If you want to learn project management, here are some good starting books to read

 No one really starts in school with project management in mind as a career path, so many PMs end up as transfers from other career starting points such as majors in science, business, marketing, finance, etc.  So I get asked a lot what books to recommend for people starting out in the PM field or interested in advancing their basic PM skills.

Some books I find that I continue to recommend again and again are:

1. "The Project Management Body of Knowledge" by Project Management Institute (PMI)
2. "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)" by Project Management Institute (PMI)
3. "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" by David Allen
4. "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
5. "The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses" by Eric Ries
6. "Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time" by Jeff Sutherland
7. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change" by Stephen Covey
8. "The One Minute Manager" by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
9. "Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2" by AXELOS
10. "Critical Chain" by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

These books cover a wide range of topics in project management, from the basics of project management methodologies and processes (particularly 1, 2, and 9 above) to specific techniques for increasing productivity and managing stakeholders. I think 3, 4, and 7 are great reads for any business person and are applicable far beyond project management.

What are the best project management software solutions?

I get asked a lot what the best PM software solutions are there to use. There are many project management software tools available in the market, each with its own unique features and benefits. Here are some of the most popular and highly recommended project management tools:

1. Trello: Trello is a visual collaboration tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to organize and prioritize tasks. It is easy to use and highly customizable, making it a popular choice for teams of all sizes.

2. Asana: Asana is a web and mobile application designed to help teams track and manage their work. It offers features such as task management, project management, collaboration, and reporting.

3. Jira: Jira is a popular project management tool that is often used by software development teams. It includes features such as issue tracking, project management, agile boards, and reporting.

4. Basecamp: Basecamp is an all-in-one project management tool that includes features such as task management, team communication, and file sharing. It is designed to be easy to use and highly customizable.

5. Microsoft Project: Microsoft Project is a comprehensive project management tool that offers features such as task scheduling, resource allocation, and budget tracking. It is often used by large organizations and project management professionals.

6. Monday.com: Monday.com is a visual project management tool that uses boards, timelines, and calendars to help teams track and manage their work. It offers features such as task management, team collaboration, and reporting.

Ultimately, the best project management tool for you and your team will depend on your specific needs and preferences. It's important to research and compare different tools before making a decision. Fortunately, some of those listed above have free trial options so make sure to take advantage of several if you can and stick with the one that works best for you.

You can easily find these project management tools by searching their names on any search engine or by going to their respective websites.

Here are the websites for the project management tools I mentioned at the time of writing:

1. Trello: https://trello.com/
2. Asana: https://asana.com/
3. Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
4. Basecamp: https://basecamp.com/
5. Microsoft Project: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/project/project-management-software
6. Monday.com: https://monday.com/

Always be searching for Positive Optionality in Life, Business, and Investing

Take action in your life (career, relationships, investing) that are highly skewed in favor of positive expected outcomes for you relative to negative expected outcomes

Key questions to ask in each situation:

What is the upside (positive) benefit if I am right?

•  be careful to avoid overoptimism bias
• Great reads:
• Misbehaving by Richard Thaler
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb's risk management "trilogy"
• Fooled by Randomness
• Black Swan
• Antifragile

What is the downside (negative) affect if I am wrong?

•     be careful to never take a risk that will "end the game" for you if you lose (physically, emotionally, financially)
• Great read for entrepreneurs: Great by Choice by Jim Collins (especially recommend the chapter on "Luck")
• Great read for investors: Unknown Market Wizards by Jack Swagger (highly recommend the his other Market Wizards books, as well)
•     make sure to check your assumptions (What am I missing?  What am I not seeing?)
• Great read for entrepreneurs: The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham

What are the probabilities that I'm right/wrong?

• avoid confirmation bias (only seeing/believing evidence that supports what you want to believe)
• use base case assumptions to level set your expectations
• great read: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Adjust your assumptions to avoid overconfidence and uncertainty risk to your assumptions
• recommendation: Learn about the "Kelly Criterion" and the method that many gamblers/investors recommend of betting "half kelly"

What is my decision/choice?

• Take those actions that have a large skew (preferably 2x or greater) of positive expected value versus negative expected value
• remember that "expected value" is the product of multiplying the probability X outcome.  Yes, a winning lottery ticket has a very high positive outcome, but it's expected value is very low when you multiply the outcome by it's probability of occurrence.
• Minimize the negative expected value
• in investing, this could be done by placing a "stop loss" order or buying an option rather than the stock itself.
• in business, this could be buying insurance (e.g., worker's compensation, fire, life, etc.)
• Size your commitment/investment according to the level of positive optionality
• Investment example: if you are buying 2 stocks and one has a high likelihood of tripling in five years while the other has a chance of doubling, you would better off investing more in the one more likely to triple rather than equal weighting them in your portfolio.  This seems obvious, but is very often not done as investors sometimes seek too much diversification in their portfolio
• Great investors to learn from regarding this:
• George Soros
• Stanley Druckenmiller
• Charlie Munger
• Great read: Charlie Munger by Trents Griffin
• Career example: If you have 2 side hobbies with one that keeps you entertained (e.g., playing a sport) while the other is something that you'd like to become a second career that could provide you with greater long term happiness, you should probably be allocating much more of your available time towards the career-changing opportunity.
• Good read: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy