Projects On Purpose 2.0

by Mark Steele

Do you want your project to succeed? This book provides the insights and tools you need. It explains why modern project management, largely focused on project controls, is not enough to make your project successful. You need the systems thinking approach to project management described here.This revised and expanded second edition includes all the guidance you need to design your project from the ground up to be successful – to ensure that your team is “on purpose” and that you accomplish that purpose! WHAT READERS ARE SAYING! It’s tragic how so many good projects fail, and for the wrong reasons, even when one “checks all of the project management boxes.” Mark Steele reveals the flaws that bring projects down and prescribes a systemic approach that aligns purposes, resulting in projects designed for success. Read this book to incorporate the many nuggets of wisdom into your project practices. It could make the difference between failing and thriving!
Jason Magidson, PhD
Author, Creating a Great Organization through Extraordinary Employee and User Engagement Projects on Purpose is the go-to roadmap for project success. Any complex endeavor can benefit from these clear principles, synthesized in a way that helps the reader to lead challenging projects. Whether a new product launch, construction project, or technology innovation, these takeaways are applicable across the board. Mark Steele takes his wealth of knowledge and distills it down to what really matters.
Rachel Elias Wein
Founder and President, WeinPlus A refreshing take on the Projected Management discipline. Reminiscent of my military past life - “Mission First – People Always”. Mark succinctly explains that without Purpose, this temporary project organization will be destined to fall into the trap of allowing PM tools to drive the project without looking at the project in a holistic manner. My copy is dog-eared and underlined and will be a must-read gift to the emerging leaders in my organization.
William Graf
Partner in Engineering Firm Innovative. Well-presented. This work is a daring re-imagination of project management based on a deep understanding of systems thinking and decades of project experience.
John Pourdehnad, PhD
University of Pennsylvania Mark Steele offers a clear path to accomplishing difficult tasks and increasing the possibility of project success.”
Phyllis Haynes
Award-Winning Video Producer and Journalist As a 20-year Vet in the construction industry, I've seen many, many projects go sideways, and, in some cases, reverse. Almost all of those can be attributable to failures in communication and process. Mark's book is a crisp read on how to build a foundation for success. Practitioners should pick this up!!
Stephen Titus I've been in the project management field for many years, and I've trained project managers in all industries. Mark's book has made me think about projects differently. For example, his definition of ‘project’ doesn't focus just on the deliverable; it puts the people front and center. So many studies on project management have found that it's the people and how they communicate that can make or break a project. Common sense but not commonly applied. I hope that people from all fields will embrace Mark's suggestions.
Ann Tomalavage, PE, PMP
Project Management Consultant and Educator
About the Author Mark D. Steele, PE, is a project management consultant with over 30 years of experience across a range of project types and industries including construction, product development, manufacturing, software, and information technology. He holds a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a MS from Villanova University.

269 pages, Paperback

Published February 16, 2019

About the author

Mark is the Founder, President, and Executive Creative of Steelehouse Productions. Mark is also a well-known author, speaker, comedian, and film writer/director. Mark graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1991 with a degree in Drama, Television, and Film Telecommunications. He then spent the next seven years as a writer and director at Impact Productions. In 1998, Mark launched Steelehouse Productions with his longtime friend and associate Kevin Anderson.

Mark also has a long-standing history of stand-up comedy and performance in both stage and film as well as producing and directing film projects for both the corporate and artistic worlds. He speaks regularly at media and artistic conferences and events across America.

Mark has written several books incorporating humorous stories from his personal life while weaving in spiritual truths. Flashbang, Half-Life/Die Already, and Christianish have been released to great commercial success and overwhelmingly positive reviews. Mark also writes extensively for VeggieTales in his role as Chief of Creative Affairs for Big Idea Entertainment, Inc.

Tulsa World Review: Flashbang
Crosswalk Review: Christianish

He is a frequent contributor to Relevant magazine and Collide magazine, and recently retired from creating and producing the Steelehouse Podcast weekly with friend and fellow director Jeff Huston.

Relevant Magazine: “Gnashville”
Relevant Magazine: “Who Is Really Lost?”
Collide Magazine: “Rough Edit”

Mark’s next book is his first collection of fictional short stories entitled “Ounce of God” (2012).

Reviews

[Allan Ashinoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, in spite of my occupation I generally do not read project management books or any business strategy related books for that matter. Having read though this ebook I have to admit there was an abundance of information provided by someone who has obvious first hand experience. A matter of scale, the numbers involved didn't directly align with my reality. Even so, there were many take-away's, nuggets of wisdom, presented in such a way as to cause a reevaluation to how I approach my own projects and people. Large firm or small, this book can offer wisdom to help avoid some common pitfalls to all project managers and consultants. Impressive.

[Danny Barulli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book and a reminder on project management principles. Worth reading when you're stuck. The chapters are short. Steele has a lot of good stories form his 30 years of experience. Most enjoyable.