Lessons from a Determined Influencer: The Rise, Fall—and Eventual Resurrection of Monica Ashley, Revolutionary Product Manager

This complicated example reveals many layers of challenges over several years and demonstrates how a project management job calls for the ability to determine key players, figure out what is important to them, and utilize a full palette of influence skills to bring a major strategic project to fruition.  This gives us an opportunity to use all of the concepts introduced in the Influence without Authority revised edition to understand what Monica Ashley did well, and what she missed as she tried to implement a controversial  product development project.  The information was provided by Monica and her boss, Dan Stella, about a year after the events described, so we have the benefit of their hindsight, along with new comments from Monica several years later in her successful career.  Though the names and industry details are disguised, the facts as they saw them are unchanged.  If your job brings you into contact with multiple stakeholders who must be won over in order to be successful, you will find the attention required to be well worth your time.

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