Welcome to the PMI-OC Book Club! On this page, you will find a wealth of information. First, you will find takeaways (provided by Book Club participants) from books that the Book Club has already read and discussed. Second, you will find rankings of those books. Books are ranked from "1" to "5" where "1" is the worst and "5" is the best. For each book, the initial ranking is a survey of initial thoughts about the book. The final ranking is a post-discussion ranking to discern opinions after discussion in case the opinions have changed. Finally, you will find information for the book to read for the next Book Club meeting.

Books Read 2024

Book Information and Takeaways	Initial Rank	Final Rank
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey One of my favorites as well. "Begin with the end in mind" is one of my go-to strategies. That book club session was so much fun! In both my professional life and personal life, I jump from deadline to deadline and focus too much on urgency that often I neglect what's important. Time to "sharpen the saw" in 2024 and remind myself to set aside time for people or causes that are important to me. The richness of the discussion highlighted the relevance of Covey's principles to the challenges project managers face. The discussion on empathetic listening was a cornerstone on improving communication with others.	4.5	4.82
"The Jelly Effect" by Andy Bounds My understanding of the book could be summed as, "Poor communication is like throwing jelly at a wall - it does not stick." "People do not care about what you say. They only care about what they are left with AFTER you've said it." I loved the author's explanation of AFTER. It is like determining the effect you want your communication to have before the conversation starts. The communication tips within this book are great because they apply to a wide variety of situations, like how to network to promote professional development and specific strategies regarding it, how to give a presentation to a team or executives, or how to think about and understand the needs of stakeholders. "The Big Fish Concept: The people you are itching to meet (decision makers in organizations & influencers), once you identify them, you will see that they are everywhere." Although I have always known this, reading it in the book was very profound for me.	4	4.5
"How to Measure Anything" (Chapters 1 - 7) by Douglas W. Hubbard My understanding of the reading could be summed as, "You can measure anything you want, as long as you know what you are measuring in a very concrete way." The section in the book on calibrating estimates was very exciting as it presents a very visceral way of understanding choices in the context of what it means to have a confidence interval of any given amount. Would you rather take a given chance to be right with your decision or answer or would you leave it up to spinning a wheel of the equivalent chance? I liked the discussion on risk management as it goes against traditional methods of risk assessment and reveals what those issues are and ways to rectify the shortcomings.	4.2	4.5
"How to Measure Anything" (Chapters 8 - 14) by Douglas W. Hubbard One of my takeaways is learning the skill Bayesian reasoning with the intent to integrate new information into decisions. A part I liked was the discussion on how, while correlation does not prove causation (which is something everyone says), the book makes the point that correlation is evidence of causation.	3.25	3.4
"Business Acumen For Project Managers" by Steven Haines I enjoyed learning about the importance of establishing relationships throughout an organization and not limiting myself to just my department in order to understand how everyone fits into the organization's overall goals. A part I liked was the discussion on the interaction between business strategy (how to get there), business goals (where to go), and the makeup of the business (where we are now).	3.7	4
"The 360 Degree Leader" by John C. Maxwell It was interesting to learn about the author's point that leadership is about influence and not position and the various methods available to lead up, across, and down an organization. The discussion on leading down was very illuminating because that's an area where I do not have much experience because I typically am in lower positions within an organization. The book provided valuable takeaways for me, including the importance of leadership as a practice of influence, strategies for leading in all directions, and practical tools to strengthen relationships and inspire others.	4.14	4.87

Current Book to Read:

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

PDU Type: Power Skills

Synopsis from Amazon

Updated in 2022 for today's readers, Dale Carnegie's timeless bestseller "How to Win Friends and Influence People" is a classic that has improved and transformed the professional and personal and lives of millions.

One of the best-known motivational guides in history, Dale Carnegie's groundbreaking book has sold tens of millions of copies, been translated into almost every known language, and has helped countless people succeed.

Originally published during the depths of the Great Depression‐and equally valuable during booming economies or hard times‐Carnegie's rock-solid, time-tested advice has carried countless people up the ladder of success in their professional and personal lives.

How to Win Friends and Influence People teaches you:

How to communicate effectively

How to make people like you

How to increase your ability to get things done

How to get others to see your side

How to become a more effective leader

How to successfully navigate almost any social situation

And so much more!

Achieve your maximum potential with this updated version of a classic‐a must-read for the 21st century.

Reviews

"The biggest strength is how practical the advice is. It focuses on simple but powerful principles like listening more, showing genuine interest in others, avoiding criticism, and making people feel valued. These ideas are straightforward, but they are explained in a way that makes you reflect on how you interact with people in everyday life."

"This book has taught me the importance of staying in control and how beneficial it is to be in control of our behaviors and act in a way of service to others. The examples described in the book made it simpler to understand the concepts that Dale is teaching."

"Instead of using manipulation, Carnegie focuses on simple habits like listening more than you talk, genuinely praising others, and avoiding useless arguments that just make people defensive. It's written in very plain, conversational language with plenty of old-school stories that show why being kind and curious is actually the most powerful way to succeed."