Category Archives for Stakeholder Engagement

High profile projects carry more risk than those that get less attention. It is not that things are more likely to go wrong. But it’s the profile and attention that can amplify the consequences of mistakes. And high profile projects tend also to be the subject of more speculation, gossip, and rumor. So, it isn’t […]

Handling stakeholder objections is an unavoidable part of life as a Project Manager. It ought to be one of my Project Management Rules. Resistance is Inevitable. Because, the reality is that, if you ever want to innovate, create, or change something, there is one thing you need to be ready for: resistance. Resistance is a […]

Project Managers can learn from all sorts of places. And, since your job is partly to serve your clients and stakeholders, one valuable source of ideas for you is customer service. In this article we will look at how you can keep your client and stakeholders happy by applying some of the principles of good […]

From time to time, every Project Manager will find themselves managing difficult conversations. Because it is an important part of our role. But it’s one we’d rather not have. Then, of course, at the end of a hard day or week at work, you leave work. And again, you will have to face these types of […]

Projects create change for the people in the organization where we are working. And the success of your projects will often depend on how well you manage that change process. But dealing with emotions and arguments is uncomfortable. So, too many project managers shy away from it. They either leave it to a ‘change manager’, […]

A large part of your job as a Project Manager is communication; arguably the largest part. So, only focusing on technical skills will not serve you. It’s essential that you develop excellent communication skills. Luckily, there are many great books to help you. Increasingly, this is the area my training business is focussed on. My […]

Stakeholder engagement and management is one of the essential Project Management disciplines. But it is often taught in a simplistic manner. The standard ‘four-box’ approach to deriving stakeholder engagement strategies can easily leave newer project managers believing there are just four basic strategies they can use. But this is far from the truth. In fact, […]

As a Project manager, you need to be prepared to learn from many different places. And, from the world of marketing, you can learn a lot about how to plan your stakeholder engagement campaign. You are a project manager. You care about getting things right. So you plan meticulously, identify threats and take steps to […]

A large part of Project Management is negotiation. The need to negotiate is not negotiable. Whether you are negotiating for resources, settling scope, or trying to agree a compromise with a stakeholder, it’s a skill you’ll need, if you want to be successful. But the prominence and practices of negotiation vary widely from culture to culture. […]

Two of the things that put off many project managers are Politics and Stakeholders. Yet they are intertwined and a necessary part of project management. You cannot escape either so you may as well embrace them. In this podcast, Andy Kaufman of the People and Projects Podcast, interviewed me about Politics and Stakeholders – an interest […]