O'Connell shows how those sometimes surprising solutions flow naturally from pure common sense. From project estimating to working with technical specialists, improving meetings to reducing interruptions, he presents simple ideas simply—and shows simple ways to apply them.

Life doesn't have to be so complicated—and neither does business. Taken together, these "simple" ideas give you a powerful arsenal for overcoming virtually any challenge!

• It's management, not rocket science!
Shockingly simple ways to solve even the most difficult business problems
• Techniques you can start applying in the next five minutes
From budgeting to supervision: easy ideas that really work
• Why things don't get done—and what to do about it
The key causes of project failure are far easier to fix than you thought
• Simple risk management that works
The unexpected is inevitable-but you can prepare for it
• Things either are or they aren't...
How to tell reality from fantasy and act accordingly

7 easy, common-sense principles for supercharging your management effectiveness! Raves for The Competitive Advantage of Common Sense! "As I read it, I heard a loud voice screaming, 'Stop making everything so complicated! There is a simpler way to live life and accomplish work. Learn it or keep suffering.' Fergus O'Connell brilliantly describes seven practices that enable us to escape the everyday complexity traps that ensnare us... Self quizzes, examples, and applications make each important idea extremely easy to understand and use. A succinct, imaginative, and practical 'survival manual.' Perfect for our times." —Eric G. Stephan, Marriott School of Management, BYU, and author of Powerful Leadership

"...has the potential to change how you approach many situations in everyday life and in business, and accomplish more with less frustration. O'Connell's observations of how to apply project management techniques to everyday life are right on target, and the book is written in a non-academic, conversational style." —John Brackett, Professor of Computer Systems Engineering, Boston University

"...clearly illustrates the value of simplicity, focus, and enthusiasm—behaviors necessary to survive and thrive as a leader in our complex and uncertain environment. I find the book especially timely for leaders transitioning to higher levels in their organizations as a sort of checklist for how to get things done." —Randall P. White, Ph.D., Principal, Executive Development Group, and Adjunct Professor, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

"Brilliantly simple—so much so that I may start coming in to work again to get things done." —Richard Donkin, author of Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Evolution of Work, and recruitment/employment columnist for The Financial Times

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

This book identifies what might grandly be called "principles" of common sense. I'd ratherthink of it as giving a set of ideas—seven of them—that, if you apply, indicate that you areusing common sense.

In keeping with the first of the seven ideas—that many things are simple—thebook itself is simple. There are seven chapters, one for each of the ideas. Each chapter followsthe same organization:

* There are some multiple-choice questions to get you thinking. In a sense, these questions test whether and how much you think in a commonsense manner.
* There is a spiel describing the particular idea.
* Next come some tools to help you apply the idea.
* There are then examples of applying the particular idea. Sometimes the examples are simple applications of the particular idea. Other examples take several of the ideas and combine them.
* Finally, there are some action points or things you could do to begin applying a particular idea in your daily life.

I'd like to know if you find this book useful or if it made any kind of difference—or not!With that in mind, you can e-mail me at fergus.oconnell@etpint.com with praise, criticism, oranything in between.

Finally, a note on terminology: I use the words project, venture, andundertaking interchangeably in this book. They all are taken to mean something that you're tryingto accomplish.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ft Pr
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0131411438
• ISBN 13: 9780131411432
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160