People often say that good intentions alone are not enough. They need to be followed by action, persistence, and practical thinking. Good intentions and ideas are necessary but not sufficient conditions for successful service or product conception and delivery. Between intentions and ideas and client and citizen satisfaction is a vast space of various terrain and stakeholders who can influence projects and policies in many ways.

Getting from idea to result is rarely a straight line between two points. It often involves resistance, twists and turns, adjustments, and learning along the way. It may involve taking a step back to move two steps forward if the project life cycle is to be completed at all. It is not uncommon that a project or policy looking like a “turkey” at conception ends up looking like a “chicken” at adoption or implementation.

That should not be frustrating. Progress is always better than regression. Truly great ideas will find their original forms in the long run through lessons learned and continuous improvement. They may be implemented in modified forms initially, but as improvements are sought and taken, their other elements and features are regained. Persistent problems and challenges, like delays and client dissatisfaction, can lead to the original ideas for solutions. Sometimes ideas are so far ahead of their time that they do not see the light until the circumstance is ripe.

Inhabiting the space between good intentions and ideas and client and citizen satisfaction are stakeholders. Stakeholders are people, groups, or organizations who are involved in or affected by a project or policy. They can be internal stakeholders, like employees and organizational leaders, or external, like client groups or citizens.

Stakeholders have power and influence over projects and policies. Failure to consider their concerns and interests can create friction, if not outright obstacles, on the road to delivering client and citizen satisfaction. It could also lead to missed opportunities to advance projects or policies better and more speedily. Stakeholders can see and have good ideas that cannot be seen by proponents in their blind spots (Recall, Johari Window by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham). In short, stakeholders can be project or policy champions, allies, or adversaries.

Thus, knowing and understanding a project or policy stakeholders is strategically important. Stakeholder analysis is critical in project or policy development and implementation. There are several tools that can be used to do a stakeholder analysis. One of these is the Mendelow Power-Interest Matrix, often called the Power-Interest Grid, developed by Aubrey Mendelow in 1991.

The Power-Interest Grid plots stakeholders using two axes. The vertical axis is for power and the horizontal axis for interest. The grid helps classify and prioritize stakeholders based on power and interest. Stakeholders with high power can make or break a project or policy. Stakeholders with high interests have elevated level of concern, involvement, or stake. Interest measures how much a stakeholder cares about what happens to a project or policy, while power measures the ability to influence a project or policy.

As commonly used in the Power-Interest Grid, stakeholders can, thus, be classified under four categories or quadrants: 1) High Power and Low Interest, 2) Low Power and Low Interest, 3) Low Power and High Interest, and 4) High Power and High Interest. High Power and High Interest stakeholders are the most critical not only because they can make or break a project, but they are also highly interested in project or policy outcomes. They are the key players. Hence, they should be engaged and managed closely. Plans and information, including risks, should be timely and appropriately shared and discussed. They should be fully on the same page.

The second most important group is the High Power and Low Interest stakeholders. While they are not actively involved with a project or policy, they hold a strong influence and power that can impact the project’s success. They can block, facilitate, or take the project or policy in a different direction. Hence, they should be kept satisfied.

Low Power and High Interest stakeholders should be kept informed and engaged. While they do not hold high power over a project or policy, they can provide feedback and support. Stakeholders in the Low Power, Low Interest, on the other hand, have limited power and interest in a project or policy and thus, they need only to be monitored with minimal effort. They may become more influential and interested.

Obviously, this is just an introduction of the Power-Interest Grid tool. Interested readers can refer to other resources. The Power-Interest Grid, while it has its appeal, especially for its simplicity and its ability to identify potential detractors and conflicting interests and thus, reduce project or policy risks, has its own limitations. While the limitations can be tweaked to address their limitations to adapt to one’s needs, not all can be addressed.

The bottom line is between good intentions and ideas, and client and citizen satisfaction are other stakeholders other than those at the two end points of the project or policy cycle journey. Considering their power, interests, and characteristics, and behaviors early can avoid challenges and setbacks along the way in serving clients and the public in the best conceivable way, at least eventually if, as public servants, we keep faith in the goal of service excellence and keep plugging away in continuous improvement. Remember, excellence is a journey, not destiny.