the book
Surviving The
Stakeholder Safari
Navigate personalities. Build influence. Get results.
Managing your stakeholders is the key to project and product success.
But WOW is it messy!
If you’ve ever wondered why good ideas stall, decisions wobble, or progress mysteriously collapses, it’s because you’re not just managing work — you’re navigating a habitat and this book helps you recognise and lead the creatures in that habitat.
Navigate complexity
Find your way through unclear agendas and politics
Understand people
Read stakeholder behaviour and adapt your approach
Build influence
Earn trust, gain buy-in and get results.
the book
Watch your step...everything bites
WELCOME TO THE STAKEHOLDER SAFARI.
If stakeholder management is a challenge then this book can be your survival guide.
This book gives you the tools, models and real-world examples to understand stakeholders’ behaviours and influence your ecosystem with confidence.
Inside, you’ll meet 50 types of stakeholder:
- The SEAGULL who swoops in late and leaves a mess
- The GOAT who blocks progress without raising their voice
- The CAMEL who carries it all… until that final straw breaks them
- The SPIDER who waits patiently — then strikes with devastating precision
They’re not villains. They’re exhibiting understandable survival behaviours, often reinforced and rewarded by the environment.
It’s a practical, real guide to responding skilfully rather than reacting emotionally.
Identify and understand key stakeholders
Adapt your approach to different personalities
Manage conflict and disruptive behaviours
Build influence without authority and lasting relationships
Keep projects moving without the drama
Who is this for?
This book is for leaders, product people, coaches, and change-makers.
If you’ve ever felt outnumbered by “difficult personalities” or quietly frustrated by invisible power plays, this guide will help you survive — and lead — the safari with more clarity, steadiness, and impact.
Product Managers
Build alignment for greater discovery and delivery
Project Managers
Deliver projects with greater confidence
Team Leaders
Build a more cohesive team for stronger impact
Change Leaders
Build greater buy-in and lower resistance to change
reviews
What Readers Are Saying
“A brilliant, practical guide with a dash of fun. It helped me understand and empathise with my stakeholders"
James T
Programme Director
Geoff has created a set of "animals" with instantly recognisable behaviour traits, some of which I'm even embarrassed to admit I see in myself! He's also shared great tips for understanding these people and a step by step way of using this knowledge to make your stakeholder management so much easier.
Libby Hallows
Senior Agile Coach
Full of real-world insight you can use immediately. A must-have tool for your stakeholder management.
Holly Bowman
Product Leader
Get Your Copy
Available in paperback, hardback, Kindle and audiobook
Bulk orders for teams and organisations available.
