"I always find this amusing: the parlor game of equating history with Project Management. It is rather ironic that great leaders did not need the PMBOK, PMI, etc. Lesson learned: If people just learned and lived good management principles, we would not need this overengineered garbage."
Joseph Ingemi
Executive Consultant for Price Systems in Mt. Laurel, NJ
"One thing that struck me while reading this series is how the very nature of a leader and his relationship with his team (or country in this case) can override or overcome the facts. In essence, England was in no better shape the week after Churchill took over than the week before (the news had only gotten worse). But they rallied around a credible, confident, and stirring leader. The work to be done and pending hardships were the same with Chamberlain or Churchill, but it’s amazing how much you can endure and what you will do when you like and believe in who you’re working with or under."
"The most amazing aspect of the situation faced by Churchill was that both the French and the Germans were following strategic plans developed before World War I! The German attack plan, which I believe was known as the Von Schliefen Plan, called for the German army to hold the French attention along the Maginot Line (a series of massive static fortresses and fortified lines) while rapidly advancing through the Netherlands and Belgium to attack France's vulnerable back side. The Germans lacked the mobility in WWI to properly execute this plan, a shortcoming they were able to rectify prior to WWII. The French Plan? Hide behind fixed fortifications and depend upon the Dutch and Belgians to hold the right flank. It worked for the Great War. The difference? As the author pointed out in Chapters 3 & 4, technology changed the implementation of the project plans"
