Project Management: The Formal and Informal Approach

Copyright © 2019 by Karrar Syed.

ISBN:                 Hardcover                       978-1-4828-6395-6

                          Softcover                         978-1-4828-6393-2

                           eBook                             978-1-4828-6394-9

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Project management

The formal and informal way,

success is guaranteed

Chapter 1 Book knowledge vs. practical knowledge

Chapter 2 Project is the baby of project manager

Chapter 3 Living around teachers

Chapter 4 Unlearn to learn

Chapter 5 The intellectual approach Vs application

Chapter 6 The illusion

Chapter 7 Living examples

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my mother the most practical and impressive Project Manager I have ever seen. And to my father who worked as a continuous support for the success of all the projects of life handled by my mother

I would like to express my most heartfelt and deepest gratitude to Mr. Ahmed Ramadan- Group CEO and chairman of Roya group, for being a portrayal of the true definition of a good leader and thus proving as an inspiration for me to be the same.

Preface

I started my career from a Construction Company but I am unable to recall how I was attracted to interior fit out works. I remember, I joined a company involved in interior fit out works.

The job involved lot of coordination in terms of designing; and feasibility in the molding process. This gave me an insight into the human nature; our tendencies and habits.

The team working on the project communicated through designs and sketches.

I used to wonder, that in spite of receiving no formal education or training, the workers working on the project were completely aware of the intricacies of the design and that they also retained such a tremendous amount of confidence.

I stipulated that they must possess a talent that goes beyond the pages of a book.

We are constantly told that anybody that holds a high-level degree is in possession of endless knowledge. I pondered upon this, and finally decided to write a book that highlights and emphasizes on a practical approach towards Project Management. But, I ended up not being able to go beyond writing a few lines.

Hopefully, I will be able to write more elaborately on this subject in the future.

I started this book in 2011, but due to personal engagements, it was delayed. The structure of the book was changed many times before I finally stuck with the present one.

Initially, my mind was brimming with ideas and I thought I would be able to finish in a matter of months, but there came a point wherein I was unable to proceed.

I have been a keen observer of many things in my life, and here, I have tried to share few of my experiences.

Soon, my publisher began giving me reminders and deadlines.

Life itself is a project where not everything can be made note of.

I had promised to myself to finish the book by 2014, but that, due to certain circumstances, was not what happened; because some things remain out of our control.

It was on the 8th of January 2014 that my mother passed away. I could not bear the loss. I was shattered and was unable to think straight. Suddenly, through my misery, I realized that I too was a project of my mother.

The relationship between a project and the project manager is exactly like a mother and her child.

I brought my father to live with us as he too was deeply affected by her passing away. He was happy among us, but his loneliness without her was unceasing.

He used to cry whenever he was alone. I realized that the success of any project is doomed unless a continuous support is in place.

My mother had supported my father unconditionally. But as I have mentioned before, that not all things remain in our control.

My father fell sick and stayed in the hospital for 52 days and on the 28th of May 2014, he too passed away. Now the situation was completely out of my hands. Life had come to the point where I was completely lost. I later gathered myself to write and complete the book, as this tragedy