The Lazy Project Manager: How to be twice as productive and still leave the office early

"All projects are thick at one end, much, much thinner in the middle, and then thick again at the far end," according to Peter Taylor in this book. Thus projects are the inverse of brontosauruses, which are thin at both ends and thick in the middle. Most of the book is structured around this idea of what you need to do at the beginning of a project, what you need to do in the middle, and what you need to do at the end. The author is happy to dispense some Machiavellian advice: "It's important to let everyone know that you have arrived and that you demand that things are done your way, the right way," and "A good way to gain the upper hand is to ensure that the people...who may give you some problems have deliverables very early on in the project." This advice is good advice, even if expressed in a somewhat blunt manner. The book is short and entertaining, but it does contain a lot of practical wisdom on project management, particularly in the chapters on "Quick Tips to Productive Lazy Heaven" and "Even Quicker Tips for the Really Lazy". You could get much of the productive value from the book just by reading those chapters, but then you would miss out on the author's witticisms and strange and wonderful stories.

This is an excellent read on how to make our jobs easier as PM's. It is written with a sense of humor and humility that made it easy for me to engage and learn. Peter pairs advice with real life experiences to make understanding how you can have a positive impact on the projects you manage, all while doing less work. If you have ever had to defend, or wondered yourself about, the value of thoughtful planning, warm and fuzzy team building, or the need to communicate to stakeholders, you will find examples of what goes well when done properly and doesn't go so well when missed in The Lazy Project Manager. Let the experiences of Peter and his past colleagues entertain and educate you. As an added bonus, you'll get a quick and easy test you can apply to your sponsors, coworkers, and friends to determine who the psychopaths are. I am happy to report that none of my friends that responded on Facebook are psychopaths.

At least for me it seems like common sense. Prioritize, delegate and focus. Communication is key. I felt I had heard all of this before but I have been on project teams in some capacity or another for over 25 years. Should be read by anyone just starting out on projects. The book is a quick read and is well written. The Kindle version is well formatted.

Easy to read and will bring a smile to seasoned practitioners. For both "the newbie" and "old hand" a nice read. It brings a practical view from the trenches with some good tips and reminders. Excellent sharing on what to focus on, why it is important and how it will help you. The few $$ the book cost will be earned back in a few days by gained productivity. Cheers from Hong Kong, Marcel Ekkel

The Lazy Project Manager is a very quick and easy read. With 25+ years experience as a project manager, I am always looking for project management insights that can be applied in a practical manner and this book was right on target. I am a true believer that the difference between a successful project and a challenged project is the practical application of the "critical few best practices". This book touches on many of these best practices, then supports them with interesting and funny analogies and examples. Looking forward to reading Peter's next book. Steve Hart, PMP @PMFoundations on Twitter

This book was an easy read. Ideas were pretty simple (common sense), nothing too profound. Got a sleazy feeling about the author by the end of it, no disrespect. I think the only PM that could benefit from this book is someone who takes everything way too seriously, and doesn't understand priorities.

This book is a quick read, you can complete within 2 to 4 hours depending on your reading speed. Like the author writes in the book, this is not a book delving in to details of Project Management but a book providing wisdom based on authors experience for productive PMs. I enjoyed reading it and will surely experiment with some of the tricks to be a lazy productive Project Manager!

I thought I was the only one who thought this way and wasn't sure if I was brilliant or crazy or both ! This book is filled with timely, easy, practical, and common sense advice, introduced in a hysterical and entertaining way! Thanks !!

Somewhere in the middle among PMO theoretical manual and a practical tale of experience as project manager, this book simplifies the complexity of project management yet being accurate in providing a long term perspective and comprehensive picture

Me está gustando el libro y es entretenido de leer, cuenta anecdotas graciosas. Pero sobretodo te hace pensar en como gestionar mejor los proyectos.

This book is a quick read and brings some humour and perspective to Project Managers who may be struggling to find time in their busy day to day lives. The word lazy is somewhat tongue in cheek and could basically be replaced with "effective" i.e. how to become a more effective PM. The name of the game here is being able to filter, prioritise and delegate your work/time. It contains some historical references and humorous anecdotes which makes it more accessible and easier to read than other heavyweight/official PM guides. To this extent it does offer an element of light relief if you are close to burnout or suffering from a lot of pressure, again helping PM's regain an element of perspective. In summary, it's OK as a light read but I would ultimately recommend 7 habits of highly effective people by Covey as a more comprehensive/complete work in this sort of space.

Good read

Dieses Buch macht Spaß! Es ist einfach zu lesen und bietet wirklich guten Inhalt; gute, praktische Tipps im Alltag. Man könnte meinen die Tipss sind teilweise zu einfach - aber das macht es letztendlich auch aus. Es sind Dinge, die jeder selber mit wenig Aufwand umsetzen kann, und die tatsächlich hilfreich sind. Ich habe es SEHR genossen!