Project management is a people problem (and this book gets that)

I’ve known Stuart Taylor professionally for a while now—mostly through LinkedIn, a few Zoom calls, and some video collaborations—and I’ve always liked how he talks about project management and the PMO. It feels grounded in reality, not theory, which is rarer than it should be in this industry. So when he told me he was publishing Becoming the Project Manager, I was genuinely excited to read it.

I’ve been working through it in between edits on my own book, which means I’ve been dipping in and out instead of reading it straight through. That actually works really well for this format. The chapters are short, sharp, and easy to pick up when you have a few minutes, and each one lands a point without dragging you through pages of filler.

What hit me right away is how aligned Stuart’s perspective is with how I think about project management, and honestly, how I’ve been writing about it recently—especially around human-centered project management and the idea of the accidental PM. But what's incredibly different and exciting about this book is the point of view. It's direct and honest, almost like reading a diary or a first-hand account of the career of a PM.

This book lives in that space.

A few things really stood out to me:

First, the focus on what happens between the process. Stuart literally dedicates part of the book to this idea, and it shows up throughout. The work isn’t the plan, the template, or the methodology. It’s everything that happens around it. It’s the conversations, the judgment calls, the uncomfortable moments, and the constant adjustment required to get people moving in the same direction.

Second, the honesty about early mistakes. There’s no attempt to clean this up or make it look polished. You see the over-reliance on process, the misunderstandings about authority, and the slow realization that knowing the “right” way to do something doesn’t mean anyone is going to follow you. That whole arc—from naïve execution to something closer to confidence—is where most project managers actually live, whether they admit it or not.

And third, the emphasis on people as the thing that actually moves work forward. There’s a line early in the book that basically says projects don’t move because a plan exists—they move when people decide to act. That thread runs through everything, from stakeholder management to leadership to influence, and it’s the part of the job that no certification really prepares you for.

All of this ties really closely to how I’ve been talking about accidental project managers—people who land in this role without a clear path, without formal training, and are expected to just figure it out in real time. Stuart captures that experience perfectly. The uncertainty, the pressure, the feeling that you’re supposed to know more than you do—it’s all in here, and it’s handled in a way that feels honest. I could see myself in a lot of the scenarios Stuart documented.

If you’re early in your career, this book is going to feel like someone finally explaining what’s actually happening around you. If you’ve been doing this for a while, it’s going to feel familiar in a slightly uncomfortable way. You’ll recognize the mistakes, the growth, and probably a few habits you never quite fixed.

Either way, it’s a really solid contribution to the conversation around project management, especially if you care about the human side of the work.

Stuart, you nailed this.

TL;DR - Stuart Taylor’s book captures what it actually feels like to be a project manager—the messy, human, figure-it-out-as-you-go reality. If you’re new to the role, it will prepare you. If you’ve been doing it for years, it will feel very familiar.