Project managers must prioritize talking
points to engage executives and keep
meetings on track.
BY MICHAEL APPLEBAUM
ILLUSTRATION BY STUART BRIERS
Project managers live and die by the details—but that’s not always an asset. To grab—and hold—the attention of executives and project sponsors, practitioners must focus on what matters most.
Executives and project sponsors spend their days
going from meeting to meeting, absorbing information on the fly and making decisions as they go.
Forcing senior leaders to wade through minutiae
won’t hold their attention—and distractions can
lead to dire project results.
One in three unsuccessful projects fails to meet
goals due to poorly engaged sponsors, according to
PMI’s 2014 Pulse of the Profession® In-Depth Report:
Executive Sponsor Engagement—Top Driver of Project and Program Success. Furthermore, 30 percent
of executive sponsors are frequently overextended
across many projects, the Pulse report says.
MEE TING
E XPEC TATIONS
