Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace

I recommend this book for anyone who is in management or a leadership position. The workforce and the workplace have changed dramatically over the past few years, and if you don’t help your company change … you will loose out on the best talent and the best opportunities.Buy this book now, read it, and take your projects and teams to the next level.

Simon’s recent publication, “Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace”, provides sage advice to both employers and employees. The timing of this book release is impeccable as this topic is debated daily throughout all business-related media. This book contains a wide breadth and depth of project management topics and incorporates previous research including guidance from his recent book on “Reimaging Collaboration”. Throughout all the subjects covered, I especially appreciated his discussion on project premortems as a proactive business practice to improve successful outcomes in larger, complex project initiatives.I have had the opportunity to manage and collaborate with global teams over past two decades and appreciate and respect the experiences and guidance that Simon has shared. While I believe that this recent pandemic did not impact my own personal productivity, I do empathize with the impact it has had on younger professionals who have entered the workforce more recently as well as more seasoned employees who may not have been as prepared to work remotely in an all-digital workplace. This book provides valuable lessons for leaders and workers across all experience levels to be successful in our new hybrid business world.Simon has filled this book with dozens of valuable anecdotes based on his personal experiences from decades in the various positions and disciplines he has held. I also enjoyed his sense of humor and contemporary references that is inserts throughout the chapters. His experience as a project management practitioner, researcher, author, and educator is clearly evident throughout the book.Bottom line, hybrid work and hybrid workplaces will continue to be the new norm for the majority of us in professional roles in this new future of work as will the relevant guidance that Simon has shared in “Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace”.

The book is really easy to read and entertaining. I am a digger for pop culture references so I really enjoyed that. The author also make sure to define principles to give the reader the tools to understand the content of the book, making it an accessible read for anyone. Mainly, I feel like a lot of project management are stating the obvious, make you think but are not actionable. In this case, I started to implement things I read before I finished the book, and I am actively thinking on how to implement others. Get me really motivated to read Phil Simon's previous book: Reimagining Collaboration.

I didn't like this read at all. It's very basic info and didn't really apply to my workplace scenario. I also didn't finish it so it's possible it picked up eventually.

Touches a wide issues as well as pros and cons about project management in the hybrid workplace. I found this to be both very timely and relevant. Simon does a great job using data to tell stories and I personally enjoyed how often he visualizes statistics through graphs and diagrams. I was please by all the research behind this book that presents multiple and unbiased sides of issues. He uses the right balances of personal experiences and pop culture to go along with his data to keep the book engaging.

Simon has a knack for staying current in the post-pandemic era with Reimagining Collaboration and now with Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace. In Collaboration, he focused on a wide range of topics and tools; whereas in Hybrid he digs into how the paradigm has shifted where it matters the most for businesses... execution. Simon's insights into the business disruption caused by the pandemic is spot-on. Communication, supply chain, and the effect of remote/hybrid work has many organizations moving forward without taking a pause to recognize the significance (and permanence) of the macro-level shifts.There are golden nuggets throughout, including simple/meaningful visuals on how the workforce has permanently shifted. I found the most value in the heart of the book, which articulates the importance of premortems, pilots, and employee training. The problem statements are all too relatable. I found the recommendations practical and useful, especially in the modern era.

When you're preparing to start a project, everybody is excited and can sometimes gloss over the red flags that show up when selecting partners to work with on the project. Phil does a great job of pointing out the potential landmines that can be waiting in the weeds. He does this with a healthy dose of story telling from the good, bad, and ugly projects he's worked on (and walked away from) in his career.

Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace by Phil Simon is a great read for those of us managing projects and people in the hybrid workplace. Phil writes in a no nonsense conversational tone with a little snark thrown in.The book has three sections. Section one provides an overview of the massive changes (you might skim this if you feel you have lived it and know it already). Section two covers an overview of project management and the effects of the hybrid workstyle on it. Section three is what you have been waiting for. It provides recommendations to make your projects more successful in this new hybrid workplace.Some of my favorite parts of the book were the graphs that the author includes.