Welcome to March 2025’s “Book of the Month.” This time we’ll be reviewing “6 Secrets for Delivering Impossible Projects” by Mark G. Cooper.
Dr. Cooper’s main goal in putting this book together is to help people identify challenges organizations face that are seemingly impossible to solve. He identifies these as “impossible projects” and details what makes a project feel impossible. He also cites examples where a specific objective can’t be met because the technology does not yet exist. The book comes with a warning: Do not let your project turn into a “death march.” Dr. Cooper defines a death march as very similar to an impossible project, but the project often leads to high turnover and exhaustion, where upon completion, many team members are exhausted or have left the group or organization altogether. He provides a set of guidelines to stop an impossible project from becoming a death march. (Due to how the book is written and how the secrets are “revealed” throughout the book in an entertaining way, we will not be specifically naming and citing the secrets directly in this review. When each secret is revealed, there is a review of the secret to reinforce the learning.)
Dr. Cooper sets up the book with how to identify the difference between the impossible project and the death march. He cites the work of Edward Yourdon’s Death March. Ultimately, the difference described in the book is that an impossible project is difficult because of what it is and what it’s doing. A death march becomes difficult because of how the project is being run. The book gives the reader a set of tools and advice on how to identify different types of projects, and even recommends seeking out the impossible project. It also goes into detail on low-hanging fruit; that is, easy projects that provide quick wins, highlighting that it’s often the case that when all the low-hanging fruit is picked, all that is left is the impossible project.
The book gives a lot of guidance on doing what is reasonably practicable. Setting clear expectations and breaking down problems into feasible solutions really strikes a chord. Cooper also gives the reader several different exercises and examples throughout the book. Tying together the wisdom of the secrets as presented in the book with real-world examples makes everything digestible and useable by practitioners. For example, the book describes a brainstorming exercise called “One Hundred Questions,” where team members list out questions that need to be answered to deliver the project. Dr. Cooper explains that the first several questions will be very easy to come up with, but the further you get down the list, the more challenging things will present themselves.
Lastly, Dr. Cooper offers a lot of wisdom on managing the team and having clear roles. It is refreshing to see time placed on the importance of not overstepping one’s own boundaries, setting a positive work environment for team members, and having a healthy relationship with project sponsors and executives. The book provides readers with examples of all these categories and describes why they are critical.
Overall, this book provides tools and guidance for anyone tasked with managing a project, particularly those that seem insurmountable. Dr. Cooper equips readers with the necessary insights to differentiate between an impossible project and a death march and offers strategies to navigate and conquer these challenges. His practical exercises and real-world examples ensure that the guidance is not only theoretical but also applicable to projects. The emphasis on clear communication, realistic goal setting, and fostering a supportive team environment underscores the importance of both the technical and human aspects of project management. “6 Secrets for Delivering Impossible Projects” is a welcome addition to the bookshelf of any project manager.
More About the Author
Mark is passionate about driving business action through the use of data. He is the Principal at The Data Brains, a data strategy consultancy. He writes a weekly mostly data-oriented blog, a monthly column for DATAVERSITY, and is the author of the book “6 Secrets for Delivering Impossible Projects.” He and John Ladley host the Rock Bottom Data Feed, an irreverent yet practical data-focused podcast that isn’t a pile of technobabble and repetition of old advice.
This all follows a 29-year career at FedEx. Mark began as a Data Warehouse Developer and later transitioned to Enterprise Architect, where he served as Lead Architect for the largest single-load project in the company’s history. He then returned to data and analytics as Technical Director.
His contributions and innovations have been recognized with the highest individual and team awards as well as with a US patent. He has presented at conferences around the world and published four books.
Mark earned his B.S. from Duke University in Computer Science and Chemistry and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA, where his concentration was Artificial Intelligence.