Scrappy Project Management is BIGGER than the PMBOK . . .

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. . . well, kind of . . .

Holy guacamole! Two weeks ago I had a ridiculous notion creep stealthily into my noggin’ . . . and, as is my habit, I set yet another seemingly impossible goal (one of my bad habits!) . . . to have my book be MORE popular than the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). [ Blasphemy, I know . . . but, having the PMBOK be the #1 project management book is like having the Oxford English dictionary be the best selling English literature book. Hideous!] When I first set that lofty goal I had a “Wayne’s World Moment”, and thought “Yah, sure, right! And monkey’s might fly out of my butt!” But today it happened . . . only in Japan, not the US. Jumpin’ geezus on a pogo stick! Yes, it’s true . . . for a few brief hours today my “Scrappy Project Management” book was MORE popular among non-translated books on Amazon Japan than the PMBOK. (#544 vs. 1900 or so . . .)

Setting impossible goals is the first step to reach them. What seemingly “impossible” goal stands before you beckoning to you cunningly? Don’t let fear of failure stop you from taking the first step toward what seem like ridiculously ambition or unobtainable goals. As human beings, we typically tend to underestimate what we are capable of. Lurch fitfully if you must! Remember, even a woman with a limp moves forward!

Remember what Teddy Roosevelt said:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

– Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

Stay Scrappy! Don’t let the buzzards grind you down! – Kimberly

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About the Author

Kimberly Wiefling

Kimberly Wiefling is the author of one of the top project management books in the US, "Scrappy Project Management - The 12 Predictable and Avoidable Pitfalls Every Project Faces", and the founder of Wiefling Consulting, LLC, a scrappy global consulting enterprise committed to enabling her clients to achieve highly unlikely or darn near impossible results, predictably and repeatedly. Her work focuses on keynote speaking and workshops on practical and sensible business leadership and project/program management scaled for the size of the company and the project. She has worked with companies of all sizes, including one-person ventures and those in the Fortune 500, and she has helped to launch and grow more than half a dozen startups, a few of which are reaping excellent profits at this very moment. She spends about half of her time working with Japan-based companies that are committed to developing truly global leaders. Kimberly holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics from Wright State University and a M.S. in Physics from Case Institute. She spent 10 years at HP working in product development project management and engineering leadership. She worked with several startups, including a Xerox Parc spinoff where she was the VP of Program Management. In 2001 she launched her consulting practice and never looked back. She holds a certificate in project management through UC Santa Cruz Extension, where she is an instructor in the Project and Program Management Certificate Program. Kimberly spends about half of her time facilitating leadership, communication and execution excellence workshops for leaders of Japanese companies committed to becoming truly global. Thousands of people have viewed the hysterical video documenting the final phase of completing her book at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDCJBu3rdvk. You can reach her via email at kimberly@wiefling.com
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One Response to “Scrappy Project Management is BIGGER than the PMBOK . . .”

  1. Hiya Kimberly, I just logged onto the PMI because I am a member and have to pay my PMP dues and I had to laugh. Now you can not only snore through the PMBOK and take the four hour test and pay the yearly hundred dollar fees to have the PMP cred but you can rest assured that isn’t enough and now there is a new credentional, some global PMP credential so you can no doubt read another brick, study more and pay more dues. Hmm.. why not just read your book instead? It’s far more entertaining and real than the PMBOK

    Reply

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