The seventh tool is one to consider before any business decisions. This is one aspect that is often overlooked in the initial decision process.
This tool is called stakeholder analysis tool and needs to be considered to identify everyone who needs to be involved in the decision making process. How do you use this tool?
Step 1: Identifying Stakeholders
Start by brainstorming a list of all the people and groups likely to be affected by the proposed change. You could bring a small group of well-informed people together to do this or start the list yourself and share it with others so that they can add to it.
2. Prioritise your stakeholders
Once you have generated the list of names, analyse it in terms of power, influence and the extent to which they are affected by the decisions. The matrix can be divided into the y-axis as power and x-axis as low/high impact
3. Understand your key stakeholders
How are your key stakeholders likely to feel about and react to the decisions?
What is the best way to engage and communicate with them? Involve your stakeholders in developing your thinking – asking their opinions can be the first step in building a successful relationship with them.
These prompts will help develop your understanding:
• What financial or emotional interest do they have in the outcome of your work? Is it positive or negative? • What motivates them most? • What information do they want from you? • How do they want to receive information from you? What is the best way of communicating your message to them? • How would they like to be informed in the decision making process?