Review: The Search—Jed Simms, Jon Sturgess
The Search is a guide to project management disguised as a novel. It was first published in 2001 and the principles outlined have stood the test of time!
This book would be an ideal introduction to online retail and ecommerce concepts for people who are IT novices. Students who have not experienced work in a corporate environment may also find the concepts presented quite interesting.
The book’s heroine, Kate, is a likeable character and the challenges she encounters are explained skilfully so readers can understand how difficult situations can occur. Office politics are often dismissed as an unnecessary distraction but this story shows how good project managers need to understand all the games that are being played in order to get the best outcome for their project.
The story also shows that people do not choose to get involved in the office politics and that hard-working, honest people can end up being a target. The book follows how Kate was able to overcome some very unfair political games by garnering the support of staff at all levels of the business and having a transparent decision-making process.
As an experienced IT project manager, I honestly didn’t get a lot out of this book but I do know some people who would get a lot of benefit from it and plan to pass it along. Give this book to the luddite in your life!
The Search
By Jed Simms, Jon Sturgess
RRP $19.95
