Project Portfolio Management: A View From The Management Trenches

11.1. EXECUTIVE SPONSORSHIP

No matter what strategy you undertake to implement the process, the importance of having a strong executive sponsor cannot be emphasized enough. There is a difference between having an executive sponsor and having a "strong" executive sponsor. You want this person to believe in the process and be passionate about its implementation. He or she should be able to influence peers and be an active advocate of the process. This requires communicating passion to the PPM stakeholders in the organization by creating conversations about the value of the implementation. Conversations are the seeds of change. It is very important to keep the conversation alive, to build the buzz that, in turn, begins to build momentum of the work. A very active, passionate, and involved sponsor can be extremely valuable in keeping the conversations alive. "What doesn't gets talked about, doesn't get done" (Ford & Ford, 2002).

Foundational Principle A strong sponsor is key to PPM implementation success.