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Making Things Happen - Scott Berkun

By Josh Kaufman

Project management is a core business skill that every successful business professional must learn. Unfortunately, most people learn it by managing projects without training or support, relying on mistakes and feedback to improve their skills. Making Things Happen is full of practical advice and real-world examples about how to lead projects successfully from conception to completion, without having to “learn it the hard way”.

Scott Berkun, formerly a project manager for Microsoft, has a knack for skipping the complicated jargon and convoluted methodologies that characterize most project management books. Instead, he breaks complex subjects down to the critical essentials and provides a copious amount of real-world examples, which makes this book very approachable and easy to understand.

Unlike the vast majority of project management texts, Making Things Happen isn’t designed to lead you towards PMI certification: it’s designed to give you perspective and practical information that would take years to learn via the “school of hard knocks.”

The first version of this book, The Art of Project Management_, was focused on software and technology development professionals. _Making Things Happen is a revised edition that makes Burkun’s advice more applicable to all project managers, regardless of industry. The leadership and management lessons presented in this book are universal to all projects, making this revised edition a must-read.

(The Personal MBA also recommends another book by Scott Berkun: Myths of Innovation.)

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