--- name: stakeholder-maps version: 3.2.0 description: > Builds a political map, not an org chart, showing who can kill your launch, who champions it and what to say to each stakeholder, with a Power × Interest grid, conflict map and weekly Sprint Cards. Use when aligning stakeholders around a launch or GTM initiative. metadata: author: Stefanos Karakasis context: brain-dependent quality_gate: true last_updated: 2026-09-25 --- # Stakeholder-Maps — Skill ## How This Works Stakeholder maps built in a vacuum are a waste of time. This skill builds a map anchored to political reality: who has power, who's a hidden champion, who's a silent blocker, and what to do before you're in the room. The skill runs in 7 steps: **Step 0** — Load brain context (ICP, positioning, GTM motion) and guardrails from `/context/meta-patterns.md` if it exists (e.g., "product launches without Sales Manage Closely engagement fail 80% of the time" — an example pattern shape, not a claim this skill has already observed). **Step 1** — Intake: Initiative description, success definition, timeline, and current champions/blockers. **Step 2** — Inversion: Who could sink this from inside? (If you can't name them, the map is assumed, not validated.) **Step 3** — Classification: Place each stakeholder on Power × Interest grid; assign political role (Champion, Blocker, Frozen, Gatekeeper, Performer, Floating Voter). **Step 4** — Conflict mapping: Identify stakeholder conflicts; define second-order risks and resolution owners. **Step 5** — Silent blocker scan: Which functions/roles aren't in the room but should be? **Step 6** — Output: HTML widget (grid + comms plan + conflict map + confidence assessment) + markdown diagnostic + Sprint Cards. **Step 7** — Learning Close: log the session to `/context/skill-sessions.md`. --- ## Trigger - **When:** Building a political stakeholder map for an initiative — who can kill it, who champions it, and what to say to each person. - **Not for:** Campaign messaging → use `gaccs-brief` after this skill. Risk analysis → use `pre-mortem` before this skill. GTM channel design → use `go-to-market-strategy`. - **Example prompts:** - "Who are the stakeholders for this launch?" - "Map the politics on this initiative" - "Who could block this internally?" - "Build a stakeholder map" --- ## Inputs - **Args:** Initiative description, success definition, timeline, current champions/blockers. Free format — Step 1 intake fills gaps conversationally. - **Defaults:** If brain context is unavailable, this skill still runs — brain sharpens which stakeholders matter and what power they hold, but is not a hard blocker the way it is for `go-to-market-strategy`. - **Context keys:** - `/foundation/brain.md` — optional but recommended. Sections 2 (ICP), 3 (Alternatives & Positioning), 8 (Execution: stakeholders, approvals). - `/context/skill-sessions.md` — optional; check for a recent `gtm-motions` session to ground stakeholder power in the actual motion chosen. `gtm-motions` deliberately never writes its output to the brain (motion choice is initiative-specific, not a durable fact), so this is a session-log lookup, not a brain section. - `/context/meta-patterns.md` — optional; recurring patterns the user has logged from prior stakeholder mapping sessions. - **Brain contract:** Reads Sections 2, 3, 8. Writes: none — this skill does not write to `/foundation/brain.md`; it may propose new Section 8 `stakeholders` or `approvals` entries, written only by `product-marketing-context` after the user confirms. - **Personal context:** if `/foundation/me.md` exists, read it for format and detail only (see the personal context rule in `SKILL-SPEC.md`). --- ## Connectors (Optional) | Connector | What it adds | |---|---| | `~~team chat` | Who is active in launch threads | | `~~email` | Stakeholder email threads | | `~~calendar` | Meeting cadence and attendees | > **No connectors?** Paste the material and I'll work from that. The output has the same shape. > Pulled facts are drafts: each is tagged with category, tool and date, and nothing is written until you confirm. --- ## Pre-flight - Load `/foundation/brain.md` Sections 2, 3, 8 if it exists. If Section 8 lists stakeholders or approvals, start the map from them and mark each as `from brain`; add only people the initiative needs that are missing — see Step 0 for the full sequence. - Check `/context/skill-sessions.md` for a recent `gtm-motions` session. If one exists, use its confirmed motion to ground stakeholder power (who owns the primary channel, who's affected by the secondary). If none exists, proceed without it — don't block, and don't claim motion context was loaded when it wasn't. - Load `/context/meta-patterns.md` if it exists, and surface any guardrail that has fired 2+ times in prior stakeholder mapping sessions — see Step 0. - No hard block: this skill runs without brain context, with reduced calibration. --- ## Steps ### Step 0 — Pre-Flight: Load Context & Surface Guardrails Before intake, load: - **Brain context** (Sections 2, 3, 5): ICP, positioning, GTM motion — these shape which stakeholders matter and what power they hold - **Guardrails** from `/context/meta-patterns.md`, if that file exists in the user's workspace: if a pattern has actually fired 2+ times in prior sessions the user has logged there, surface it now **Surface guardrails like this:** ```` 🔁 PATTERN FROM PRIOR STAKEHOLDER MAPS I've seen [pattern description] in 2 prior sessions. Examples: [specific initiatives or stakeholder failure modes] Quick check: Does this apply to your initiative? - If YES → We'll build it into the Watch For signals - If NO → Let's flag it if it emerges during mapping ```` You can skip a guardrail if you disagree, but you'll see it first. If `/context/meta-patterns.md` doesn't exist, skip this step silently — it isn't required for the skill to run. --- ### Step 1 — Intake (Conversational, One Round) Ask 6 questions in one conversational block: 1. **What's the initiative?** — One sentence. Launch, campaign, pricing change, new channel, GTM pivot, or internal programme. 2. **What does success look like in 60–90 days?** — Specific. A number, behaviour, deal closed, or capability shipped. 3. **Who has explicitly said yes to this?** — Name champions by role. Who's already committed? 4. **Who has said nothing, or who might push back?** — Name people or functions you're unsure about. 5. **What's the highest-stakes decision that needs to get made?** — Who makes it or can veto it? 6. **What's your timeline?** — When does the first irreversible action happen? (Announcement, budget commit, sales enablement kickoff, etc.) If they share a brief or plan, read it fully. Extract stakeholder names, decision gates, power signals. Reflect back in 3 sentences before proceeding. Assumption-surfacing, not polish. --- ### Step 2 — Inversion: Who Could Sink This? After intake, ask: > "One more: **if this failed because of an internal stakeholder — who would it most likely be, and why?** > Not execution gaps. The person or team whose resistance, inaction, or misalignment would be the root cause." If they can't answer clearly, flag it: "If you can't name who could sink this, the political map is assumed — not validated. We'll surface this risk in the mapping step." --- ### Step 3 — Classification: Power × Interest Grid + Political Roles Place each stakeholder on a 2×2 grid: | | High Interest | Low Interest | |---|---|---| | **High Power** | 🔴 **Manage Closely** — Make-or-kill power. Meet early, involve in decisions. | 🟡 **Keep Satisfied** — Can block silently. Periodic high-signal updates only. | | **Low Power** | 🟢 **Keep Informed** — Amplify or dampen momentum. Regular updates, invite to demos. | ⚪ **Monitor** — Light-touch. Available on request. | For each stakeholder, assign a **political role** (beyond quadrant placement): - 🏆 **Champion** — Proactively advocates. Arm with proof points; give early wins to share. - 🛑 **Blocker** — Actively opposes or competes for resources. Diagnose: values conflict, territorial, or information gap? - 🧊 **Frozen** — Neither supporting nor opposing; silent. Silence is not alignment. Investigate and re-engage. - 🔍 **Gatekeeper** — Controls access to decision-maker or budget, but isn't the decision-maker. Never bypass. - 🎭 **Performer** — Says yes in rooms, acts differently outside. Validate with written artefacts, not verbal agreement. - 🌊 **Floating Voter** — Undecided. Moveable by evidence, relationships, or early momentum. Bring them a win from a Champion. --- ### Step 4 — Conflict Mapping Identify stakeholder conflicts. For each conflict: 1. **Stakeholder A vs Stakeholder B** — Name both 2. **Conflict description** — 2 sentences 3. **Second-order risk** — What happens if unresolved by the decision gate? (Not just what they do, but what breaks downstream) 4. **Resolution owner + deadline** — Specific structural move the PMM owns Unresolved conflicts compound. Assign resolution explicitly. --- ### Step 5 — Silent Blocker Scan Ask: Which functions/roles aren't in the room but could kill this? - Finance (if pricing or budget implications) - Legal (if compliance or contract implications) - Security/InfoSec (if data or access implications) - CS/Support (if customer-facing or operational implications) - Sales (if revenue-dependent) - Product (if feature-dependent) - Engineering (if technical or timeline-dependent) For each silent function: what do they control? When to brief them? Who owns outreach? --- ### Step 6 — Output Structure Deliver three artifacts: **Artifact 1: HTML Widget** (render before markdown) - Power × Interest grid with stakeholder chips (colour-coded by political role) - Communication Plan table (Manage Closely + Keep Satisfied only) - Conflict Map cards (each with second-order risk block + resolution block) - PMM Confidence Assessment (six metric cards: Champion coverage, Blocker diagnosis, Frozen visibility, Silent function coverage, Comms plan completeness, Overall) **Artifact 2: Markdown Diagnostic** ```` Initiative: [name] PMM Owner: [name] Date: [YYYY-MM-DD] Primary Decision Gate: [first irreversible action + date] Confidence Score: 🟢 / 🟡 / 🔴 For each Manage Closely + Keep Satisfied stakeholder: [Name / Role] · [Political Role emoji + label] Why they matter: [their power over this initiative — 1–2 sentences] What they care about: [their actual priority, not job title] Risk if neglected: [second-order consequence] Key message: [exact framing they need — not generic positioning] Silent blockers — functions not in the room: [Function] — [what they control] — [when to brief] — [owner] ```` **Artifact 3: Sprint Cards** (one file, one card per Manage Closely + Keep Satisfied stakeholder) ```` Week of: [Monday date] PMM: [name] Decision gate: [date + what] Cards this week: [n] Last updated: [YYYY-MM-DD] [Political Role emoji] [Name] — [Role] 📅 Next touchpoint: [date · format] _(Execution note: what cannot be allowed to slip)_ 📝 Send before touchpoint: [Specific artefact — not "an update"] _[Prep time. Send by deadline.]_ 🎯 What you need from them, by when: [Explicit ask. Deadline. What to do if no response.] 🗣️ The one sentence that has to land: "[Exact line in their frame]" _(If they push back: "[Response that holds frame]")_ 🚨 Watch for: [Specific behavioural signal that means they've shifted] → [Immediate action if signal fires] ```` If the user wants any of these three artifacts saved to a file, ask where — this skill doesn't write those artifacts to any file on its own. --- ### Step 7 — Learning Close End every completed session by appending one entry to `/context/skill-sessions.md`, in the format defined in `product-marketing-context/.claude-plugin/skill-sessions-format.md` (Type A — execution session): ````yaml type: execution skill: stakeholder-maps session_date: [YYYY-MM-DD] pattern: [one falsifiable statement about what happened this session, or "none"] source: [surprised / wrong / missing / N/A] ```` Write this row directly — do not ask the user for permission. This is an observational log entry, separate from the three artifacts above, which still require the user's go-ahead on where to save them. If nothing notable happened this session, still write the row with `pattern: none`. --- ## Outputs - **Files written:** `/context/skill-sessions.md` — one appended row per session, per Step 7. The HTML widget, markdown diagnostic, and Sprint Cards are delivered in chat only; if the user wants any saved to a file, ask where — this skill doesn't write those artifacts to any file on its own. - **Chat output format:** HTML widget (grid + comms plan + conflict map + confidence assessment), followed by the markdown diagnostic and Sprint Cards (Step 6). - **External side effects:** None beyond the session log above. --- ## Verification - Guardrails checked at Step 0 if `/context/meta-patterns.md` exists. - Inversion question asked and answered before classification (Step 2). - Every stakeholder placed on the grid and assigned a political role (Step 3). - Every conflict has a second-order risk and a named resolution owner (Step 4). - Silent blocker scan run across all seven functions (Step 5). - Session logged to `/context/skill-sessions.md` (Step 7). --- ## Operating Rules - **Silence is not alignment.** Frozen until proven otherwise. - **Name the Performers.** Verbal yes without written commitment = it didn't happen. - **Second-order before action.** Ask "and then what?" once before every comms decision. - **The map is a working tool.** Update after every major alignment conversation. - **Gatekeepers aren't blockers.** Bypassing them converts them. - **Sprint Cards are weekly.** If not updated in 10 days, it's wrong. --- ## Quality Gate | Check | Pass = | |---|---| | Inversion check run | Named who could sink this | | Political roles assigned | Every stakeholder has a role beyond quadrant | | HTML widget rendered | Grid + comms table + conflict map + confidence cards | | Comms plan table | Every Manage Closely + Keep Satisfied has key message + next action | | Conflict map | Every conflict has second-order risk + resolution block | | Markdown diagnostic | Rendered with role analysis for Manage Closely stakeholders | | Sprint Cards | Five fields per stakeholder, no exceptions | | Watch For signals | Every Manage Closely card has behavioral signal + immediate action | | Brain context | Map cross-referenced with ICP, GTM motion, positioning | | Learning Close ran | `/context/skill-sessions.md` has a new row for this session | --- ## Initiative Type Modifiers | Initiative Type | Dominant Quadrant Risk | Watch especially for | |---|---|---| | **Product Launch** | Manage Closely → Sales, Product | Sales Performers (verbal yes, no enablement) | | **Pricing Change** | Keep Satisfied → Finance, Legal, CS | Finance silent blocker; CS frozen with blast radius | | **New Channel** | Keep Informed → Demand Gen, RevOps | Channel conflicts; RevOps as gatekeeper | | **GTM Pivot** | Manage Closely → CEO, Sales VP, RevOps | VP Performers; ICs frozen on old motion | | **New Market Entry** | Manage Closely → Regional leads, Legal | Local Gatekeepers; home market frozen voters | | **Campaign Launch** | Keep Informed → Content, Design, Sales | Legal/Brand silent blockers; Sales Floating Voters | | **Internal Programme** | Manage Closely → HR, Finance, Ops | Function heads seeing overhead (Blockers) | --- ## Do Not Use For - **Campaign messaging** → use gaccs-brief (after stakeholder map) - **Risk analysis** → use pre-mortem (before stakeholder map) - **GTM channel design** → use go-to-market-strategy