Execution: Managing Relationships to Get the Project Done

Bringing a project home on time and within budget is expected of today’s manager. Even still, projects that meet these requirements with the seemingly desired result can somehow disappoint, fall short or frustrate stakeholders. While implementing difficult projects—just getting the work done—can be more than a full time job, ignoring the “people side” of the equation can be disastrous. Imagine rushing a new product into production according to a customer’s specifications without realizing the customer was told they were still free to change their specifications. Or worse yet, realizing after production that an actual sales contract was never signed.

From the time you are handed “the ball” until the time project execution is complete, there is more to success than just “getting it done”. The truly successful manager gets the right project done with all the stakeholders satisfied.

In this program you will learn the critical skills of executing projects, from accepting the implementation assignment to managing stakeholders, all in the context of knowing your particular management style. The interactive learning experience will provide you with essential insights and tools to ensure the success of your implementation projects.

Topics

• Critical starting points for execution projects
  • Defining the goal
  • Gathering the right information
  • Planning for unknowns
• Stakeholder assessment
  • Who are the key players?
  • What are their interests?
  • What are their management styles
• Self-assessment
  • What is your management style?
  • How do you get things done?
  • How do you prefer to be informed?
• The relationship management execution plan—A tool for managing the human dynamics of execution

Learning Outcomes

As a result of attending this program, participants will:

• Learn the critical art of accepting the execution project
• Identify the degrees of freedom you may or may not have in an execution project, and know what to do about it
• Learn how to account for all the stakeholders in the organization and recognize the role they may or may not play in the project success
• Discover ways to effectively manage stakeholders by looking objectively to determine each person's interests and how they would prefer to participate in the execution project

Who Should Attend

Professionals in all functional areas with project management responsibilities. Participants who are interested in furthering their learning from this course should consider attending From Staff Function to Internal Consultant: Practices and Tools for Better Results.

We also recommend participants attend related programs such as Getting the Best Results: A Practical Framework for Solving Business Problems and Project Management: From Concept to Plan for an understanding of the underlying project formulation and planning phases.