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As I mentioned, I was the dinner speaker the other night at a professional society dinner, and I gave my talk on tools for the project manager. After my talk, a woman came up to me with a suggestion on how to address the inclusion issue; “Think Like a Hound Dog.”

To review, The issue of inclusion is simply this: have you included the right people in the current discussion or decision? Inclusion is important for several reasons. Without proper inclusion:

- You miss things – you don’t hear requirements that might be important;

- Cans of Worms can remain undiscovered – as discussed, project cans of worms are best discovered and dealt with early;

- Important stakeholders don’t get a sense of buy-in – this can leave them at best indifferent to your project, and at worst actively thwarting your project’s goals.

First, make a list of the four or five most important issues in your project. These might be scope, or conversion, or field operations, or key benefits areas. Then, for each of these issues, as the question: “Who should be included in this decision or issue?”.

Lastly, think like a hound dog. Sniff around for stakeholders, influencers, former managers, or the gal that ran the last attempt to address the issues that you are addressing. Be noisy – make sure that people know that you are actively on the trail of project participants. Be persistent – follow the trail with vigor, and chase down reluctant participants.

Don’t be put off by their lack of enthusiasm. It is exactly those with a stake but no interest in your project that you need to include.