Be Fast or Be Gone: Racing the Clock with Critical Chain Project Management

Andreas Scherer


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Info

Level of TOC knowledge acquired:

Introductory

Length:

250 pages

Designed for:

Academics, Business owners, Consultants, Executives, Implementers and Project Managers

Topics:

Project Management

Application:

Critical Chain

Language:

English

Format:

Download and Hardcover

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Synopsis: Mike Knight learns that his eight-year-old son Tim has a rare form of brain cancer. He makes the agonizing decision to quit his job and go to work for Altus Labs, a pharmaceutical company developing a possible treatment. Mike is in for the challenge of his life as he races against time to implement Critical Chain Project Management at Altus Labs.

Critical Chain Project Management is an enterprise solution that incorporates methodology and software tools to help organizations move to a relay-race “faster and better” paradigm. Companies that implement the Critical Chain approach routinely experience off-the-chart returns on investment.

Dr. Andreas Scherer is General Manager and EVP of ProChain Solutions, Inc. He has held several senior executive positions, including managing large businesses at AOL and Netscape. He is the author of three books and numerous international publications.

Click here to read a sample.

Three simple concepts at the heart of Critical Chain

  • Sound project planning

  • Disciplined execution of key tasks

  • Focused work that lets your people get the job done

The story is fiction. There is no Mike Knight and there is no Altus Labs. But the details in their story are taken from my experiences implementing the Critical Chain in companies all over the world.

Be Fast or Be Gone shows you how these simple principles are applied on an individual project and throughout an organization. It shows you what happens when the principles aren’t in place, and it shows you how fast change can happen when they are. It shows you how you can leverage Critical Chain in your efforts to continuously get better and more competitive. It shows you the way to become a market leader.

Three simple concepts at the heart of Critical Chain

  • Sound project planning
  • Disciplined execution of key tasks
  • Focused work that lets your people get the job done

The story is fiction. There is no Mike Knight and there is no Altus Labs. But the details in their story are taken from my experiences implementing the Critical Chain in companies all over the world.

Be Fast or Be Gone shows you how these simple principles are applied on an individual project and throughout an organization. It shows you what happens when the principles aren’t in place, and it shows you how fast change can happen when they are. It shows you how you can leverage Critical Chain in your efforts to continuously get better and more competitive. It shows you the way to become a market leader.

Be Fast or Be Gone is a fascinating treatment of the power of focus, applied to the often complex world of project and strategy management. The answers to increased productivity, though simple, are often subtle and hidden beneath old and accepted practices, requiring an incisive and radically rational viewpoint. Scherer's book (and the ProChain process it reflects) beautifully illumines such a process.

— David Allen, Author, Getting Things Done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Andreas Scherer provides a highly engaging explanation of Critical Chain and describes its application to development projects. Every R&D director should read this book and every project manager should become a Critical Chain expert. Be Fast or Be Gone will open your eyes to the possibilities of realistic schedules and on-time project completion.

— Dr. Steven D. Eppinger, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

Using the principles espoused in Andreas Scherer’s book Be Fast or Be Gone, pharmaceutical companies can substantially shorten their research and development timelines, allowing drugs to be available to patients much more quickly.

— Dr. Hugh Davis, Vice President, Centocor – a Johnson and Johnson company

I found this heartfelt tale to be a grabber. What a powerful way to illuminate that racing the clock is of vital import, not only to a company’s leadership posture, but ultimately to the huge impact it can have on customers’ and patients’ well-being!

— Dr. Fred Wiersema, Customer Strategist and Author, The Discipline of Market Leaders

Be Fast or Be Gone puts "meaning" into accelerating projects. Better yet, it puts METHOD into achieving Dramatic, Reliable Improvements in Speed and content Quality for any project management environment. A gripping , understandable, helpful novel for every person wanting to get things done!

— Professor James R. Holt, Engineering & Technology Management, Washington State University

Riveting. Finally, a book that shows us in a practical and engaging way the real impact project management and Critical Chain concepts can have. This story of a father's quest to save his little boy is extremely real; you will easily identify with the book’s characters. A must read.

— Eric Morfin, Ph.D., PMP; Founder, BioPharmaPM; Partner, Critical Skills Inc.