Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace

The Future of Work #2

by Phil Simon

Winner, 2023 NYC Big Book Award

"A clear-eyed call to reevaluate project-based teams in the days of remote work."
–Publishers Weekly, BookLife review

For decades, organizations of all sizes and in all industries have struggled at managing projects. Even though employees primarily worked together in physical offices, rare was the project that came in on time and on budget and delivered what stakeholders expected.

The M–F/9–5 in-person world of work is gone forever. Depending on the country, more than nine in ten people would rather quit their jobs than return to the office five days per week. Brass tacks: Remote and hybrid workplaces are here to stay, and they pose formidable obstacles that complicate managing projects and launching new products.

Against this backdrop arrives Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace, Phil Simon’s timely and highly anticipated follow-up to his award-winning book Reimagining Collaboration.

In his inimitable style, Simon adeptly fuses critical research and concepts from a slew of diverse and seemingly unrelated fields, including Agile software development, human resources, supply chain management, organizational behavior, cognitive psychology, and labor economics. Brimming with detailed case studies, penetrating insights, and practical advice, Simon’s twelfth book is a tour de force.

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2023

About the author

Phil Simon is a dynamic keynote speaker, world-renowned collaboration and technology authority, and advisor. He is the award-winning author of 14 non-fiction books, most recently The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace.

He consults organizations on communications, collaboration, project management, and technology. His contributions have appeared in The Harvard Business Review, CNN, The New York Times, and many other popular media outlets. He also hosts the podcast Conversations About Collaboration.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phil’s latest is a clear-eyed instruction manual for project management in the hybrid workplace. The advice is common sense, but it adds up to an important set of good behaviors, that, if neglected, will sabotage any project. Full disclosure -- Phil is a friend, and I blurbed the book.

[Ell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace is a useful guide to project management and leadership post the Covid-19 pandemic. We are working more and more in a hybrid workplace and subsequently, best practices have evolved. Phil Simon expertly guides the reader with advice, strategies, and illustrations. Anyone involved in project management will walk away with practical tips that are easy to implement and make the job easier in this ever-evolving work environment.

[Jack Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace

Invaluable Lessons to Succeed and Thrive in the New Future of Work

Simon’s recent publication, “Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace”, provides sage advice to both employers and employees. The timing of this book release is impeccable as this topic is debated daily throughout all business-related media. This book contains a wide breadth and depth of project management topics and incorporates previous research including guidance from his recent book on “Reimaging Collaboration”. Throughout all the subjects covered, I especially appreciated his discussion on project premortems as a proactive business practice to improve successful outcomes in larger, complex project initiatives.

I have had the opportunity to manage and collaborate with global teams over past two decades and appreciate and respect the experiences and guidance that Simon has shared. While I believe that this recent pandemic did not impact my own personal productivity, I do empathize with the impact it has had on younger professionals who have entered the workforce more recently as well as more seasoned employees who may not have been as prepared to work remotely in an all-digital workplace. This book provides valuable lessons for leaders and workers across all experience levels to be successful in our new hybrid business world.

Simon has filled this book with dozens of valuable anecdotes based on his personal experiences from decades in the various positions and disciplines he has held. I also enjoyed his sense of humor and contemporary references that is inserts throughout the chapters. His experience as a project management practitioner, researcher, author, and educator is clearly evident throughout the book.

Bottom line, hybrid work and hybrid workplaces will continue to be the new norm for the majority of us in professional roles in this new future of work as will the relevant guidance that Simon has shared in “Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace”.

[Nix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace by Phil Simon is the book I wish all old-school managers were given and forced to read, to open their eyes and make them move away from the mindset that it's impossible for anyone to do a good job if they are not sat at a desk in the office where said manager can see them.

The book is split into three parts. The first part takes us through the massive forced changes that happened to many workplaces since the pandemic rocked the world and how this has fundamentally changed the way we run projects. The second part provides a whistle stop tour of the world of project management; a good introduction for the beginner or a refresher for the more experienced. In the third part, which for me couldn't come soon enough, we get the key part of the book - how to run projects successfully in a hybrid / remote workplace and what traps to look out for.

Technology is a must in a hybrid work place, and it's crucial that everyone is agreeing on which tools to use and that they are able to use the agreed tools properly. Structured, company led (and paid for) training during work hours is key.

I thoroughly enjoyed the section on pre-morten (yes PRE, as in BEFORE the project starts!). Plan for the worst, but hope for the best. Having a good think about what can go wrong and what to do when it does, or even what to do so it doesn't even happen. Unpicking the problem backwards.

I also liked Simon's section on the importance of writing in a hybrid organisation. Without being able to express ourselves clearly in writing, it'll be challenging to communicate in a hybrid world (unless we want to do TikToks instead of Slack messages....).

All in all a fab book! I thoroughly recommend that you get one for yourself, and one for your manager!

[Daniel W. Teachey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for anyone working with a far-flung staff in the modern work environment. I've read several of Simon's books thus far, and he consistently is able to link business trends to the larger world around it. In this book, he takes it to another level by explaining how project management is changing due to more work-from-home and hybrid work environments.

This book hit me at the perfect time. I started working from home full time in January 2022 after a couple of decades as an office-based employee (even returning to the office in September 2020). I needed strategies and tips for how to work on complex projects in this new environment, and Simon's book provided spot-on advice that I'm integrating each day. The writing is sharp, the advice is timely and the pop culture examples keep you interested throughout the book.

[Adriyana Grotseva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected some advices for working hybrid that aren’t common sense or I haven’t read already. It was more brief high-level tips than deep dive on actual process of remote project management. The stats and data is based on the author’s personal consulting experience and his friends so it is very skewed, eg on one place where he gave data that he based the insight on only 48 PMs! The book goes over briefly multiple topics: that the “new” work has changed mainly due to Corona and went online, the uncertainty of going back to office, working hours, creating relationships and social capital remotely, issues and benefits of the many new software tools different companies and people use and the challenges of juggling them all, project premortem and why is it needed, conducting a project pilot and when should it be done, the need to provide formal employee training on the used applications, to institutionalize clear employee writing across the company, to embrace analytics used throughout the work and company, reconsider employee evaluations and rewards. I think the book can be useful for junior PMs or older people, who aren’t used in learning easily new tech. The main good points for me from the book are:

Goal - a process of ongoing improvement.
Theory of constraints - the quality is constrained by scope, cost and time.
Parkinson’s law - work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
PMO (project management office) sets, maintains and ensures standards for project management across that organization. They are the keepers of best practices, project status and direction.
Get everyone together at the start of a project (especially a hybrid one) - it is difficult to build trust and capital, especially when you haven’t met someone.
Before implementing a new tech tool, get feedback and approval on it from your tech team.
Premortems (prelaunch risk analysis) help avert project failure. Some common human fallacies: view circumstances overly positive, overstate our own attributes and associated skill levels (anyone driving slower than you is an idiot and driving faster than us is a maniac, the Lake Wobegon), attribute our success to skill and hard work and failure to bad luck and we do the opposite for others (this is fundamental attribution error), set unrealistic timeframes, exude overconfidence in our ability to predict the future. Few ideas to convince others to do a premortem: quantify the scenario (eg assume that the project has 15-20% chance of failure and multiple it by the project cost, calculate the team salary for the few days spent to do the premortem and compare it to the project risk), the greater the size and complexity of a project, the greater the need for a proper project premortem.
For large organizations, complex projects, cutting edge tech, team unfamiliarity with the project or they are hybrid or remote, there is a higher need for a pilot project. Best is to view a pilot project as an informative litmus test - if it disappoints or the team struggles why would you expect the proper project would succeed.
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

[Kimberly H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I teach an internal class on project management at my organization, and this book shoots to the top of my recommendations for further reading list. Here’s why: Simon includes a quick but necessary tour around many of the multidisciplinary forces that are in play (e.g., channel expansion theory, cognitive bias, human capital management, supply chain management, PMBOK, and more) before he sets the stage for what will make projects managed in hybrid workplaces successful. He is no Pollyanna: he calls out that remote/hybrid environments can make things more difficult and acknowledges that we are still in a post-COVID work flux with employee expectations and employer requirements still being written. And it’s also not dry: it is full of anecdotes from multiple industries, pop culture references (any aficionado of Mad Men is a friend of mine), and the author’s own battle wounds told to you as if you were having a conversation over a drink.

I knew that the book would include practical applications, and it certainly covers the gamut of them in Part III. Having read Reimagining Collaboration, I knew that Simon promoted training as a key way to effect change and in Hybrid Project Management, he devotes an entire chapter to the subject: to maximize applications designed to make managing projects easier, there must be ample and adequate resources devoted to teaching managers and teams how to use them correctly, else you introduce more risk to the project. (As a learning and development director, let me add my thanks, Phil! You just gave my 2023 training budget request more oomph!). Of course, he includes success factors like analytics and pilots, but he also speaks to the need for excellent writing skills, and by association, writing training, and my heart grew even more.

While there’s nothing revolutionary here, the author’s assemblage of recommendations supported by theory and recent data make this playbook a timely, valuable read for any project manager.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Project Management in the hybrid workplace by Phil Simon is an exceptional book. There are many different project management books that provide either very narrow advice or advise so broad as to be too general to apply effectively.

Simon makes a point of anchoring his advice in the very real changes the workplace has undergone in last several years. Containing an analysis of how the workplace has fundamentally changed, an overview of project management as a discipline, and specific advice on how to run a project successfully in a hybrid or remote workplace. Supported by many charts and visual aids, Id put this book as a must read.

A particularly interesting thing to me was the importance of being clear and communicating well in writing in a hybrid environment. I have noted this in my own day to day responsibilities. Also of particular value was the idea of holding a pre-mortem. I've often heard them referred to as project kick-off meetings, but there is a tendency to Glide right on past the the idea that the project might fail. there is an extreme amount of value in just theory crafting possible outcomes. I also found the notes on training particularly relevant as I've recently struggled in a new position we're training in the environment was very unstructured. Finally I enjoyed the refreshingly Frank writing style and clear-eyed analysis of the work environment in the United States.

I'd recommend this for anybody who is struggling to adapt to the new hybrid and remote styles of working, it may very well help you more than you know. Its advice is timely, and the book is full of good humor, as well as a clarity of both employer and employee needs.

[The Keepers of the Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many years, workplaces have struggled with keeping projects on time, on budget, and within scope. Now, with more and more people working from home, the typical solution of co-located everyone is not plausible. With such, team building, quick catch-ups around the water cooler, and face-to-face reminders of project deadlines are much harder to establish virtually. In this books, Phil Simon gives invaluable advice, anecdotes, and relevant research to today’s complex working environments. He covers communication, managing stakeholders, and other elements of project management.

Award-winning narrator, Gary Bennett brings his passion and expertise to his narration. His narrative pace matches well with Phil Simon’s writing style. Information is helpful and engaging. Advice and research provided is relevant, helpful, and has some original insights. Those who are just starting project management or are experienced managers needing a refresher will find this book helpful.

Please Note: A copy of the audiobook was given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are our own. No other compensation was received.

[Katherine Kendig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful points in here about paying attention to both the tools we use and the training necessary for people to truly use those tools well, and a refreshingly frank examination of the work environment in the US, but I don't know if this needed or deserved to be a full book. A lot of it felt like college-essay filler stretching the page count by repeating the same thing in different ways. The writing style was also a bit rocky, with quick transitions that weren't quite intuitive, and I'm pretty sure some of the (generic, largely unnecessary) graphs showed the opposite of what they were supposed to.

[Gaëlle Batot · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is really easy to read and entertaining. I am a digger for pop culture references so I really enjoyed that. But overall, I feel like a lot of project management are stating the obvious, make you think but are not actionable. In this case, I started to implement things I read before I finished the book, and I am actively thinking on how to implement others. Get me really motivated to read Phil Simon's previous book: Reimagining Collaboration.

[Angel Lemke]

More about the hybrid workplace & related employment trends than project management in particular, but still worth the time. Provides a lot of food for thought about what markers to use when assessing the health of your company culture.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace by Phil Simon is a great read for those of us managing projects and people in the hybrid workplace. Phil writes in a no nonsense conversational tone with a little snark thrown in.
The book has three sections. Section one provides an overview of the massive changes (you might skim this if you feel you have lived it and know it already). Section two covers an overview of project management and the effects of the hybrid workstyle on it. Section three is what you have been waiting for. It provides recommendations to make your projects more successful in this new hybrid workplace.
Some of my favorite parts of the book were the graphs that the author includes.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you're preparing to start a project, everybody is excited and can sometimes gloss over the red flags that show up when selecting partners to work with on the project. Phil does a great job of pointing out the potential landmines that can be waiting in the weeds. He does this with a healthy dose of storytelling from the good, bad, and ugly projects he's worked on (and walked away from) in his career.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before getting into my review, a few of the major takeaways from Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace:

1. Hybrid workplaces are a new reality, and project managers must be able to navigate this new environment.

2. Technology can help project managers stay organized, collaborate, and keep track of tasks and progress.

3. The importance of communication and collaboration cannot be overstated — it’s key to the success of a project.

4. It’s important to consider the human element of projects, including employees’ comfort level with technology, their ability to adjust to change, and their ability to stay motivated and productive.

5. Project managers should focus on staying agile and being able to pivot quickly in response to changes in the workplace.

While I think those are all reasonable high-level takeaways, they aren't anything you haven't heard before, and I did not particularly care for the book itself. The first third of the book (90+ pages) walks you through why people want to work remotely. It's useful only in setting some foundation for why you might engage in particular hybrid management practices over others. But you could probably just skip past those chapters.

Chapter 4 of Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace is where you get into the substance of what you thought you were going to get when you first opened the book. But it never really came together for me, jumping from topic to topic, throwing random tips and examples in that are loosely tied to the content near them. I was waiting for an "Aha!" moment that never came.

The last few chapters offer a few interesting recommendations, though they don't feel tethered to 'hybrid' specifically.
- Offer employees formal training for internal applications
- Make 'clear writing' a company-wide practice
- Reconsider how employees are evaluated & rewarded

There probably are people out there who would benefit from this book, but I am not one of them.

[Lane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seems like this book was quickly written to take advantage of the times, without any actual meaningful insights or novel concepts.

[Jie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than few paragraphs about techy tools, nothing too new.