Every stakeholder is in the project for a reason. They have something to gain, or protect, or avoid.
Your job as the Alchemist (PM) is to drag that out into the open and write it down.
If you don’t know what their stake is, you don’t know what game you’re playing.
- Customer stake always comes first.
- Internal, partner, 3rd party stakes are secondary.
- If stakes clash, the customer’s wins.
- During stakeholder kick-offs, ask bluntly: what are you hoping to get out of this project?
- Don’t settle for vague answers like “success” or “efficiency.” Push until it’s concrete.
- Document each group’s stake in plain language.
Example:
| Stakeholder | Stake (What they want) |
|---|---|
| Custodian (Customer KDM) | Reporting system live by end of quarter |
| Knight (Internal Dev Lead) | Build portfolio by shipping API successfully |
| Gatekeeper (Partner Vendor) | Lock in long-term support contract |
| Castellan (Account Manager) | Maintain customer health score above 90% |
Keep all stakes on a single page. This becomes your Stake Map — a living artefact you can pull out whenever conflicts flare up. See Stake Maps for more context on when and how to use them.
- Use a simple table (as above).
- You can add in power and influence dynamics, there are examples on the web. Use what works for the situation.
- Update it as stakes shift.
- Share only with discretion — sometimes the politics are sensitive.
Conflicts are inevitable. When they happen:
- Pull the Stake Map into the room.
- Lay out the clash in black and white.
- Remind everyone: customer stake comes first.
- Force a decision — what stays, what bends, what breaks.
- Ask every stakeholder what they actually want from the project.
- Write it down in plain English.
- Put it in the Stake Map (one page max).
- Update as stakes shift.
- Use the map to cut through conflicts.
- Default to: customer stake first.