The 10 Things About Project Sponsorship I Learned From My Dog
Bob McGannon, PMP

In past articles, canine knowledge has provided us with insights to project management as a whole and helped us navigate the world of business analysis. We will now take a look at how our faithful friends can teach us about project sponsorship. Effective sponsorship is critical to the success of a project - and certain characteristics show up consistently with good project sponsors.

Dogs constantly demonstrate their priorities, care for what is important to them, and always find time for the things that matter. Sounds like a good sponsor, doesn’t it? So, once again, through extensive empirical research, interactive testing and a number of years of direct observation, compiled below are the “best of the best” techniques for project sponsorship I have learned from my dog. Open your mind, reflect on the dogs you have encountered and see if you can learn from these canine traits as well…

1) Completely enjoy and guard your bone

A valuable project brings change to an organization, however, change is difficult. Good project sponsors understand the difficulties these changes may bring, along with the benefits. They prepare themselves for the benefits, are enthusiastic about them, and participate in the process of assimilating change. Understanding their priorities and the priorities of the business they serve, the sponsor will guard their “bone” (the appropriately prioritized project) and embrace the process of change that is brought about by the project. This acceptance and participation in the change along with the people who must work through procedural and tool changes helps significantly in ensuring that project deliverables bring the business value that is intended.

2) Know where the snacks are – and how to get them!

A good sponsor, like most any loyal dog, will know where the “snacks” (funding) are, and will know how - and under what circumstances – they can get them. Just like dogs, they won’t always get them when they ask for them, but they understand how to be persistent to coax that valuable morsel out of the cabinet. This persistence is a learned process, refined over time. Good sponsors will know what approaches work, and with whom, and how aggressive to be to get the funding they need when they need it. The techniques change from person to person, depending on the personality of the people involved, and the business conditions. I think sponsors can learn a lot from dogs in this area. I’ve seen some very creative quiet “discussion”, gleeful dances, nudges and also some direct asking approaches employed by dogs that would put many sponsor’s efforts to shame (especially given the success rate for the dogs!)

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