PREFACE

Sometime in 1991 a student in one of my project management seminars asked, “Have you ever thought about writing a book on this topic?” I had, but since 1981 I had been traveling around the world teaching the subject and related topics such as leadership skills, and writing a book just hadn’t been on my radar.

The idea did appeal to me, however, so I wrote short letters to three publishers that I found in Writer’s Digest and waited. In less than a week I received a call from Pamela van Geissen, who was an acquisitions editor at Probus Publishing in Chicago. She was interested in the book and wondered if I ever made it to Chicago.

If you believe in synchronicity—and perhaps if you don’t—this will rock your boat. “I’ll be up there next week,” I said.

It was definitely a sign. I seldom worked in Chicago, but the next week I was in Pamela’s office and within an hour had signed an agreement to write the book. It was only about an inch thick in the first edition, with a purple cover, which I told Pamela was often the favorite color of mental patients, so I was uncertain if that was a negative sign. As it turns out, it was anything but negative.

The little purple book did remarkably well in the market. Project management was just coming into its own, and for a while it was recommended by PMI as a study guide for the PMP^® exam. Then Pamela asked if I could do some more books, and The Project Manager’s Desk Reference and Mastering Project Management were to follow. I also proposed a book on project teams, but Pamela felt that Probus may not be able to sell it, so she referred me to an editor at AMACOM, who agreed to publish it—and Team-Based Project Management joined the lineup.

As is true of small companies, Probus caught the eye of someone at Irwin Professional Publishing, and they bought the company. I was now working with a much larger company, but the ride didn’t slow down. Irwin was later bought by McGraw Hill, and now I was with a behemoth of a company. They had my second or third edition translated into Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Lithuanian. My book Project Leadership was also translated into Russian. I’m not sure if Vladimir Putin read it, and I hope not, as he didn’t learn much from me if he did.

So now I am getting ready to send the manuscript of the sixth edition to my editor, Judith Newlin, at McGraw Hill. Thirty years ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed the little purple book would stand the test of time, surviving several recessions, a global pandemic, and an abundance of other books on project management.

I am grateful to all of my readers and students. I posted a copy of the fifth edition cover on LinkedIn last year and had over 6,000 views of it—more than any other post I’ve made.

And I’m grateful to the folks at McGraw Hill for supporting me all these years. I was in New York the day before 9/11 and flew out making a big circle around the city. It was a beautiful view of the city and the Twin Towers, and the next day my wife called me at my office and told me to turn on the TV. I watched in horror as the plane hit the second tower and immediately thought of everyone I knew at McGraw Hill and some in the Twin Towers as well. Sadly, I never learned the fate of those in the World Trade Center, but happily the folks at MH were fine.

I’ve dedicated this edition to the memory of my parents. My father had only an eighth-grade education and was ambitious enough to climb out of the cotton mills and learn to drive an 18-wheeler. My mom finished high school and worked as a seamstress her entire adult life. I hardly ever saw her without a crochet needle in one hand and a book in the other.

And since I’m on memory lane, I should mention that a fellow named Kenneth Suther, who had learned electronics in the navy, gave me a start into ham radio, which led to the career in electrical engineering. I will be forever grateful to him for the encouragement he gave me. For 15 years I fulfilled a dream of designing the equipment that I couldn’t afford to buy at age 16 when I became K4SAM.

All that childhood experience led to two careers—engineering and teaching—and a life I never dreamed of. I have taught in 30 countries, with more than 60,000 people attending my classes. I got to circle the globe twice, visiting my exchange student “daughters” and their families, and I have friends all over the world. As they say, who knew?

Fairview, North Carolina (near Asheville)

March 22, 2022

James Palmer Lewis

Jim to my friends