This book was made possible by the input and support of many colleagues and fellow project managers. Particular thanks are due to the patient reviewers and story providers who endured and provided feedback on our early endeavors: Ian Cribbes, Benedict Pinches, Linky van der Merwe, John Norman, and Ken Burrell. Without Prof. Tim Kloppenborg’s encouragement, we would never have done it. Thank you to them all.
The stories shared in this book come from project managers all over the world. Some are anonymized because the source does not matter. Some, where knowing who was involved and why helps to understand the factors involved, are identifiable. Our thanks go to all those who have generously shared their experiences.
Writing this book caused us to revisit the many years of working with organizations and individuals to develop and deliver projects and programs—either directly—or like midwives, helping to bring new capabilities and new ambitions to life. To the people we have worked with, whether members of CITI, our project management company in the UK or PiCubed, its sister company in South Africa, or the hundreds of amazing clients, each of whom contributed to our understanding, and through that to the contents of this book, thank you.
After more than 25 years of both doing and teaching project management, and having been married to each other for 35 years, we are reasonably sure where our passion lies. As an MSc student once commented, “You guys have very different approaches when engaging with us, but together you make an unstoppable team.” We hope you too find our combined thoughts on planning in project management both interesting and enjoyable.