Enterprise Architecture: The Struggle is Real
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The Reluctant Stakeholder: Convincing Someone Who Doesn’t Want to Be Convinced

The Reluctant Stakeholder: Convincing Someone Who Doesn’t Want to Be Convinced

Ralph Webster
August 22, 2025

Greetings, architects! Welcome back to Enterprise Architecture: The Struggle is Real.
This week we tackle a classic workplace phenomenon: the stakeholder who treats every EA initiative like an unsolicited gym membership — they didn’t ask for it, they don’t want it, and they will resist until the bitter end.

The Main Story: The Stakeholder Stonewall

Picture this:
You’ve got a shiny new architecture roadmap, complete with heatmaps, migration paths, and a suspicious number of hexagons. The CIO loves it. The board signs off. The whole thing is ready to roll — except for one critical stakeholder.

This person’s responses come in three flavors:

The “smile-and-nod” defense: They agree to everything in the meeting, then ghost your emails for weeks.
The “endless loop” tactic: “I just have a few more questions…” (Spoiler: it’s always the same question, rephrased).
The “strategic vacation” maneuver: Suddenly, every key decision point coincides with their holiday in Bali.

Meanwhile, your carefully aligned capability map sits untouched, like an IKEA manual no one dares open.

TOGAF to the Rescue (Sort Of)

TOGAF doesn’t promise to turn skeptics into believers overnight, but it does offer tools for diplomacy:

Stakeholder Map (ADM Phase A): Identify their influence and interest levels. Translation: know if you’re dealing with a “powerful blocker” or just a “casual complainer.”
Concerns Catalog: Frame their objections as legitimate architectural concerns, rather than “Jeff being Jeff again.”
Communication Plan: Tailor your pitch. Some stakeholders want detail; others only want three slides and a strong cup of coffee.

Think of TOGAF as your translator: turning “I don’t like change” into “Valid concern about operational continuity.”

Educational Twist: Practical Tips

When dealing with reluctant stakeholders:

Speak their language: If they care about cost, show them ROI. If they care about control, show them governance.
Show incremental wins: Don’t sell the cathedral, sell the scaffolding.
Create allies: Pair them with a more enthusiastic stakeholder — peer pressure can be an EA superpower.

Humor in Diagrams

Have you ever had a stakeholder who made inaction their primary contribution? Send us your survival stories — the funniest ones might make it into a future issue.

Next Week’s Tease

“The Accidental Architect: When someone who isn’t an architect makes EA decisions anyway.”