“She is too fond of books and it has turned her brain” Louisa May Alcott

I have always been a bookworm. When I became a Sponsor I wanted to read all the seminal texts about it, just as I had done when I became a Project Manager.

I like to read the different theories, real-life scenarios and challenge myself to think critically about how I can best apply that knowledge to my situation and skills.

That was a very short exercise when I became a Sponsor as I couldn’t find a single book.

After 2 years I did get a Sponsor’s Handbook. A brief and highly valuable resource. When I became a Head of Sponsorship I hunted down the author to ask him to reissue it or even write a new version for all of the Sponsors in the company I worked for.

Sadly he had just retired. A few years later I would lose that precious, single copy I had during a transatlantic move. From all my possessions, a single suitcase disappeared with almost 2 decades of work memorabilia. Railway opening invites, thank you cards, original artworks, first tickets, awards, team photographs, and other irreplaceable mementos.

The toughest loss was that Sponsor’s Handbook as I had clung to it as a baseline of what good looks like during some of the toughest times on projects.

Projects are amazing to work on. Watching ideas become designs and then spring out of the ground into miraculous assets that improve people’s lives has to be one of the most rewarding experiences ever.

The results are often astounding. The journey is often hard.

Sponsors are key to the results and smoothing out parts of the journey.

And yet, we are one of the most underserved professional communities. I am on a mission to change that.

Following the development of training, coaching models, competence frameworks, maturity models, and bespoke work with hundreds of Sponsors I have now published a book for Sponsors.

You can buy a copy here

How to Sponsor Projects: A practical guide to Sponsoring Projects and Business Change.

This book answers the questions of how to sponsor projects and what sponsors should focus on so that they can lead their projects to successfully deliver the benefits.

This book will teach you the foundation of being a Sponsor. It will give you a narrative to help explain what your job is and understand what is expected of you.

Being a Sponsor is a crucial role in projects and change management. It is the role that has the most impact on the likelihood of success and whether the project will deliver the benefits or not.

The Sponsor is ultimately accountable for the success of a project or business change. They are the guiding mind of the project throughout and lead the project to make sure the business gets what it wants from the project.

The Sponsor has the role of managing ambiguity in every aspect and stage of the project. This book gives guidance on how to do that and how to be an effective Sponsor whichever type of project you are leading.

I look forward to hearing your feedback, alternative ideas, and stories