Project Sponsorship: Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) [Hardcover]

Randall L. Englund (Author), Alfonso Bucero (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787981362 | ISBN-13: 978-0787981365 | Publication Date: April 28, 2006 | Edition: 1

Project Sponsorship—which includes case studies, checklists, and action plans—shows how project sponsors and project managers can develop the skills they need to manage successful projects. Randall L. Englund and Alfonso Bucero—experts in the field of project management—have written the definitive guide for educating all stakeholders in the nature of project sponsorship. They describe in detail the responsibilities of the project sponsor, from communications and liaison, selection and training, problem solving, mentoring, and feedback, to the review of project execution. The project sponsor and manager learn how to negotiate effectively with each other and the project team to achieve their commitments.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Project Sponsorship addresses vital ingredients that resonate with my recipe for project success—identifying the right people to sponsor projects, taking care of them, describing how to create an environment that leads to excellence in project sponsorship, and providing sponsors and project managers with guidance and good directions."
—Rick Belluzzo, chairman of the board and CEO of Quantum Corporation

"If enterprise strategy becomes reality by means of projects, then everyone involved—especially senior managers—should understand and apply the wisdom Englund and Bucero present in this valuable development guide to the operational advantage of proactive project sponsorship."
—David O. Block, PMP, senior project manager, Agilent Technologies, Inc.

"Having worked with thousands of project managers throughout Australia over the past two decades, I know that Project Sponsorship will be an invaluable tool for every project manager. This book is full of practical solutions that can be applied—anywhere in the world."
—John Abbott, director, ATS, Sydney, Australia

From the Inside Flap

The success or failure of any project often hinges on how well the project sponsor—the person who funds the project and ensures that desired benefits are achieved—relates to the project, the project manager, and other stakeholders. However, executives who are assigned as project sponsors often have little if any experience understanding their roles and responsibilities during the project life cycle. Problems in communication and execution?are inevitable as long as senior managers and project managers do not understand the mechanics of their relationship.

Project Sponsorship—which includes case studies, checklists, and action plans—shows how project sponsors and project managers can develop the skills they need to manage successful projects. Randall L. Englund and Alfonso Bucero—experts in the field of project management—have written the definitive guide for educating all stakeholders in the nature of project sponsorship. They describe in detail the responsibilities of the project sponsor, from communications and liaison, selection and training, problem solving, mentoring, and feedback, to the review of project execution. The project sponsor and manager learn how to negotiate effectively with each other and the project team to achieve their commitments.

This book offers a key resource for expanding best practices in project sponsorship across organizations. Project Sponsorship helps project sponsors establish directions for the future, communicate through vision, create aligned high-performance teams, and focus on planning—all of which will lead an organization to success. This book illuminates the stairway to achieving excellence in project sponsorship.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787981362
• ISBN-13: 978-0787981365
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,365,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Project Sponsorship..., April 2, 2011

By 

David Eubanks (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Project Sponsorship: Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) (Hardcover)

I read this book from the perspective of a project manager who has experienced projects both with and without committed project sponsorship. If you've managed a project without proper sponsorship, you may find the pages in this book echoing your painful experience. I could identify with it all, and for that reason I can easily endorse reading this book.

Englund and Bucero have been there, that's easy to see. The books hammers home how critical project sponsorship is and it offers the tools and guidance to do it. I have sometimes felt my company, much like our clients, felt that initiating a project was like pulling up to a drive-up window and placing an order. It was just that simple, give the order, then drive around to collect the result with nothing occurring in between. This book focuses on just what needs to happen in supporting a project from beginning through the end, including the project review. Following the advice in this book could help in developing your company culture, bringing together the commitments of all - the sponsor, the project team--and your customer's team too.

The authors truly reveal their experience in emphasizing the value of principled approaches over quick fixes and other misguided pressures that will push a project off target. That's a tough thing to confront, I've found. Getting your company some training in project sponsorship might go a long way in strengthening your company's performance. Read the book. See what you think. (If you're the PM reading the book, pass it along to the project sponsor when you're done.)

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent on Project Sponsorship, April 28, 2007

By 

Sunny K. "PM_bookworm" (Santa Clara, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Project Sponsorship: Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) (Hardcover)

This book explains well what project sponsorship is all about. It covers general project sponsorship concepts based on PMBoK, and also introduces sponsorship concepts for client-based projects.

I really like about the book that it is written for both the experienced project manager and the curious novice project manager. It is easy to comprehend without sounding trivial. Examples and illustrations help to understand the material. It is one of the rare project management books that you can pick up and read for fun after a long work day. Enjoy Reading!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, June 13, 2010

By 

ANTONIO CLAUDIO Freire (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Project Sponsorship: Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) (Hardcover)

Good book specially useful in a balanced matrix organization. Several gray zones as e.g. staffing the project are reviewed.