stakeholder-map

name	stakeholder-map
description	Build or update a stakeholder map for an account — contacts, roles, influence, relationship health, engagement gaps, and sponsor risk assessment. Use when preparing for a QBR, after an org change, or when relationship coverage feels thin. Produces both an internal analysis and a clean contact reference.
argument-hint	[account name] [--map | --gap-analysis | --sponsor-risk]
version	1.0.0
deployment_target	plugin

/stakeholder-map

[PROPOSED]

Surface who matters in this account, how healthy those relationships are, and where engagement gaps create risk — calibrated to your CS motion.

Use When

• Starting a new account relationship and need to map the buying and influencing stakeholders
• An executive sponsor has departed or changed and the map needs updating
• Preparing for a QBR or renewal and need to verify stakeholder coverage
• Champion has gone dark and you need to identify alternative relationships

Do NOT Use For

• Full account context (use /csm:account-research)
• Call preparation (use /csm:call-prep)
• Escalation routing (use /csm:escalation-memo)
• Competitive intelligence on customer stakeholders

Typical Activation

"/csm:stakeholder-map Acme Corp" "/csm:stakeholder-map Acme Corp --update" "/csm:stakeholder-map Acme Corp --gaps" "Map the stakeholders at [account]" "Who are the key contacts at [customer]?" "Update the stakeholder map for [account]"

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Pre-flight

Read ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-customer-success/csm/CLAUDE.md and ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-customer-success/company-profile.md.

If either is missing or contains [PLACEHOLDER] markers, stop and prompt for /csm:cold-start-interview.

Note from config:

• CS motion — high-touch has deeper stakeholder coverage requirements than tech-touch
• Escalation matrix — know who to loop in if executive sponsor is at risk
• Health model — sponsor engagement is often a health component; apply thresholds

G-code dependency: All G-code guardrails referenced in this skill (G1–G9) are defined in the CLAUDE.md config loaded above. If Pre-flight halts or config is missing, G-codes are undefined — do not proceed with partial config.

Reasoning Protocol

Before generating output, apply these primers:

1. CLASSIFY: What type of stakeholder mapping request is this?

   • Coverage Assessment — baseline view of known contacts, missing roles, and role coverage against CS motion requirements
   • Engagement Gap Detection — contacts are known but engagement is cold or uneven; focus on who dropped off and what it signals
   • Sponsor Risk Evaluation — executive sponsor stability concern: departure signals, tenure, succession gaps, renewal proximity
   • Influence Mapping — understanding decision dynamics: who blocks, who accelerates, who holds real authority vs. named authority
   • Pre-Event Preparation — map built or refreshed for an upcoming QBR, renewal, or executive meeting; recency is critical

2. CONSTRAINTS: What limits the solution space?

   • CS motion (high-touch vs. tech-touch) determines minimum role coverage and dormancy thresholds — check config before applying defaults
   • Data source freshness: CRM contact lists decay; never present contacts as current without verifying last-activity date
   • Confidentiality: stakeholder maps are internal documents — never include in customer-facing deliverables
   • Escalation matrix must be configured before routing sponsor risk actions — flag if missing
   • Detractor designation requires direct evidence (stated opposition, negative NPS) — inference from silence or title is prohibited
   • G1: Do not classify accounts as likely to churn or assign churn probability — present component signals only
   • G4: Do not recommend escalation without a named escalation path configured in the escalation matrix
   • G5: Internal data (health scores, ARR, expansion signals) must never appear in customer-facing output
   • G7: Flag any data older than 30 days with source date and staleness indicator

3. EXPERT CHECK: What would a veteran CSM verify first?

   • Is this account single-threaded? (Only one active contact across all roles = immediate risk regardless of other signals)
   • Does the executive sponsor's observed behavior match their CRM role? (Title ≠ authority — verify through contract signatures, QBR attendance, stated decision power)
   • Are dormancy thresholds role-appropriate? (Executive quarterly contact is healthy; champion 30-day silence in high-touch is declining)

4. ANTI-PATTERNS: Common mistakes to avoid:

   • Presenting CRM contact lists as stakeholder coverage — CRM includes departed, inactive, and irrelevant contacts; filter by recency and verify role
   • Treating all silence equally — a 45-day gap means different things for an executive sponsor vs. a day-to-day champion
   • Inferring influence from org-chart proximity instead of observed behavior (call attendance, stated authority, escalation patterns)
   • Labeling contacts as detractors based on silence or tone without direct evidence
   • Escalating sponsor risk from a single signal (one missed QBR, one LinkedIn update) — require 2+ independent signals
   • Building an exhaustive 20+ contact map when the top 8-10 by influence and recency would surface the actual signal

After execution, verify:

• Does the output answer the implicit question the CSM is asking?
• Are all data sources timestamped and staleness-flagged?
• Is the output mode matched to the actual need?
• Confidence: [High] if 2+ live sources corroborate / [Medium] if single-source or partially stale / [Low] if user-provided context only — state which.

For complex scenarios, load additional reasoning:

• Domain-specific blueprint: references/reasoning-blueprint.md

Mode

--map: Full stakeholder map — all known contacts, roles, influence, last contact, relationship health, and engagement notes.

--gap-analysis: Focus on engagement gaps — who should be engaged but isn't, how long since last contact, risk of orphaned relationships.

--sponsor-risk: Assess executive sponsor health specifically — tenure, engagement history, signals of departure risk, succession path.

Default: --map.

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Data gathering

Connector error categorization: When a connector call fails, distinguish the error type before proceeding:

• Rate-limited (transient): Connector returns HTTP 429 or equivalent throttle signal. Note the rate limit explicitly in output ("CRM data temporarily rate-limited — retry in 60 seconds recommended") and offer to retry rather than proceeding with degraded output.
• Unavailable (permanent for this session): Connector is not configured, authentication has expired, or service is down. Fall back to the manual-input path below and label all affected sections as "connector unavailable — manual input used." Do not conflate these — a rate-limited connector will return data shortly; an unavailable connector will not.

Pull from connected integrations:

• CRM: contact list with titles, departments, roles, last activity date
• Call recording: attendees across last 3-5 calls — who's been on calls, who's dropped off
• CS Platform: any stakeholder engagement health signals if tracked

Prompt for missing context:

"To build a useful stakeholder map, I need to know who's involved at [account]. Tell me: who's the executive sponsor? Who's the day-to-day champion? Are there any stakeholders who've gone quiet or changed recently?"

For high-touch motion: aim for at minimum executive sponsor + champion + end-user representative in the map. Flag any missing tier as a gap.

For tech-touch motion: key contact minimum is one champion or primary point of contact. Executive sponsor may not be a regular touchpoint — note the difference.

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Stakeholder map structure

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Stakeholder Map — [Account Name] [Date] · INTERNAL — not for distribution

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Contact register

Name	Title	Department	Role in account	Influence	Last contact	Engagement health
[Name]	[Title]	[Dept]	[Executive sponsor / Champion / End user / Economic buyer / Detractor / Unknown]	[High / Medium / Low]	[Date or "never"]	[Active / Declining / Dormant / Unknown]

Role definitions for this account:

• Executive sponsor: Ultimate budget authority; renewal decision-maker; attends exec reviews
• Champion: Day-to-day advocate; drives internal adoption; primary CSM contact
• Economic buyer: Signs contracts; may not be involved in day-to-day
• End user representative: Provides product feedback; adoption signal
• Detractor: Known or suspected resistance to the product or the relationship
• Unknown: Contact identified but role and influence not yet assessed

Engagement health thresholds (from configured CS motion):

• High-touch: Declining = >30 days no contact; Dormant = >60 days no contact
• Tech-touch: Declining = >60 days; Dormant = >90 days
• Adjust thresholds for executive vs. operational contacts

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Relationship health summary

Strong relationships:

• [Name] ([role]): [1-line note on what makes this relationship strong]

Relationships at risk:

• [Name] ([role]): [Last contact: date] — [specific risk signal] [review]
• [Name] ([role]): [Dormant / never engaged / tone shifted on last call]

Missing coverage:

• [Role / tier] not currently covered — no known contact in this role at [account]

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Executive sponsor assessment

Current executive sponsor: [Name], [Title]

Signal	Status	Notes
Tenure in role	[N months]	[New exec, established, or unknown]
Last direct contact	[Date] — [N days ago]	[Call / email / meeting]
QBR attendance	[Regular / Irregular / Never]	[Last attended: date]
LinkedIn activity	[Active / Not monitored]	[Recent company change signal if visible]
Internal champion report	[Stable / Concerned]	[What the champion has said, if anything]
Contract signatory	[Yes / No / Unknown]

Sponsor risk level: [Low / Medium / High]

Risk indicators:

• New in role (<90 days) → onboarding exposure; build relationship before renewal
• Long-tenured but disengaged → may be a figurehead; find the real decision-maker
• Recent org change at their level → potential departure risk
• Missed two consecutive QBRs → engagement risk; escalate per matrix

Succession plan: Who is the secondary sponsor or internal champion who could fill this role? [Name / "Unknown — no identified successor"] [review if unknown]

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Influence map

Narrative description of how decisions move through this account. Who influences whom? Who blocks decisions? Who accelerates them?

"[Champion name] is the primary driver of internal adoption — all end-user onboarding goes through them. [Exec sponsor name] is the economic buyer but delegates day-to-day decisions to [Champion]. [Finance contact name] surfaces at renewal; has blocked two vendor renewals in the past 18 months per public filings [if known from external research]."

Keep this concise — 3-5 sentences. If influence dynamics are unknown, say so. Don't fabricate relationship dynamics from titles alone.

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Engagement gap analysis

Who should be engaged but isn't:

Contact	Role	Gap	Why it matters	Recommended action
[Name]	[Role]	[N days / never]	[Risk if gap continues]	[Specific action]

Who has gone quiet (declining engagement):

Contact	Role	Previously engaged	Last contact	Signal
[Name]	[Role]	[How engaged they were]	[Date]	[Drop off pattern]

Who is new and not yet mapped:

"[Account] has an org change — [Name] joined as [title] on [date]. No contact established yet. Recommend an introduction call before the next QBR." [review]

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Recommended actions

1-3 specific actions based on the gap analysis. Not generic.

Examples:

• "Schedule an executive sponsor touch before [date] — last contact was [N] days ago, approaching the configured [threshold] for high-touch accounts. Suggested: 15-minute briefing on [relevant topic]."
• "Identify a secondary champion — [current champion name] is the only internal advocate; single-threaded relationship is a renewal risk."
• "Request introduction to [Economic buyer name] before renewal — they sign contracts but have never been on a call."
• "Route exec sponsor risk per escalation matrix: notify [configured contact] via [channel] within [SLA]."

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Sponsor risk mode (--sponsor-risk)

Output only the executive sponsor assessment section plus a 1-paragraph risk narrative and specific next action. Use this for a quick check rather than a full map rebuild.

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Reviewer note

⚠️ Reviewer note

• Sources: [CRM ✓ live — [N] contacts retrieved | CRM [configured but unverified] | call recording: attendees from last [N] calls | user provided | not connected — conversation context only]
• Data as of: [timestamp]
• Relationship health assessments: [Based on last-contact dates from CRM | partially inferred from call attendee patterns | user-provided description]
• Flagged for your judgment: [N items marked [review] inline | none]
• Internal document: Do not share this map or the engagement health assessments externally without removing internal notes and health signals.

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Output

Stakeholder map — format driven by --standard (default) or --sponsor-risk flag. Standard output: contact table with role, influence tier, sentiment, and engagement recommendation. Sponsor risk mode adds executive vulnerability assessment and mitigation actions. See mode-specific sections for field-level structure.

Guardrails

Relationship health is a heuristic. Engagement gap thresholds are configurable baselines, not diagnostic verdicts. A contact who hasn't replied in 45 days may be on leave, may be thriving, or may be disengaged — the map flags the gap for the CSM's judgment, not for automatic escalation.

Influence dynamics require caution. Inferences about who influences whom must be drawn from direct observations (call attendance, communication patterns, stated roles) — not from org chart proximity alone.

Detractor designation. Only label a contact as a detractor if there is direct evidence (expressed opposition, negative NPS, stated objection). Do not infer detractor status from lack of engagement or from a title.

Sponsor departure signal. If the executive sponsor shows departure risk signals (new role on LinkedIn, internal champion mentions transition), route per the configured escalation matrix before drawing conclusions.

No customer-facing distribution. The stakeholder map is an internal document. Do not share with the customer or include in customer-facing deliverables.

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After the map

• "Want to run a health review for this account? /csm:health-score-review [account]"
• "Sponsor risk is high — want a risk memo? /csm:risk-flag [account]"
• "Building a QBR? Add stakeholder context to it: /csm:qbr-builder [account]"
• "Prepping for a call with the exec sponsor? /csm:call-prep [account]"

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Reference Files

The following reference files govern this skill's detailed behavior. They are loaded on-demand when the relevant behavior is being applied — they are not front-loaded into every response.

File	Purpose
references/reasoning-blueprint.md	Problem classification taxonomy, domain heuristics, common failure modes, and expert judgment patterns for this skill

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Security & Permissions

• network_access: outbound_allowlist (CRM, CS platform per configured integrations)
• filesystem_write: false
• filesystem_read: config files only (~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-customer-success/csm/CLAUDE.md and company-profile.md)
• subprocess_execution: false
• dynamic_code_execution: false

Trust & Verification

• Stakeholder relationship assessments are internal — must not appear in any customer-visible output
• Influence and sentiment scores are CSM-facing only
• If config files are missing or contain [PLACEHOLDER] markers, halt and prompt for /csm:cold-start-interview