Supervisory Skills for the Technical Manager: A Guide to Success focuses exclusively on the dynamics of being a technical manager such as a scientist, programmer, or engineer. An R&D environment demands modified management techniques and this book explores how to do so. Drawing of years of experience to provide technical managers with various tools and ways to apply them in supervisory situation, this essential title includes exercises, templates and checklists to accelerate their uses and applications on the job. In addition, case studies are included throughout to thoroughly explain and explore the concepts discussed. Key topics include handing the transition to supervising others in research and development, the characteristics needed to motivate personnel in a R&D environment as compared to other areas of business are detailed. The pitfalls and challenges of managing technical personnel, how delegating can build an effective team that can produce superior results, and how to monitor the work of previously independent personnel are also discussed.
Managing people is difficult wherever you work. But in the tech industry, where management is also a technical discipline, the learning curve can be brutal—especially when there are few tools, texts, and frameworks to help you. In this practical guide, author Camille Fournier (tech lead turned CTO) takes you through each stage in the journey from engineer to technical manager. From mentoring interns to working with senior staff, you’ll get actionable advice for approaching various obstacles in your path. This book is ideal whether you’re a new manager, a mentor, or a more experienced leader looking for fresh advice. Pick up this book and learn how to become a better manager and leader in your organization. Begin by exploring what you expect from a manager Understand what it takes to be a good mentor, and a good tech lead Learn how to manage individual members while remaining focused on the entire team Understand how to manage yourself and avoid common pitfalls that challenge many leaders Manage multiple teams and learn how to manage managers Learn how to build and bootstrap a unifying culture in teams
The how-to guide for exceptional management from the bottom up The Effective Manager is a hands-on practical guide to great management at every level. Written by the man behind Manager Tools, the world's number-one business podcast, this book distills the author's 25 years of management training expertise into clear, actionable steps to start taking today. First, you'll identify what "effective management" actually looks like: can you get the job done at a high level? Do you attract and retain top talent without burning them out? Then you'll dig into the four critical behaviors that make a manager great, and learn how to adjust your own behavior to be the leader your team needs. You'll learn the four major tools that should be a part of every manager's repertoire, how to use them, and even how to introduce them to the team in a productive, non-disruptive way. Most management books are written for CEOs and geared toward improving corporate management, but this book is expressly aimed at managers of any level—with a behavioral framework designed to be tailored to your team's specific needs. Understand your team's strengths, weaknesses, and goals in a meaningful way Stop limiting feedback to when something goes wrong Motivate your people to continuous improvement Spread the work around and let people stretch their skills Effective managers are good at the job and "good at people." The key is combining those skills to foster your team's development, get better and better results, and maintain a culture of positive productivity. The Effective Manager shows you how to turn good into great with clear, actionable, expert guidance.
Software and project management consultant Murray Cantor discusses how to be a good manager and how to build a competitive software team. The text is intended to be accessible to managers with little software background as well as those with extensive experience. A sampling of topics includes software architecture, developing products, improving the efficiency of the organization, the Rational Unified Process, and team leadership. c. Book News Inc.
"This book contains so much common sense that my neck was getting tired from nodding my head in agreement so often." Peter Armaly, Senior Director Customer Success, Oracle "...a comprehensive review of the Customer Success role and responsibilities..." Anne Marie Ponder, Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure, Astellas Pharma US "...a must read playbook for all business leaders and customer success-focused professionals." Jason Noble, Global Customer Success and SaaS Leader "I wish a book like this existed when I started in Customer Success!" Cyn Taylor, Enterprise Customer Success Manager, LogicMonitor "...provides all the ingredients to create the right customer success strategy." Baptiste Debever, Head of Growth & Co Founder, Alkalab "...an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in Customer Success." Adam Joseph, CEO, CSM insight "A structured and logical approach that will help new and experienced CSMs to bridge the gap between Customer Success theory and practical application." James Scott, General Partner, Success Hacker Customer success management is "the practice of helping customers to generate value from using our products" and it is a relatively new and fast-growing profession with many new CSMs coming into it from other customer-facing professions. Due to the speed with which the profession is undergoing change as it matures and expands, both new and existing CSMs need to keep abreast of customer success best practice. However there are relatively few books that provide much in the way of practical guidance for customer success practitioners and even less options for resources such as tools, templates and checklists that enable a consistently high quality approach whilst increasing the CSM’s productivity. Practical Customer Success Management is a practical guide book and comprehensive training manual for CSMs that provides a simple to follow, best practice framework that lays out the core steps at every stage of the customer journey to business outcome success. It describes and explains which situations each step applies to and provides recommendations for activities or tasks that the CSM can perform to complete each step, together with detailed guidance for successfully completing those activities. The book also includes a suite of tools and templates that enable rapid completion of tasks whilst ensuring consistency of approach both across multiple customer engagements and by multiple CSMs within a team.
You've spent years training to be an expert in your field. Years hunched over books and articles, writing essays late into the night on the science and art of your chosen profession. Through hard work and determination, alongside lots of experience, you've now become pretty good at it. So good in fact, that you have been asked to stop doing it all the time. You've been asked to manage a team. Now, you've got to assess people, develop them, write their appraisals and help them to help you, and the business you work for, deliver results. This is the book that will get you there fast. Authored by Sue Willcock, who has 25 years of experience in professional services, this book is written with the busy professional in mind - easy to read and packed full of tips you can use straight away.
An entertaining and informative story to help you develop project management expertiseHolly Hewitt is facing the biggest challenge of her career. Holly Hewitt has been assigned to manage the merger of two large food products companies. As she faces setbacks and challenges, she learns a few things about project management, and even mentors others on some of her own management and leadership knowledge. In Project Management 101 , Lew Sauder offers another business parable that charms as well as it informs. Project Management plays a critical role in nearly every organization. Knowing the right things to do, and the right times to do them are critical skills in today’s business world. Project Management 101 provides you with 101 useful tips to optimize your professional performance. Project Management 101 will help you:Develop leadership skills to build on for your entire careerLearn how to successfully develop relationships with your staff, stakeholders, and executivesEffectively motivate your team for higher productivityEstablish yourself as a mentor in your organization
Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller! Congratulations, you're a manager! After you pop the champagne, accept the shiny new title, and step into this thrilling next chapter of your career, the truth descends like a fog: you don't really know what you're doing. That's exactly how Julie Zhuo felt when she became a rookie manager at the age of 25. She stared at a long list of logistics--from hiring to firing, from meeting to messaging, from planning to pitching--and faced a thousand questions and uncertainties. How was she supposed to spin teamwork into value? How could she be a good steward of her reports' careers? What was the secret to leading with confidence in new and unexpected situations? Now, having managed dozens of teams spanning tens to hundreds of people, Julie knows the most important lesson of all: great managers are made, not born. If you care enough to be reading this, then you care enough to be a great manager. The Making of a Manager is a modern field guide packed everyday examples and transformative insights, including: * How to tell a great manager from an average manager (illustrations included) * When you should look past an awkward interview and hire someone anyway * How to build trust with your reports through not being a boss * Where to look when you lose faith and lack the answers Whether you're new to the job, a veteran leader, or looking to be promoted, this is the handbook you need to be the kind of manager you wish you had.
Ship It! is a collection of tips that show the tools andtechniques a successful project team has to use, and how to use themwell. You'll get quick, easy-to-follow advice on modernpractices: which to use, and when they should be applied. This bookavoids current fashion trends and marketing hype; instead, readersfind page after page of solid advice, all tried and tested in thereal world. Aimed at beginning to intermediate programmers, Ship It! will show you: Which tools help, and which don't How to keep a project moving Approaches to scheduling that work How to build developers as well as product What's normal on a project, and what's not How to manage managers, end-users and sponsors Danger signs and how to fix them Few of the ideas presented here are controversial or extreme; most experiencedprogrammers will agree that this stuff works. Yet 50 to 70 percent of allproject teams in the U.S. aren't able to use even these simple, well-acceptedpractices effectively. This book will help you get started. Ship It! begins by introducing the common technicalinfrastructure that every project needs to get the job done. Readerscan choose from a variety of recommended technologies according totheir skills and budgets. The next sections outline the necessarysteps to get software out the door reliably, using well-accepted,easy-to-adopt, best-of-breed practices that really work. Finally, and most importantly, Ship It! presents commonproblems that teams face, then offers real-world advice on how tosolve them.
Successful project management is increasingly vital to all organizations, driven by the demands of global competition, rapid technological growth, and faster time to market (just to name a few). For those in technology fields, project management skills are fast becoming a required core competency. And those who have mastered these skills continue to be in high demand worldwide, commanding higher salaries than those around them. But how does one extend those skills or acquire them in the first place? Fundamentals of Technology Project Management is a great place to start. Of the hundreds of project management books on the market, precious few address the unique needs of the IT project manager. Unlike most other project management books, Fundamentals of Technology Project Management tackles the specific issues that technology professionals must face, such as understanding technology resources, managing project scope and feature creep, and meeting client expectations, among many others. Whether you're a college student, a software engineer, or an IT professional, Fundamentals of Technology Project Management will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of the project management life cycle and learn how to manage it – from first steps on through to intermediate topics (as well as some advanced ones). Author Colleen Garton explains — in easy-to-understand language— not only the what but the how of IT projects. What's more, unlike general project management books, the examples and case studies in this book are all based on technology projects, making them far more relevant to the learner. Also included is a content-rich CD-ROM loaded with features to make the life of any IT project manager (or the IT professional with project management responsibilities) far easier. There are document templates you can use for all phases of the project — from the initial RFP to closing reports. Plus, the author steps you through meeting agendas, status reports, cost analysis, technical specifications, and more. In addition to the document templates, you're provided with PowerPoint slides that can be modified and used for reporting progress to users and management. The continuing rise in importance of project management cannot be denied. Let this book be your guide to becoming a more effective, more efficient IT project manager. With Fundamentals of Technology Project Management you will: - Discover the top ten reasons projects fail - Master the five keys to project success - Explore the six phases of the project lifecycle, step by step - Review the documents necessary for good project management and learn how to complete them - Understand the warning signs of a project in trouble and learn how to get it back on track - Learn Quality Management and Quality Assurance practices in easy-to-understand terms - Acquire practical ways to develop effective leadership and team-building skills
