“Commitment. Novel about managing project risk”by Olav Maassen, Chris Matts and Chris Geary
Olav Maassen, Chris Matts and Chris Geary have done a wonderful job with bringing “Commitment. Novel about managing project risk” to our bookshelves ?. In the June episode, you’ll not only hear the book review but also Justyna’s and Paul’s stories about applying real options in life. It’s time to make a commitment to our podcast and spend the next 49 minutes with us⬇️.
In the second part of this podcast, our hosts have prepared a list of questions for the authors. For the first time ever, three authors of a book have joined for this month’s podcast!
About the book
Improve your decision making. The new and revolutionary book “Commitment” about risk management and Real Options helps you to get more control over your decisions, gain more information when you have to decide and stop making the wrong decisions.
This graphic business novel brings the Real Options model in a unique and understandable format, by explaining theories in a way only Sequential Art can.
Via Rose Randall, the main character of this unique graphic business novel, the reader is introduced to the challenges a project manager faces. Rose Randall is the archetypal reluctant project manager. Following a painful project failure years ago, Rose’s life is cast into chaos when she is once again thrown into the role against her wishes. Faced with a struggling project, help comes from an unexpected source guiding Rose in the direction of Real Options.
When you have read Commitment, you:
- understand what the Real Options model is;
- can apply the Real Options model to manage project risks successfully;
- understand why much of your life involves options that you currently are treating as commitments;
- see the world through a different filter opening up many new possibilities;
- understand the difference between Commitments and Options.
Because the book will:
- provide specific examples of how a project can manage its risks using the Real Options model;
- outline a simple technique for making decisions;
- make you aware of all the decisions you make every day;
- build your confidence in your ability to decide when to commit and when to leave options open.
In short, this book is indispensable for new and experienced project managers plus anyone else who is interested in knowing more about managing large projects.
About the authors
Olav Maassen is an experienced project manager and consultant at Xebia in the Netherlands and has more than ten years of experience working mainly for financial institutions and big corporations. Chris used his extensive knowledge of financial derivatives to develop an approach on how to deal with decision making and named it real options. After Chris and Olav ran into each other in 2005 they have subsequently extended their model to incorporate applied psychology and various other disciplines. Unlike the “traditional” Real Options approach that is based on Black-Scholes, the approach that Olav and Chris developed avoids the complex mathematics and focuses on the practical implications of options. Their real options model (also known as the real options meme) teaches us to understand the timing of decision making and help discover new options not appreciated before.
Chris Matts is a consultant who specializes in developing risk management and trading system for investment banks. He has studied for a masters degree in financial mathematics ( Mathematical Trading and Finance ). Chris used his extensive knowledge of financial derivatives to develop an approach on how to deal with decision making and named it real options. After Chris and Olav ran into each other in 2005 they have subsequently extended their model to incorporate applied psychology and various other disciplines. Unlike the “traditional” Real Options approach that is based on Black-Scholes, the approach that Olav and Chris developed avoids the complex mathematics and focuses on the practical implications of options.Their real options model (also known as the real options meme) teaches us to understand the timing of decision making and help discover new options not appreciated before.
