“Too much order, we lose interest. Too much disorder, and there’s nothing to be interested in.” — Alan Lightman, novelist, essayist and physicist, and thanks to Leo Hesting for bringing the quote to our attention.
Year: 2019
There’s no such thing as an IT project
There’s no such thing as an IT project. There is, on the other hand, such a thing as There’s No Such Thing as an IT Project: A Handbook for Intentional Business Change. It’s now officially available for purchase (or will be tomorrow morning). Humility prevents my coauthor, Dave Kaiser, and me from telling you it’s the most important business book published this year.
It’s a good thing we’re so humble. Or maybe not, because if you have anything to do with making business change happen … intentional business change, that is … you need this book. And I hope you’ll forgive a bit of hard selling because if you want the organization to change you’ll want your peers and collaborators to understand what it is you’re doing and why.
What’s the book about? It’s about 180 pages long. It’s about eighteen bucks … a dime a page … if you want the Kindle edition, more if you want crushed trees smeared with ink, and if you do, consider buying it straight from our publisher (https://www.bkconnection.com/books/title/Theres-No-Such-Thing-as-an-IT-Project ).
It’s about the difference between “implementing software” and something useful coming of it.
It is, we think, comprehensive without being tedious; practical and pragmatic while still presenting big ideas; clear and concise without being humorless.
If you’re a long-time KJR reader you’re familiar with the mantra, for example from this ten-year-old evergreen from the archives – https://issurvivor.com/2009/12/07/someone-elses-problem/ .
Now, instead of having to root around in the archives to pull everything together you’ll find it all in one place.
That’s how KJR works. You get a concise account of a narrow slice of a big topic once a week, out of the goodness of my greedy little heart. You get a complete view of subjects that matter from the books I publish from time to time (look here if you want to know what else I’ve written over the years: https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Lewis/e/B001HMOX0I/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1 .) It’s one way you can support KJR — something readers ask from time to time.
If you like the ideas and need help making them real, give me a shout. https://issurvivor.com/contact/ . With many consultants you don’t really know what you’re getting into. I am, more or less, an open book.
Well, 12 open books, but who’s counting?
Oh … one more request. Books aren’t real until they have a bunch of Amazon reviews. So I’m asking you to write one — preferably after you’ve read the book (as a consultant I have a strong sense of sequence).
If you like the book, please say so and explain why. And if you hate it, please explain that in a review as well. I’m not trying to put my thumb on the scale — I like good reviews as much as the next author, but it’s more important for the book to be real.
And don’t worry. Unlike public radio, I’m not going to hold KJR hostage until enough of you have bought the book.
I might badger you about it from time to time, but I won’t fill more whole columns pleading with you and your fellow readers to satisfy my deep craving for attention. Dave and I hope you enjoy the book and, more important, find it useful. We won’t know, though, until we read your review.