Strategies for Project Sponsorship

Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead share their insights on the secrets to effective project sponsorship from their new book “Strategies for Project Sponsorship”

Research into the causes of project failure clearly shows there is a real problem around the Project Sponsor role.  The Project sponsor is critical to project success, yet it is a role that is often assigned to a member of an organization with little knowledge or training in project management practices. In their new book “Strategies for Project Sponsorship”, authors Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead address the challenge of project sponsorship from all three vantage points—that of the project manager, the project sponsor, and the organization. The book reveals the secrets to effective project sponsorship and how to help project managers and project sponsors work in concert and leverage their respective organizational roles and responsibilities.

The Interview:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

In this interview, I ask the authors the following questions:

  • How did the idea for the book project come about and why did you feel compelled to pursue it?
  • Define for us what should a project manager expect from their project sponsor
  • What are some of the challenges the PMs face when working with their project sponsor
  • What are some of your top recommendations for working effectively with and getting the best out of your project sponsor?
  • We talked about what PMs should expect from their sponsor. How about what sponsors should expect from their PMs?
  • What about the challenges that sponsors face when working with their Project Managers?
  • What are some of your top recommendations for how sponsors can work effectively with and get the most out of your project managers?
  • From your perspective, Talk a little bit about the role of Steering Committees and the kind of support they provide to the project manager and project sponsor.
  • How can Project Managers and Sponsors get the most out of their project Steering Committee?
  • What can organization do to develop or improve their project sponsorship capabilities and can you talk specifically about what PMOs can do in this regards?
  • What are your top recommendations for how organizations should categorize projects and select project sponsors?
  • I would like to ask each of you to share with us your top 3 secretes for being a great Sponsor

About the Authors:

Vicki James, PMP, CBAP (Seattle, WA, USA) http://www.project-pro.us: Vicki is passionate about learning and sharing best practices in project management and business analysis. Certified in both project management (Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute since 2005) and business analysis (Certified Business Analysis Professional from the International Institute of  Business Analysis in since 2010) provides a broad view to support project governance and processes. Vicki spent 11-years in the public sector successfully delivering projects to support governmental operations. Today she provides private consulting to government and private industry clients in addition to writing and presenting on all things project. Vicki is a contributor to The Complete Project Manager (2012) by Randall Englund and Alfonso Bucero as well as a popular blogger and Tweeter.

 

Peter Taylor, PMP (Coventry UK) http://www.thelazyprojectmanager.com: Peter Taylor is the author of two best-selling books on ‘Productive Laziness’ – ‘The Lazy Winner’ and ‘The Lazy Project Manager’. In the last 3 years he has focused on writing and lecturing with over 200 presentations around the world in over 20 countries and with new books out including ‘The Lazy Project Manager and the Project from Hell’, ‘Strategies for Project Sponsorship’, ‘Leading Successful PMOs’, and ‘The Project Manager Who Smiled’.  He has been described as ‘perhaps the most entertaining and inspiring speaker in the project management world today’ and he also acts as an independent consultant working with some of the major organizations in the world coaching executive sponsors, PMO leaders and project managers.  His mission is to teach as many people as possible that it is achievable to ‘work smarter and not harder’ and to still gain success in the battle of the work/life balance.  More information can be found at www.thelazyprojectmanager.com  and www.peter.b.taylor.co.uk   – and through his free podcasts in iTunes.


Ron Rosenhead (London, UK) http://www.ronrosenhead.co.uk: Ron Rosenhead is known for his highly practical approach to life alongside project management. Over 25 years as a trainer and consultant with the last 17 years specializing in helping organizations to increase the probability of project success. He has personally trained, coached over 10,000 people in the project management world; some project managers, others project sponsors. He has worked across sectors: financial services, public sector, engineering, pharmaceuticals, universities, car retailing, It etc. He is a professional speaker and author of Deliver that Project (an e-book), is a regular blogger and tweeter. Ron regularly writes practical project management training materials which are in use all over the world.

Links and Contact Information:

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

Credits…

2 Responses to Strategies for Project Sponsorship
  1. […] Continue to interview… […]

  2. […] Samad Aidane interviews Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead on their new book.  Just 38 minutes, safe for work. […]

Strategies for Project Sponsorship

Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead share their insights on the secrets to effective project sponsorship from their new book “Strategies for Project Sponsorship”

Research into the causes of project failure clearly shows there is a real problem around the Project Sponsor role.  The Project sponsor is critical to project success, yet it is a role that is often assigned to a member of an organization with little knowledge or training in project management practices. In their new book “Strategies for Project Sponsorship”, authors Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead address the challenge of project sponsorship from all three vantage points—that of the project manager, the project sponsor, and the organization. The book reveals the secrets to effective project sponsorship and how to help project managers and project sponsors work in concert and leverage their respective organizational roles and responsibilities.

The Interview:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

In this interview, I ask the authors the following questions:

  • How did the idea for the book project come about and why did you feel compelled to pursue it?
  • Define for us what should a project manager expect from their project sponsor
  • What are some of the challenges the PMs face when working with their project sponsor
  • What are some of your top recommendations for working effectively with and getting the best out of your project sponsor?
  • We talked about what PMs should expect from their sponsor. How about what sponsors should expect from their PMs?
  • What about the challenges that sponsors face when working with their Project Managers?
  • What are some of your top recommendations for how sponsors can work effectively with and get the most out of your project managers?
  • From your perspective, Talk a little bit about the role of Steering Committees and the kind of support they provide to the project manager and project sponsor.
  • How can Project Managers and Sponsors get the most out of their project Steering Committee?
  • What can organization do to develop or improve their project sponsorship capabilities and can you talk specifically about what PMOs can do in this regards?
  • What are your top recommendations for how organizations should categorize projects and select project sponsors?
  • I would like to ask each of you to share with us your top 3 secretes for being a great Sponsor

About the Authors:

Vicki James, PMP, CBAP (Seattle, WA, USA) http://www.project-pro.us: Vicki is passionate about learning and sharing best practices in project management and business analysis. Certified in both project management (Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute since 2005) and business analysis (Certified Business Analysis Professional from the International Institute of  Business Analysis in since 2010) provides a broad view to support project governance and processes. Vicki spent 11-years in the public sector successfully delivering projects to support governmental operations. Today she provides private consulting to government and private industry clients in addition to writing and presenting on all things project. Vicki is a contributor to The Complete Project Manager (2012) by Randall Englund and Alfonso Bucero as well as a popular blogger and Tweeter.

 

Peter Taylor, PMP (Coventry UK) http://www.thelazyprojectmanager.com: Peter Taylor is the author of two best-selling books on ‘Productive Laziness’ – ‘The Lazy Winner’ and ‘The Lazy Project Manager’. In the last 3 years he has focused on writing and lecturing with over 200 presentations around the world in over 20 countries and with new books out including ‘The Lazy Project Manager and the Project from Hell’, ‘Strategies for Project Sponsorship’, ‘Leading Successful PMOs’, and ‘The Project Manager Who Smiled’.  He has been described as ‘perhaps the most entertaining and inspiring speaker in the project management world today’ and he also acts as an independent consultant working with some of the major organizations in the world coaching executive sponsors, PMO leaders and project managers.  His mission is to teach as many people as possible that it is achievable to ‘work smarter and not harder’ and to still gain success in the battle of the work/life balance.  More information can be found at www.thelazyprojectmanager.com  and www.peter.b.taylor.co.uk   – and through his free podcasts in iTunes.


Ron Rosenhead (London, UK) http://www.ronrosenhead.co.uk: Ron Rosenhead is known for his highly practical approach to life alongside project management. Over 25 years as a trainer and consultant with the last 17 years specializing in helping organizations to increase the probability of project success. He has personally trained, coached over 10,000 people in the project management world; some project managers, others project sponsors. He has worked across sectors: financial services, public sector, engineering, pharmaceuticals, universities, car retailing, It etc. He is a professional speaker and author of Deliver that Project (an e-book), is a regular blogger and tweeter. Ron regularly writes practical project management training materials which are in use all over the world.

Links and Contact Information:

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

Credits…

2 Responses to Strategies for Project Sponsorship
  1. […] Continue to interview… […]

  2. […] Samad Aidane interviews Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead on their new book.  Just 38 minutes, safe for work. […]

Strategies for Project Sponsorship

Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead share their insights on the secrets to effective project sponsorship from their new book “Strategies for Project Sponsorship”

Research into the causes of project failure clearly shows there is a real problem around the Project Sponsor role.  The Project sponsor is critical to project success, yet it is a role that is often assigned to a member of an organization with little knowledge or training in project management practices. In their new book “Strategies for Project Sponsorship”, authors Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead address the challenge of project sponsorship from all three vantage points—that of the project manager, the project sponsor, and the organization. The book reveals the secrets to effective project sponsorship and how to help project managers and project sponsors work in concert and leverage their respective organizational roles and responsibilities.

The Interview:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

In this interview, I ask the authors the following questions:

  • How did the idea for the book project come about and why did you feel compelled to pursue it?
  • Define for us what should a project manager expect from their project sponsor
  • What are some of the challenges the PMs face when working with their project sponsor
  • What are some of your top recommendations for working effectively with and getting the best out of your project sponsor?
  • We talked about what PMs should expect from their sponsor. How about what sponsors should expect from their PMs?
  • What about the challenges that sponsors face when working with their Project Managers?
  • What are some of your top recommendations for how sponsors can work effectively with and get the most out of your project managers?
  • From your perspective, Talk a little bit about the role of Steering Committees and the kind of support they provide to the project manager and project sponsor.
  • How can Project Managers and Sponsors get the most out of their project Steering Committee?
  • What can organization do to develop or improve their project sponsorship capabilities and can you talk specifically about what PMOs can do in this regards?
  • What are your top recommendations for how organizations should categorize projects and select project sponsors?
  • I would like to ask each of you to share with us your top 3 secretes for being a great Sponsor

About the Authors:

Vicki James, PMP, CBAP (Seattle, WA, USA) http://www.project-pro.us: Vicki is passionate about learning and sharing best practices in project management and business analysis. Certified in both project management (Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute since 2005) and business analysis (Certified Business Analysis Professional from the International Institute of  Business Analysis in since 2010) provides a broad view to support project governance and processes. Vicki spent 11-years in the public sector successfully delivering projects to support governmental operations. Today she provides private consulting to government and private industry clients in addition to writing and presenting on all things project. Vicki is a contributor to The Complete Project Manager (2012) by Randall Englund and Alfonso Bucero as well as a popular blogger and Tweeter.

 

Peter Taylor, PMP (Coventry UK) http://www.thelazyprojectmanager.com: Peter Taylor is the author of two best-selling books on ‘Productive Laziness’ – ‘The Lazy Winner’ and ‘The Lazy Project Manager’. In the last 3 years he has focused on writing and lecturing with over 200 presentations around the world in over 20 countries and with new books out including ‘The Lazy Project Manager and the Project from Hell’, ‘Strategies for Project Sponsorship’, ‘Leading Successful PMOs’, and ‘The Project Manager Who Smiled’.  He has been described as ‘perhaps the most entertaining and inspiring speaker in the project management world today’ and he also acts as an independent consultant working with some of the major organizations in the world coaching executive sponsors, PMO leaders and project managers.  His mission is to teach as many people as possible that it is achievable to ‘work smarter and not harder’ and to still gain success in the battle of the work/life balance.  More information can be found at www.thelazyprojectmanager.com  and www.peter.b.taylor.co.uk   – and through his free podcasts in iTunes.


Ron Rosenhead (London, UK) http://www.ronrosenhead.co.uk: Ron Rosenhead is known for his highly practical approach to life alongside project management. Over 25 years as a trainer and consultant with the last 17 years specializing in helping organizations to increase the probability of project success. He has personally trained, coached over 10,000 people in the project management world; some project managers, others project sponsors. He has worked across sectors: financial services, public sector, engineering, pharmaceuticals, universities, car retailing, It etc. He is a professional speaker and author of Deliver that Project (an e-book), is a regular blogger and tweeter. Ron regularly writes practical project management training materials which are in use all over the world.

Links and Contact Information:

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

Credits…

2 Responses to Strategies for Project Sponsorship
  1. […] Continue to interview… […]

  2. […] Samad Aidane interviews Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead on their new book.  Just 38 minutes, safe for work. […]