Stakeholder Engagement: Advanced Insights to the Essential Discipline for Mature Project Managers

There is no doubt at all in my mind that your stakeholders will determine the success, or not, of your project. That's why I describe this as my first rule of stakeholders.

Stakeholder engagement must be in the very top tier of your project management priorities. Indeed, I'd say your job, as a project manager, is 80 per cent communication. And everyone is a stakeholder.

So, I put this eBook together to reflect some of my very best writing on the topic. In it, I look at some advanced elements. A lot of them first appeared in my academic/professional volume: 'The Influence Agenda: A Systematic Approach to Engaging Stakeholder in Times of Change.' Indeed, some of the ideas in these chapters are even newer. I articulated them forst, as I was writing the material.

So, what do we have?
In the six chapters of this short book, I'll cover:

Don't try to Manage your Stakeholders when you can Engage them instead
This is an introductory chapter, to get you properly warmed up.

Do You Know the Top 20 Techniques for Stakeholder Analysis?
In this chapter, you'll learn basic, intermediate, and advanced methods that go beyond the simple power and preference that too many project management books present.

This Set of Stakeholder Engagement Strategies will Power You up
When it's time to engage, you need to develop a strategic posture that wil deliver the outcomes you need. This takes the simple 2-by-2, four strategy approach and expands on it massively.

How to Plan Your Stakeholder Engagement Campaign
This aspect of stakeholder engagement always seems to me to be under-loved, and barely taught. But you're a project manager, so you love a plan. What will you actually do, to engage your stakeholders in the way your strategy dictates?

Persuasion and Influence: A Thorough Introduction
Any serious stakeholder engagement is likely to need some element of influence and persuasion. This is a topic I have researched and written about extensively. This chapter sets out 10 of my most practical and powerful tactics.

Project Politics: How to Win The Game of Projects
In the end it's all politics. And while we love watching it on our screens, most of us feel out of place playing the political game. So here's a primer that will give you confidence and get you up and running.