Competitive Advantage of Common Sense, The: Using the Power You Already Have

Smart businesspeople do dumb things. Why? They forget to apply the same common sense that works for them when they're not at work. In The Competitive Advantage of Common Sense, leading project management consultant Fergus O'Connell identifies seven "common sense" principles for becoming dramatically more effective. As O'Connell points out, even the most difficult business problems often have simple causes -- and simple solutions. O'Connell shows how those sometimes surprising solutions flow naturally from simple common sense. From project estimating to working with technical specialists, improving meetings to reducing interruptions, he presents simple ideas simplyand shows simple ways to apply them. Taken together, these "simple" ideas give you a powerful arsenal for overcoming virtually any business challenge.

Fergus O'Connell is the founder of ETP

Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
1. Many Things Are Simple.
Questions. Answers. Scores. The Idea. The Problem of Overly Complex. The Design of Computer Systems. Tool. Examples. Example 1: Running a Successful Business. Example 2: Marketing. Example 3: Lateral Thinking. So What Should You Do? References.

2. Know What You're Trying to Do.
Questions. Answers. Scores. The Idea. Tools. Understand What You're Trying to Do. Know If What You're Trying to Do Is What Everyone Wants. Know If What You're Trying to Do Has Changed. Visualization. Examples. Example 4: Figuring Out What You've Been Asked to Do. Example 5: Meetings (Part 1). Example 6: Setting Goals. Example 7: Looking for Simple Causes. So What Should You Do? References.

3. There Is Always a Sequence of Events.
Questions. Answers. Scores. The Idea. Tools. Make the Journey in Your Head. Do It in as Much Detail as Possible. Use Knowledge and Assumptions. Count the Bricks in the Wall. There Always Has to be Another Way. Record What Actually Happens. Look for Connections. Examples. Example 8: Estimating. Example 9: Meetings (Part 2). Example 10: Dealing with Lots of Things and Prioritizing. Example 11: Speeding Things Up. Example 12: Dealing with Specialists. Example 13: Problem Solving. Example 14: Discussions That Lead Nowhere. So What Should You Do? References.

4. Things Don't Get Done If People Don't Do Them.
Questions. Answers. Scores. The Idea. Tools. Make Sure Every Job Has Somebody to Do It. Dance Cards. Maximizing the Strengths of the Team. The Strip Board. Examples. Example 15: Getting a Life (Part 1). Example 16: Getting a Life (Part 2). Example 17: Aligning Goals or Objectives. Example 18: Ensuring a Project or Endeavor Gets Done. Example 19: Ensuring That Your Organization Delivers on Its Commitments. Example 20: Coping with Interruptions. Example 21: Managing in Recessionary Times. So What Should You Do? References.

5. Things Rarely Turn Out As Expected.
Questions. Answers. Scores. The Idea. Tools. Contingency. Risk Management. Examples. Example 22: Getting Your Way with the Boss. Example 23: Risk Analysis for a Company's Business Plan. So What Should You Do? References.

6. Things Either Are or They Aren't.
Questions. Answers. Scores. The Idea. Tools. How Are We Doing? Are Things Better or Worse? Examples. Example 24: Monitoring Progress. Example 25: Reducing Stress (Part 1). Example 26: Reducing Stress (Part 2). Example 27: Problem Solving Revisited. So What Should You Do? References.

7. Look at Things from Others' Points of View.
Questions. Answers. Scores. The Idea. Tools. Put Yourself in Their Shoes. Maximize the Win Conditions of the Stakeholders. Examples. Example 28: Meetings Revisited. Example 29: Doing the Right Project. Example 30: Status Reporting. Example 31: Marketing Revisited. Example 32: Planning and Executing a Project. Example 33: Common-Sense Time Management. Example 34: More Stress-Management Techniques. Example 35: Assessing Things-Projects and Project Plans. Example 36: Seeing Versus Noticing. Example 37: Mind Mapping Common Sense. Example 38: Gut Feel. Example 39: Build a Fast-Growing Company. Example 40: Negotiation. Example 41: Presentations. Example 42: Common-Sense Selling. So What Should You Do? References.

Afterword.
Bibliography.
Index.