The Mind Tools stakeholder analysis is a fairly simple tool, but it is powerful in its simplicity and straightforwardness. I am embarking on a new professional contract/client, and I decided I should do a stakeholder analysis on the client and the project she has offered me.
The project is helping with the communications side of passing two specific federal land protection efforts. I identified numerous stakeholders, including her (my boss), her bosses, her grantees (she works for a foundation), other environmental groups, a couple political coalitions, the press, the public, my family, Sen. Ron Wyden, and Sen. Patty Murray (the two congressional members we are targeting), and President Obama.
The people who have the highest power and the highest interest in the project are my direct client/boss, the coalitions working toward this same goal, and the grantees the foundation has funded to work toward this goal. Some of the questions posed are good questions I can ask when working with of the stakeholders.
The press and the senators are also very important stakeholders, but they have low interest and part of the goal is to increase their interest.
As I get further into this project and learn the names of the people I will be communicating with, and start actually communicating with them, I plan to do the next Mind Tools exercise: Stakeholder Management. Has anyone else written out a stakeholder analysis or management plan before? What was the most useful part for you?
Strategically Communicating 
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