The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook

Additional Praise for The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook

 

The ubiquitous issue of “Too much work and not enough good people,” echoes in the halls of every company I’ve worked with. As a conversational expert, I see that one of the things organizational leaders have difficulty conversing about is how to make the most effective use of their limited people resources. There are lots of leadership books, scores of Human Resources books, and plenty of project and portfolio management books. This is the first book dedicated to what is essentially the drivetrain of organizations—the effective use of its people toward its most important activities. Jerry Manas wisely looks at this issue from multiple perspectives, yet offers a simple model called The Capacity Quadrant that will likely end up being the “Balanced Scorecard” of managing organizational resource capacity. This is his best and most ambitious book yet—taking a big subject and making it practical and instantly applicable in all sized companies.

– Judith E. Glaser, CEO, Benchmark Communications, Inc. & Chairman of The Creating WE Institute; author of 7 books including her newest best seller – Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results; Bibliomotion (Oct., 2013)

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“Doing more with less” used to be an aspirational statement in most businesses. Today it often means “Do the best you can after the recent layoffs.” Jerry’s book and The Capacity Quadrant model he outlines gives you a realistic view of your workforce and an approach to maximizing the “people power” in your organization that’s easy to understand and apply. It could very well help transform your company and make you a hero in the process!

– Dave Garrett, President & CEO, ProjectManagement.com

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Jerry Manas is a well-known project management author with a passion for learning from history, as evident by his bestselling book, Napoleon on Project Management. Now he is off on a different crusade—the art of matching supply and demand in project management where the essential commodity is “people”. But this is not a simple equation. Not only is it a question of competent management but it is also a veritable minefield. That’s because, unlike lifeless products, people skills and capacity are difficult to measure, vary widely between “good” days and “bad” days, and may or may not measure up to the requirements for developing the project’s particular product. And we have not even mentioned office politics, the constant internal fight for “resources” on demand, the failure to engage key stakeholders in developing the right solution, and moving targets! Author Jerry Manas steps nimbly through this minefield with solid evidence and practical advice—all laced together in an easy-to-read style and light-hearted humor.

– R. Max Wideman FCSCE, FEIC, FICE, FPMI, www.maxwideman.com

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It didn’t take me too long into reading when I realized how much we really needed this book.  It’s a great reference and I wish we would have had it when we started implementing Resource Capacity Planning and Investment Planning. I will make sure that all of my staff have copies of this book for reference as we move forward in our journey.

– Gary Merrifield, PMP, Manager, IT Project Delivery and Quality Assurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana

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A great guide to the most important topic in management: how to maximize your limited people resources. Key takeaways, proven strategies, tips based on Jerry’s experience, and lessons from real life business examples are the recipe for a great handbook you can put to use in your day-to-day challenges trying to prioritize work and leverage scarce resources.

– Hans Heuschkel, Senior Business Intelligence Analyst/Project Manager, Swiss insurance company

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In The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook, Manas does a masterful job of unveiling and dissecting the dynamics at play in both the people and process sides of resource management.  He demystifies the complexities of capacity and demand management without over-simplifying the approach, and the Capacity Quadrant Manas defines is a powerful framework that any organization can use “to maximize its limited resources toward the most value-producing work.

– Lisa Forsyth, Senior Manager, Smashing Ideas

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Being in middle management in the healthcare industry and wrestling with resource issues, this book piqued my interest greatly. I found myself taking copious notes on areas I could use right away in my managerial role. I especially enjoyed the more colorful explanations and examples and the various quotations throughout, which made for an entertaining, as well as informative read. Wisely, the book doesn’t overlook the importance of the human side of resource management. So often, people are viewed as machines that are meant to produce. If the human side is erased, how can we as managers believe that anyone can be successful? The book drives that home and offers excellent tips for creating a productive environment, even with scarce resources. I also appreciate that the book’s valuable pointers are broken out in bite size pieces, which makes it more attainable for me to implement. All in all, a highly recommended book on a long elusive topic.

– Cindy Copeland, Remote Coding Manager for Acute Care Facilities and Coding Vendor Support