Welcome to the PMI-OC Book Club! The PMI-OC Book Club is a virtual gathering place for PMI-OC members to read and discuss books related to project management and leadership development. The goal is for participants to grow as project managers and as leaders as they read and discuss the literature selected by the Book Club.

Benefits at a Glance

Ease of participation through a virtual setting
Great way to learn and earn PDUs
Share relevant books you've already read to spread information and help others
Great way to network with like-minded professionals interested in books and growth
Enhance project management and leadership skills and enrich your perspective through co-mingling with others' perspectives

Book Club Details

Book Club Structure

The Book Club is virtual/held online.
Current PMI-OC members may participate in the Book Club sessions for free.
Non-members may participate in the Book Club sessions for a $10 fee for each session.
Participants must acquire their own copy of the book.
The Book Club meetings are held once every other month on the third Thursday (Next Meeting Date: June 19, 2025).

Book Club Meeting Structure

Each meeting will have a facilitator to guide discussion.
Each meeting should be expected to last one hour.
No more than 300 pages should be read per Book Club session.
Books with more than 300 pages may be pruned down or divided into sections and those sections may be discussed over a period of 2 or more sessions.
After each meeting, we request that participants provide 3-5 takeaways/lessons that they learned from the book to us (book-club@pmi-oc.org) so we may collate all of the takeaways into a singular set of notes to describe the usefulness of the book in the Books Read Journal.

How to Participate

Participation requires registering for the book club session on the PMI-OC website.
Participants must have read the book/book section under selection.

Books

Selection Requirements
- Should cost no more than $35.
- Should fall under one or more PMI Talent Triangle categories.
Selection Process
- Books are selected by registrants filling out a survey where they vote on their top 3 choices for the next read.
- The survey is sent out to registrants a week before the event registration cutoff date to allow time for those registered to vote on the next book.
- Survey participants may also nominate additional books to add to the survey in the future.
- The top choice for the next book is revealed at the upcoming Book Club meeting.

PDUs

We will report 1 PDU for attending the meeting. The type of PDU reported will be based on the book content.
Participants may also self-report PDUs to PMI based on time they spend reading (with 1 PDU per hour read)

Click here for a general description of PDUs on the PMI website.
Click here for the Continuing Certification Requirements Handbook, where you will find more details on PDUs and how to self-report PDUs.

If You Have Questions/Need Help

If you have any questions or need help, please reach out to the Book Club team at book-club@pmi-oc.org.

Next Meeting Date/Time:

June 19, 2025 @ 6pm PST - Click here to register for the event.

Current Book to Read:

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Synopsis from Amazon

Combat, the most intense and dynamic environment imaginable, teaches the toughest leadership lessons, with absolutely everything at stake. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin learned this reality first-hand on the most violent and dangerous battlefield in Iraq. As leaders of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, their mission was one many thought impossible: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a violent, insurgent-held city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping, firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories, they learned that leadership―at every level―is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails.

Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training to pass on their harsh lessons of self-discipline, mental toughness and self-defense learned in combat to help forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After leaving the SEAL Teams, they launched a company, Echelon Front, to teach those same leadership principles to leaders in businesses, companies, and organizations across the civilian sector. Since that time, they have trained countless leaders and worked with hundreds of companies in virtually every industry across the U.S. and internationally, teaching them how to develop their own high-performance teams and most effectively lead those teams to dominate their battlefields.

Since it’s release in October 2015, Extreme Ownership has revolutionized leadership development and set a new standard for literature on the subject. Required reading for many of the most successful organizations, it has become an integral part of the official leadership training programs for scores of business teams, military units, and first responders. Detailing the resilient mindset and total focus principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult combat missions, Extreme Ownership demonstrates how to apply them to any team or organization, in any leadership environment. A compelling narrative with powerful instruction and direct application, Extreme Ownership challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win.

Reviews

“This is the SEAL Leadership book we have been waiting for. Poignant, powerful, practical. A must read for every leader.” ―Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, and chairman, Fox Television Stations

“Leif and Jocko are the real deal. I’m honored to have served with them. They led SEALs in the fight through the hell that was the Battle of Ramadi. This book shows how they did it.” ―Marcus Luttrell, U.S. Navy SEAL and #1 national bestselling author of Lone Survivor

“The smartest, most revolutionary management approach since Jack Welch's Six Sigma.” ―Don Imus, radio host, Imus in the Morning

“Finally, a leadership book that actually demonstrates how to truly lead. Riveting, engaging, and free from the usual cliché platitudes, this book is strikingly impactful and will dramatically improve leaders of all types.” ―Amy Brandt Schumacher, entrepreneur, executive, and philanthropist

“Extreme Ownership provides huge value for leaders at all levels. An inspiring and page-turning read, the leadership lessons are easy to digest and implement. It provides a powerful SEAL framework for action to lead teams in high-stakes environments. This book made me a better leader and enabled my entire team step up our game!” ―Jared Hamilton, founder and CEO, DrivingSales

"One of the best books on leadership I've ever read and a tremendous war story book as well." ―Marc Andreessen