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To be effective, project managers must learn the language of the boardroom. Peter and this book will help you to do that.

There is still lots of room for improvement in project delivery performance in all sectors. In most cases vast improvement can easily come from all project players really understanding each other better and having higher quality relationships and interactions. NLP is a perfect technique to help all project players to improve in this area – enabling misunderstandings to be avoided or spotted and difficult issues confronted which will lead to better project outcomes. I recommend that all project players spend time to learn from this topic and improve their own capability and performance.

(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).

Projects don’t manage themselves, so we need project managers. And the softer ‘people’ skills that help to communicate and deliver results through project activities are already essential managerial competencies. This invaluable book provides a fascinating insight into how NLP can help people to deliver better projects, written by someone with a wealth of project and management experiences to draw from.

Project Managers need a range of hard and soft skills to drive project management processes to deliver successfully. I am clear that using associated PPM tools and applying learning is not enough on its own. Peter’s book brings analysis, insight and valuable pointers to improving those very important soft skills such as building rapport with stakeholders, handling difficult situations and being assertive. I recommend Peter’s book, read it and help improve both your personal performance and your team’s performance.

Even in IT projects, soft skills are very important and Peter, a well respected author and speaker, has shared his insight on this resulting in an extremely useful guide on behavioural competences.

As Project Managers, there is a continuing need to take our skill base to the highest level. This book will surely add to your skill set, particularly in the challenging area of ‘soft skills’.

I was introduced to the world of Neuro-Linguistic Programming via my involvement with sports coaching. This exposure to NLP illustrated to me what a fantastic tool this could be for the Project Management profession. We generally recognise that our people are our greatest asset and that we operate in a world where relationships are key, however, so called ‘soft skills’ can often be the hardest to master. With NLP our people can learn to be even more effective in their dealings with their teams, clients and key stakeholders. The release of Peter’s book is perfectly timed and fills a large void in the market.

Method and process are important in project management, but knowing how to use them is even more so. Most project managers can increase their effectiveness most by developing their soft skills, recognising that finesse can be more effective than brute force. Once developed, they will find that their skills are much more transferable across not only project types, but whole industry sectors. This book showing the application of tools like NLP to develop competences will help you on that journey and will certainly whet your appetite for more. Peter’s lively style is compelling and benefits from his imaginative use of appropriate quotations and personal anecdotes. For me this book throws light on a major component of our journey towards greater professionalism in project management.

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.