Before labeling someone "difficult", diagnose the specific type: are they anxious, ignored, or genuinely conflicted in interest?

Each quarter, ask 6 people around you the same 3 open questions about your performance.

Compress any project into one page: why, what, who, when, success looks like...

For each task and person: R responsible, A accountable, C consulted, I informed.

A 7-sentence formula that conveys a task clearly enough that the employee won't come back with "what did you mean?"

For each task, set the autonomy level (1: tell me before → 5: decide alone).

Identify 5-7 tasks that must stay with you, so you delegate everything else with peace.

Before delegating a sensitive task, map who must know and who must agree.

Imagine the project failed entirely a year from now; list 7 plausible reasons before starting.

After each phase: what happened? What did we expect? Why the gap? How do we learn?

A 7-milestone Gantt on one page — visible, instantly grokkable.

A living table of every project risk: probability, impact, owner, action.

For each task estimate: optimistic, most-likely, pessimistic — then compute expected.

Identify when the project becomes uncancelable — decide before, not after.

Classify every commitment: fixed (must), negotiable (should), optional (could).

Before launch, write a "press release" as if it succeeded — making the win tangible.

Per task: who Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed — no duplication for first two.

Per decision type: who proposes, decides, consulted, informed.

Per issue type: when resolved at current level, when escalates up.

Each team member: annual signature on disclosure of relationships affecting decisions.

Don't pick vendor "by gut" — score on 6 dimensions with weights, pick by points.

Good RFP defines what you need precisely + selection criteria — not "send anything".

90 days into contract: review with vendor — don't wait for renewal to find issues.

First hour of crisis: who to inform, what to say, how.

Each stakeholder: place in quadrant (high/low power × high/low interest) — each quadrant has strategy.

Who influences whom? — draw network to know "who talks to whom to shift decision".

Per key stakeholder: what to send, when, via which channel, what to expect.

Project first meeting: explicit expectations — scope, date, quality, comms, alarms.

When stakeholder A wants X, B wants opposite: don't pick — surface underlying interests.

Your boss has little time, many concerns — use 4 principles to be a smart stakeholder.

Ask 8 people around you 3 questions: what do I do well? what should I stop? what would you stop me from doing if you saw?