As the intensity of the change increases, so does the level of management required to appease the stakeholders. Communication is the key. Basically, think about the stakeholders and their need to answer the question: "What's in it for me?" (WIIFM). Use the 5 "W's": Who, what, when, where, and why. Who are the stakeholders? They can be internal, external, direct, or indirect. Project stakeholders are peers, managers, and subordinates within an organization. Maybe they competed for the same budget dollars. Maybe a stakeholder persuaded the department's best employee to come work for him or her or did not give you and your team the support needed for a prior project. They may also be customers, vendors, or regulators who have a different set of ideals and goals. Whoever they are, they are coming from different places in (or outside) the organization and they may have different agendas and perspectives. All this needs to be accounted for in the stakeholder management plan. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to start with a strategy for dealing with the stakeholders and document it in a plan. There may be components