BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: How Not to Fail at Projects: Stopping the Project Management Insanity Spiral
Author: Claude H. Maley
Publisher: Auerbach / CRC Press / Routledge
List Price: $38.99 paperback
Format: Soft cover, 84 pages
Publication Date: 2024
ISBN: 9781032744506
Reviewer: Daniel Van Orden, PMP
Review Date: March 2025
Introduction
In the book “How Not to Fail at Projects: Stopping the Project Management Insanity Spiral,” author Claude H. Maley (2023) aims to analyze the reasons for project management failures. The author provides stories and anecdotes that highlight how organizations and project managers can fall into an “Insanity Spiral.” Repeating the same project actions and expecting a different result is insanity.
Overview of Book’s Structure
The book comprises 7 chapters and is presented with a touch of satire to lighten the often-insane aspects of project management. It sequentially guides the reader through the organizational challenges, both internal and external, and project entry aspirations that negatively impact the project’s success.
The author has created seven sanity checks designed to keep project managers from repeating the same mistakes and help them to become project champions.
The Seven Insanity Checks:
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- How and when to appoint a project manager
- The comprehension of why a project is needed
- The understanding of the unknown
- Capturing who needs what
- Who does what
- Outside assistance
- Engaging the efforts of others
The reader is invited to read each chapter in sequence of the seven insanity checks:
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- The first sanity check will be familiar to the readers.
- The second and third sanity checks will guide you on how to overcome the common misunderstandings about the nature of projects and their management.
- The fourth and fifth sanity checks will be most evident in your constant pursuit to satisfy a host of individuals and, at times, an unsurmountable quest to obtain resources for the project.
- The sixth sanity check involves breaking the ‘us versus them’ syndrome when outsourcing your project.
- The seventh sanity check (and the author’s favorite) deals with people – the lifeblood of any organization.
Project Managers need to consider all variables, explore known/unknown project constraints and stakeholder interests, and apply influence to best utilize human resources to advance the project.
More…
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How to cite this work: Van Orden, D. (2025). How Not to Fail at Projects: Stopping the Project Management Insanity Spiral, book review, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue V, May. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pmwj152-May2025-VanOrden-How-Not-to-Fail-at-Projects-book-review.pdf
About the Reviewer
Daniel Van Orden, PMP
Texas USA
Daniel Van Orden is a resident of Dallas, Texas. He is a PMP-certified project manager in the airline transportation industry. He is a retired United States Navy officer, specifically from the Naval Aviation community. He has 12 years of experience in project management, spanning DoD naval aviation programs, civilian aviation enterprises, and the airline transportation industry. Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Management from Arizona State University and a Master of Science in Management from Troy University. He has been PMP certified since April 2013.
Daniel can be contacted at devovanorden@gmail.com
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