NLP4PM Book

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.

If all books placed as much importance on soft skills as this one then perhaps we might start to see a sea change in the way projects are managed. All too often the fact it’s people that deliver projects is forgotten, something not lost on this book which should be applauded.

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.

The scope of the project management profession is very broad and often the softer skills are neglected, yet it is the people and teams that make the difference. We have heard the adage ‘What are the top three areas of project management?’ – 1 Communication, 2 Communication and 3 Communication! Whilst this is intended to be light hearted there is some logic here. Peter has linked NLP to project management which will certainly support the communication topic and Peter’s background, experience of a number of sectors, cultures and organisations provides the credibility to deliver.

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.

Professional PMs know that being successful requires more than following a framework or a process. Peter shows us that using a competence-based application of NLP techniques can drive more effective management. For a PM looking for an edge, Peter’s book is brilliant!

In the world of project assurance we look at two things to gain confidence that projects will be successful: processes and people. There is ample guidance for the processes bit but until recently precious little about the people. This book is a significant contribution to a limited genre of literature that aims to help people develop their knowledge, skills and behaviours to increase the chances of project success’

The scope of the project management profession is very broad and often the softer skills are neglected, yet it is the people and teams that make the difference. We have heard the adage ‘What are the top three areas of project management?’ – 1 Communication, 2 Communication and 3 Communication! Whilst this is intended to be light hearted there is some logic here. Peter has linked NLP to project management which will certainly support the communication topic and Peter’s background, experience of a number of sectors, cultures and organisations provides the credibility to deliver.

The days of table thumping are gone. Experience shows that excellent communication, negotiation and persuasion is essential to effective Project Management in the real world. Peter shows us how NLP techniques can be applied to get the message not only transmitted, but also received

Professional PMs know that being successful requires more than following a framework or a process. Peter shows us that using a competence-based application of NLP techniques can drive more effective management. For a PM looking for an edge, Peter’s book is brilliant!