Leaping in to Project Management

[stek]

The biggest stakeholder management tool is being able to answer in advance for a stakeholder "what's in it for me?" If you can understand how your project affects how the organisation makes (or loses) money then you can talk to the senior people on their level. It's like the transition from senior IT manager to CIO, many senior IT managers have a hugely successful career without having to talk to too many non-IT people but a CIO must know how to talk to other C-level execs in their language or he's going to be a miserable whipping boy treated like a helldesk operator.

Translating into a project manager's career, you can be a very successful junior- to mid-level PM by having a narrow but deep skillset, to move into the big leagues (e.g. 8-figure budgets or "bet the company" projects) you need to have a T shaped skillset, hugely deep in PM skills but also have an appreciable knowledge of general business skills. Sector knowledge becomes less important the wider your general business skillset gets.

As a contractor now moving into an Architecting customer facing role, I'm happy, command line stuff which I love, is now a cheap Indian/Chinese skill, so I'm away, no way can our colonial friends steel this realm, unless they suddenly speak the Queens properly.

[castoff101]

steel ... speak the Queens properly.

Careful now

[filthy1980]

you need to have a T shaped skillset,

i like this, it's going on my CV )

[7of9]

As a contractor now moving into an Architecting customer facing role, I'm happy, command line stuff which I love, is now a cheap Indian/Chinese skill, so I'm away, no way can our colonial friends steel this realm, unless they suddenly speak the Queens properly.

It does not look like you have a good grasp of the Queens English yourself. So if I were you I would not criticise.