Making It Happen: A Non-Technical Guide to Project Management

10.1. Keeping the Sponsor Happy

"I should fire you on the spot! Al was here for five years before you showed up and after only two days in charge of this project, you manage to get him to quit!"

I was amazed. The scene was playing out exactly as Stu predicted. I tried to look humble and said, "I'm sorry it happened, Ralph." And then, because I really wasn't all that humble, I told him, "I was just trying to get the project done."

Ralph was not impressed. "Well you're going to have to try harder to get along with people!" Yeah, I thought, that was one of Al's strong suits. Ralph walked over to his office window overlooking the plant site. "Losing Al is a great detriment to our ability to complete this project and I have thought seriously about canceling the whole thing." I glanced at Stu with admiration. The man was a genius. He could read company politics like a road map.

Ralph sighed and put on an expression that truly made him look like a man of wisdom. "In the end, I concluded that this project is too important to the company." He turned back to both of us. "I want to continue on with it. But you,"-here he looked at me-"are going to have to work on your people skills."

"By the way," he continued, "I like some things that you're doing, Will, but don't forget, you're supposed to meet with me regularly to bring me up-to-date." He went to his desk and flipped open his calendar. "Let's set a date right now. How's Tuesday?"

It was Thursday, the last day in August, and I wasn't sure ...