Testimonials and Endorsements

Organisational change is dependent on transformational leadership. Peter has demonstrated underpinning skills in leading, motivating and influencing in his work over many years. We are glad that he has now captured the essence of these and many other skills in his book on application of NLP for professional project managers.

Important contextualised contribution to the development of competence in the so-called soft skills, hard to master, but an indispensable component of effective practice in a profession whose time has come.

Organisational change is dependent on transformational leadership. Peter has demonstrated underpinning skills in leading, motivating and influencing in his work over many years. We are glad that he has now captured the essence of these and many other skills in his book on application of NLP for professional project managers.

(Project) Management is a combination of toolset and mindset. Currently the PM toolset box is overflowing and cluttered. It needs a good cleanout. On the other hand the PM mindset box is alarmingly empty except for some snake oil. The way ahead is a combination of mindset and toolset and we’ve done toolset to death. The articulation of an idea which works elsewhere and needed explaining in our language is therefore to be welcomed with open arms (and minds).

In this book Peter Parkes focuses on an increasingly valued aspect of project management. Soft skills have always underlain excellent project management performance, but the underlying concepts and techniques have not been clearly expressed. Peter has now demonstrated how NLP can help many of us, in a most helpful and engaging way. The benefits of applying, rather than just reading, his approach will become apparent to those concerned with supporting individual projects as to those governing major portfolios of programmes and projects. Knowing the depth of knowledge and experience on which this book is based I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Project failures, whether in terms of delivery or benefits realisation, continue to grab the headlines and there is a widely held perception that the project management profession does not learn from its mistakes. Methodologies and processes are clearly part of the answer, but we also need to address the people dimension of project and programme management, and this means looking beyond traditional approaches premised on the rational economic man paradigm of incentives and sanctions. Let’s be clear, there is nothing wrong with such approaches, apart from the fact they don’t work! They may be necessary, but are rarely sufficient – the difference that makes the difference is to apply approaches that engage people in terms that tap into their creativity and desire to contribute to a worthwhile cause. This is where NLP, and this book in particular, is key. Read it, apply it and not only will it make you a more effective project manager, it will also ensure the projects you are engaged in are more successful.

Change is the only constant’ is a well known phrase and clearly evident within progressive organisations today. NLP should be an integral accessory to the overall project, programme and portfolio managers toolkit and this book, authored by a respected practitioner, provides useful and clearly articulated comparisons between the various methodologies assisting the reader to be better prepared and able to use the right tool at the right time for their given role.

Consistent feedback when we released early drafts of PRINCE2 was the need to describe those vital behavioural competences (or soft skills) that project managers require for successful project delivery. But it is not the remit of PRINCE2 to describe such skills as PRINCE2 is just a method, so we took the approach of sign-posting the additional competences that those involved in projects require. At last there is now a book that describes those skills, and more importantly in a way that puts them in context of project management. This book provides practical and easy to follow guidance on how to apply NLP techniques to a Project Manager’s every day work. I recommend every Project Manager reads this book (in addition to PRINCE2!)

Project failures, whether in terms of delivery or benefits realisation, continue to grab the headlines and there is a widely held perception that the project management profession does not learn from its mistakes. Methodologies and processes are clearly part of the answer, but we also need to address the people dimension of project and programme management, and this means looking beyond traditional approaches premised on the rational economic man paradigm of incentives and sanctions. Let’s be clear, there is nothing wrong with such approaches, apart from the fact they don’t work! They may be necessary, but are rarely sufficient – the difference that makes the difference is to apply approaches that engage people in terms that tap into their creativity and desire to contribute to a worthwhile cause. This is where NLP, and this book in particular, is key. Read it, apply it and not only will it make you a more effective project manager, it will also ensure the projects you are engaged in are more successful.