The project manager was taking some well-earned time off from a complex and bruising project and was taking his dog for a walk in the park. Suddenly in a puff of purple smoke, a figure appeared. When the smoke had finally cleared the figure said, “I am your Fairy Godmother and because of your ongoing commitment to helping people deliver capabilities and gain business value through project management, I am going to grant you three wishes.”

The PM was taken aback but after a short think said, “I would like for my dog who has had a fairly hard life to win the Greyhound Derby.”

“What is his name?”

“Lucky” said the PM.

The Fairy Godmother looked Lucky up and down and said, “I did say I would grant you three wishes, not three miracles, so let me have your next wish.”

The PM started to tell his Fairy Godmother about the difficulties he was having with his project and how in keeping with the Association for Project Management’s Strategy 2020 vision he believed in A world in which all projects succeed (APM).

“For my second wish I would like my project to come in on time, on budget and meet the quality requirements of my stakeholders.”

The Fairy Godmother paused for a few seconds and said, “Let’s take another look at that dog.”