The Innovator's Toolkit: 50+ Techniques for Predictable and Sustainable Organic Growth, 2nd Edition

Technique 10

Stakeholder Management

Get key influencers involved and on your side.

 

Stakeholder management helps you identify key stakeholders—people who have a vested interest in your innovation project—along with each person's level of support or resistance. Whether you're enhancing your existing products or services, adding something new to your offerings, or pioneering a breakthrough business model, you are in essence changing the status quo. Where there is change, there is pain, and where there is pain, there is resistance.

Resistance comes in all forms, from outright disagreement to subtle opposition, even subconscious sabotage. Stakeholder management helps you identify and understand the opposition your project may face so you can convert disbelievers into disciples—or at least minimize the damage they may cause. The Stakeholder Management technique includes three tools that will get you started, although formal change leadership training can take your skills in this area to a more effective level.

Steps

Scenario: In addition to using stakeholder management to gain support for an innovation project, you most certainly should leverage it when undertaking any large organizational initiative. For instance, imagine that your CEO feels strongly that innovation is the key to your company's growth, and charges you with leading an innovation deployment. Stakeholder management can help you identify who besides the CEO is in favor of the initiative so you can leverage supporters ...