01. Bring the external landscape into strategy

Map the external landscape and integrate an external lens into strategy

When this is needed

When you know the external landscape matters, but there is no shared way to see it or bring it into strategy.

SXD can help you if:

  • Business plans are being developed, but the implications for governments, regulators, communities, partners and critics are not fully understood.

  • Stakeholder issues are handled one by one, without an overall map or framework.

  • Important signals from key external players arrive late in the process.

  • Different senior leaders hold different assumptions about “how things work” outside the organisation.

What SXD does

In a typical engagement to bring the external landscape into strategy, SXD will:

  • Map the external landscape around a specific strategy, project or decision: who the key actors are, how they are connected, what their interests are, and how they currently see your organisation.

  • Integrate an external lens into your strategy by connecting that map directly to your strategic choices and assumptions, rather than treating it as a separate, added-on “stakeholder exercise”.

  • Identify external risks and opportunities that really matter for licence to operate, growth and reputation - not every issue, but the ones that can move the dial.

  • Provide a version your executives and board can actually use: concise, visual where appropriate, and focused on what it means for decisions, timing and trade‑offs.

The focus is on creating clarity and practicality, not on building a large register of every possible stakeholder.

How it works in practice

The work usually follows three steps:

1. Define the strategic focus: We start with one or two strategic questions, projects or markets that are keeping you busy. We clarify what is at stake and what decisions are on the table.

2. Build the external landscape: We gather and structure what is already known, test assumptions, and fill gaps where needed — through targeted conversations, document review and analysis. The output is a landscape that reflects power, interest, issues and timing, not just a list of names.

3. Integrate into strategy conversations: We use that view to test and improve your strategy: where you’re vulnerable, missed opportunities, and how this affects the order and design of your plans. SXD can lead or support these talks with your executive team or board.

What changes afterwards

  • Leadership teams have a shared, up-to-date picture of the external environment around key strategies, rather than multiple partial views. 

  • Strategy conversations are informed by external realities as well as internal ambition. 

  • You can anticipate where external friction or support is most likely to come from - and plan accordingly - rather than being surprised by late signals.

  • Corporate affairs, strategy and business leaders work from the same map, making it easier to align engagement, messaging and timing.