A robust, no-nonsense manual that combines the essentials of project management with practical wisdom. Ng cuts through the jargon to deliver a straightforward, no-frills guide for mastering project management fundamentals. Leveraging his expertise as a PMP-certified project manager, Ng lays out a roadmap for understanding core project management concepts, progressing from foundational elements to advanced practices with clarity and precision. The book strikes a perfect balance between theory and application, using real-world examples and case studies to engage readers. Each chapter builds naturally on the last, introducing concepts like the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), scheduling techniques, and risk management with accuracy. Detailed scenarios, step-by-step strategies, and a rich collection of templates equip readers with a toolkit that translates theory into action. The book’s section on PMP certification is particularly valuable, offering a clear roadmap with eligibility details, study strategies, and exam tips—making it an essential guide for aspiring PMPs. While some project management books tend to overwhelm with jargon or dense technical content, Ng’s work remains approachable and relevant. He speaks directly to the reader, dismantling the common misconception that project management is overly complex. Whether you’re leading a small team or overseeing large-scale initiatives, the book provides the clarity and tools needed to navigate projects with confidence and competence. A must-read.   Buy now Pub date May 6, 2024 Partridge Publishing Singapore ISBN ‎ 978-1543781571 Price $29.99 (USD) Hardcover, $14.99 Paperback, $3.99 Kindle edition

The famous phrase is from the baseball movie popular in the 1990s called “Field of Dreams” starring Kevin Costner. The story is about Iowa farmer, Ray, who hears a voice telling him that “if you build it, he will come”. He followed the voice and eventually built a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield. The movie ended with a stream of cars heading to his field to enjoy the game.   Over the years, this phrase undergoes a subtle change to say “if you build it, they will come”. For some reason, people start using the phrase to say that if we do something, it will succeed, which is a great lie!   All of us want to believe in the happy ending a la Disney movies: if we start a business, we will make lot of money, if we post a video on YouTube or start a blog, it will become viral and we will be rich and famous, if we marry, we will live happily ever after – if we start a project, it will be successful.   Well, the real truth (and nothing but the truth) is that…projects fail, and many fail big time: (1) Data from McKinsey says 70% of transformation projects fail; (2) 75% of business and IT executives anticipate that their projects will fail, and (3) 70% of software projects will be late with 30% significantly late.   Even the Bible has a similar story: in the Parable of the Sower as told by Jesus, out of the 4 seeds that were sown, only one (the last one) is successful. Yep, 75% of the seeds failed!   Here are some main reasons for the failure:   Weak personal reason Lack of commitment from superiors Inadequate planning Absence of use involvement New and unfamiliar technology   I suspect that all will find the reasons familiar, because we all have seen in some form or another. In many cases, we did something because it seems like a good idea (at the time). Some also had the idea but we did not take action. Once we start doing the actual work, then we realized we may have bitten more than we can chew and things start to deteriorate and eventually die a uncomfortable death.   The good news is that this is not the end. If we put in the efforts and we follow some tried and tested processes honed over many years by experts, the chances of seeing success improves a lot.   Will share more in the next post. To learn more, I have written a book describing the process: Partridge

Just sharing an article on Planksip.org that talks about how we are living our lives as though playing a game of checkers rather than international chess. In checkers, we often make quick decisions on the next move as a reactionary approach versus chess where every move has to be evaluated in advance. The same rule applies in life – we often choose the easy way out when our projects go awry, when our superiors/colleagues disagree with what we say, when our children are unhappy what Papa/Mummy has to say.   Let’s aim to live life in a manner that all our actions are carefully deliberated, as though we are playing chess, and perhaps sprinkled with prayer that it will work together for good….   https://www.planksip.org/from-checkers-to-chess…/…