You need to get better at stakeholder management. Every party has its own interest, and none of them reports to you.
Stakeholders move on their own interest. You learn to see, per party, what pulls them towards your plan and what holds them back, and how to build your approach on that. That is how you influence what people choose and do.
2 days · Amsterdam · € 1,490 excl. VAT · next edition see the calendarOnline · 33 lessons at your own pace · €1,190 excl. VAT
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Answer three questions. Then you see what is going on for you.
You said: everyone defends their own interest, and it goes nowhere.
You said: there is agreement at the table, and then everyone does their own thing.
You said: one party blocks everything.
You said: you have tried all sorts, and nothing has changed.
And the hardest are the directors. They weigh your plan against their own risk.
And the hardest are other departments. They have their own targets to answer for.
And the hardest are outside parties. They have people of their own to explain it to.
At the table you hear positions: what a party wants. The interest is why they want it: what they have to protect or achieve. As long as you talk about positions, everyone defends their own.
Tomorrow, have one conversation outside the meeting. Ask what goes wrong for that party if your plan goes ahead. That is where the interest sits.
Saying yes at the table is easy. Back in their own organisation, someone has to defend that agreement to people who were not there. If that is hard, nothing happens.
Tomorrow, ask one stakeholder what they need in order to explain it internally. Make it for them: one sentence, and one answer to the objection they expect.
A party that keeps blocking loses something if your plan goes ahead: a say, budget or face. As long as that loss is on the table, no argument changes their position.
Tomorrow, find out what this party loses. Then see what you can adjust to make that loss smaller, without letting go of your goal.
Explanation, arguments and pressure all work on the same side: they push. The doubts and comforts that keep people with the old way stay where they are. As long as they do, pushing harder mostly produces more counter-pressure.
Tomorrow, plan no new action. First map what is holding people back. Then you know what to remove.
The Art of Influence© · 2 days · AmsterdamThe Art of Influence© · online · 33 lessons
After the training you see, per party, what moves them and what holds them back. And you know how to build your approach on that.
Start online now →€ 1,490 excl. VAT · next edition see the calendar · max 16 participantsOnline · 33 lessons at your own pace · €1,190 excl. VAT
The Art of Influence© is the SUE training for anyone who wants to get better at stakeholder management. You learn to map, per party, which forces pull them towards your plan and which hold them back, and how to build your approach on that. It is for project leads, programme managers, advisers and policy makers, with no prior knowledge required. You follow it online at your own pace (€ 1,190 excl. VAT) or in two days live in Amsterdam (€ 1,490 excl. VAT, at most 16 participants).
“At the Academy you learn a lot about behavioral change and how to apply it in a short period of time. The training flew by and was very well put together. Amazing how complicated material comes to life in a fun and interactive course! I am definitely going to apply it in my work and explore it further.”
10,000+ professionals trained, including people from
You map the forces per stakeholder: what pulls them towards your plan and what holds them back.
You hear in a conversation which interest sits under a position.
You build your proposal so that each party can explain it to its own people.
You test your approach with one party, before you take on the whole field.
You learn this with the Behavioural Design Method© and the SUE | Influence Framework©. It builds on the force field analysis of psychologist Kurt Lewin, who saw that weakening the restraining forces works better than pushing harder.
The live edition has a maximum of 16 participants: you practise on real cases from practice. Online you follow the same programme in 33 lessons, at your own pace and with feedback from a trainer on every assignment.
| Training with stakeholder analysis and matrix | One-day masterclass | The Art of Influence© | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | Usually one or two days | One day | Online at your own pace, or two days live |
| What you learn | Sorting stakeholders by power and interest | Inspiration and examples | Seeing, per party, what moves them and holds them back |
| What you work on | Your overview of parties | A first introduction | The choice each party has to make |
If you mainly need a model to sort your stakeholders, a training with analysis and matrix is the quicker route. If you want parties with their own interests to choose your plan, you are in the right place.
Trainer & consultant
Helps organisations understand why people do what they do, and steers it in culture and wellbeing programmes.
Trainer & consultant
Designs lasting change in healthcare and sustainability, in people and in organisations.
Product designer & UX strategist
Turns behavioural science into practical solutions that help teams innovate faster.
Trainer & consultant
Founded the Behavioural Design Circle at ABN AMRO and has spent 25 years on customer behaviour and change.
The knowledge I have gained in this training is immediately applicable in my daily practice. We now have a practical tool to link technical changes to behaviour, so that the improvements are actually changed in people's minds. This minimizes relapses into old habits.
Valuable training where existing knowledge is clearly incorporated into practical frameworks, making behavioral design accessible to everyone.
An educational training that provides easy tools for behavioral change.
Maps, in one overview, the forces that hold people back and those that move them.
Translates what you found into interventions that make going along easier than holding back.
Shows what people are really trying to get done, and why the old behaviour fits that.
The questions that let you hear what people do not say in the meeting.
Pins down exactly which behaviour you want to see and how you test it small before rolling out.
After purchase you receive the AI Mentor, after the training your certificate and lifelong membership of the Behavioural Design Club.
Most participants take the training on their employer’s budget or their own training budget. The VAT invoice goes to your organisation: €1,490 excl. VAT. Open the email below, fill in three things and send it to your manager.
2 days · Amsterdam · € 1,490 excl. VAT · next edition see the calendar · max 16 participants · EQAC certificateOnline · 33 lessons at your own pace · €1,190 excl. VAT
Yes. In The Art of Influence© you learn stakeholder management from behaviour: you map, per party, what pulls them towards your plan and what holds them back. The SUE | Influence Framework© is itself a force field analysis, which you fill in for each stakeholder.
For project leads, programme managers, advisers and policy makers who need to bring people along. No background in behavioural science required.
Yes. The method works with anyone who has to make a choice you are not in charge of: directors, other departments, local authorities, suppliers or residents. You need no formal authority for it.
Yes. Online you follow the same programme in 33 lessons, at your own pace, with personal feedback from a trainer on every assignment. You have six months of access and pay € 1,190 excluding VAT.
The live edition has a maximum of 16 participants and takes place at SUE on the 's-Gravenhekje in Amsterdam. English-language editions run several times a year; you choose from all dates when you enrol.
The online edition costs € 1,190 excluding VAT, with the Behavioural Design Toolkit and a digital certificate. The live edition costs € 1,490 excluding VAT, including the toolkit, lunch, the EQAC certificate, access to the AI Mentor after purchase and lifelong membership of the BD Club.
An EQAC-certified certificate for The Art of Influence©. Participants rate the training 9.3 out of 10.
Yes. The Art of Influence© is also available in-company, with a question from your own organisation as the case.
With your whole team? See the team trainings.
How to get directors and colleagues from other departments to choose your plan, even when you are not in charge of them.
Read the guide →Support grows in the situation where people have to choose. What you do differently when you design that situation.
Read the guide →How to bring along people who do not report to you, without having to instruct them.
Read the guide →Whoever sorts their stakeholders has an overview. Whoever knows what moves them has influence.
