Add attitude
A high-power, high-interest stakeholder who's a blocker needs a different strategy than the same stakeholder who's a supporter. The grid alone can't tell you which it is. Color-code your stakeholder list: green (supporter), yellow (neutral / undecided), red (blocker / skeptic). Track changes over time.
Salience (Mitchell, Agle, Wood 1997)
The Mitchell-Agle-Wood model adds urgency as a third axis to power + legitimacy. A stakeholder with all three (power, legitimate claim, urgent timing) is "definitive" — drop everything. Power + legitimacy without urgency = "dominant" — important but can wait. Urgency without power = "demanding" — vocal but can be deferred safely.
Influence dynamics
Stakeholders influence each other. A skeptical CFO might be neutralized by a supportive CTO talking to her. The map is a graph, not a list. Identify the brokers — people whose endorsement shifts other stakeholders. Investing in one broker can flip three blockers.
↳ in the wild