“It was an explosive meeting of minds at an international project management conference in Athens, Greece, in 2018, when two intellectual goliaths came together by chance only to realise that their paths were always destined to align in order to bring about a new brighter future for their chosen profession…”
“Bollocks” interrupted Susie.
“What?” responded Peter “I was just getting into my flow then, why did you stop me?”, he questioned.
“That was all bollocks wasn’t it” Susie sighed in an exasperated way, “intellectual giants, and alignment of destiny, explosive meetings and brighter future, all bollocks, totally and utterly”.
“So, what was it then?” asked Peter.
Susie quietly sighed and then explained, in a calm controlled tone, “We happened to be at the same conference, you lied on stage about winning an award, I called you out on it by subtly indicating I had actually won a real award, and you generally sulked for the rest of the morning and most of lunch if I remember correctly”.
“My memory is unclear on the actual details or timings” responded Peter, absolutely not sulking “but I know it was the point in time when ‘The Lazy Project Manager’ met ‘The Lesbian Project Manager’ (in your words) and the outcome of this meeting is this very book, so something happened for sure”.
“Now that isn’t bollocks” agreed Susie.
“Good, we are agreed” Peter smiled.
“Yes, we are” agreed Susie.
“The earth moved” Peter declared.
“No, it didn’t!” Susie rejected.
__________________________________________________________
And so was born a very special book, ‘Project Management: It’s all bollocks: The complete exposure of the world of, and the value of project management’ where two people who vaguely know each other and barely like each other will pick over the sadly inadequate and sometimes pathetic naked body of knowledge that is project management, and generally challenge just about everything, whilst openly laughing at some of the odder body parts.
It was all done in the best possible taste of course, with the intention of bringing a realistic understanding to current and future practitioners of change delivery about what it means to be a project manager today, next Tuesday and the future beyond even that.
‘Best possible taste’ is of course completely subjective but we are both sure the only reason you might be actually brave enough to pick up a copy of this book would be because a) it had a naughty word on the cover, b) it was bright pink, and c) you actually want to be both entertained and see your profession picked on mercilessly (just because you are, deep down, a rebel rousing project deviant even if your life exists in a world of ‘business casual’ and corporate compliance).
Even more than that we also live in the hope that you really want to learn what is actually important and what, to quote someone who shall remain absolutely nameless because she really doesn’t need any more encouragement on that front, is ‘bollocks’.
We are glad that we are all on the same page and that there is a beautiful alignment on the purpose of us writing this book and you, dear would-be reader, avidly consuming the contents of the same and making sure you tell each and every one of your work colleagues and friends about it. Hell, just slap it all over social media without a care in the world – we will live with the consequences (and hopefully royalties and speaking opportunities in exotic parts of the world) don’t you worry your little cotton socks about that at all.
On that bombshell of serendipitous happening the fun (and abuse) can begin!
__________________________________________________________
“Do we need a collective name?” asked Peter.
“A what?” exclaimed Susie.
“A collective name” Peter replied, “You know, a portmanteau if you like”.
“If you are going to use stupid long words in this book then I’m off, and most of the readers will probably join me” Susie declared in a grumpy tone.
“I just mean like ‘Brangelina’, when Brad and Angelina were together or when Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez got it on and became ‘Bennifer’ to the world at large” explained Peter.
“No” Susie instantly replied, “We don’t”.
Peter continued regardless “Like ‘Suspet’ or maybe ‘Petsu’, I quite like Petsu…”.
“No, let me repeat, we don’t” countered Susie in a much stronger tone “We are just writing a bloody book together and not entering some weird long-term relationship in any way, shape or form – clear?”.
“Clear” agreed Peter, “it is just that we will be in this book for quite a long time. I’m hoping for at least a second edition”.
“No” Susie glared, “we do not need a collective name now or ever, move on please”.
“OK” Peter sighed.
Susie and Peter (2019)
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW: https://www.routledge.com/Project-Management-Its-All-Bollocks-The-Complete-Exposure-of-the-World/Palmer-Trew-Taylor/p/book/9780367140908
SHIPPING FROM 20th DECEMBER 2019
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