Success With Stakeholders The Intentional Product Manager podcast

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast « »

11M ago 38:40

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Join Shobhit Chugh from Intentional Product Manager with special guests Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel, co-authors of Aligned: Stakeholder Management for Product Leaders. This episode offers actionable insights to help you manage stakeholders, build trust, and navigate decision-making cultures. Plus, discover the surprising benefits of "mining for conflict."
Key Takeaways

00:00 Meet the authors: Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel
00:44 The Story Behind the Book: How Aligned was born
01:08 Challenges in stakeholder management: When to say “yes” and “no”
03:28 Building rapport: Why understanding stakeholders is as crucial as understanding customers
05:04 The importance of organizational fit: Identifying hidden roadblocks to career growth
08:15 Communicating effectively: Strengthening relationships between product and sales
11:00 Positioning yourself for promotions and identifying influential "power players"
13:13 Learning from others: Gaining diverse perspectives to craft well-rounded strategies
15:00 Building comfortable, meaningful relationships
15:58 Practicing empathy: Reflecting stakeholder language for clarity and connection
17:00 Turning difficult relationships around: Finding common ground and bridging divides
19:45 Earning a seat at the executive table: Building and maintaining executive relationships
21:00 Mastering “the meeting before the meeting”: Setting up for success
22:48 Decision-making cultures: Identifying decision-makers and distinguishing alignment vs. agreement
26:30 Mining for conflict: Using strategic disagreement to foster psychological safety and alignment
33:37 Trends in product leadership: Balancing empathy with founder-driven dynamics
35:12 Hiring insights: Attracting top talent in competitive markets
37:13 Where to find more about the book and authors
38:22 Closing thoughts

Discover how to deepen relationships, boost your organizational impact, and drive success for your product and company.

Learn more about Shobhit Chugh at intentionalproductmanager.com and connect on https://www.linkedin.com/in/shobhitchugh/

Learn more about Bruce McCarthy at Product Culture or connect on https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucemccarthy/

Learn more about Melissa Appel at Product Culture or connect on https://www.linkedin.com/in/melappel/

Get Bruce and Melissa’s book “Aligned: Stakeholder Management for Product Leaders”

www.intentionalproductmanager.com

Chapters

1. Meet the authors: Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel (00:00:00)

2. The Story Behind the Book: How Aligned was born (00:00:44)

3. Challenges in stakeholder management: When to say “yes” and “no” (00:01:08)

4. Building rapport: Why understanding stakeholders is as crucial as understanding customers (00:03:28)

5. The importance of organizational fit: Identifying hidden roadblocks to career growth (00:05:04)

6. Communicating effectively: Strengthening relationships between product and sales (00:08:15)

7. Positioning yourself for promotions and identifying influential "power players" (00:11:00)

8. Learning from others: Gaining diverse perspectives to craft well-rounded strategies (00:13:13)

9. Building comfortable, meaningful relationships (00:15:00)

10. Practicing empathy: Reflecting stakeholder language for clarity and connection (00:15:58)

11. Turning difficult relationships around: Finding common ground and bridging divides (00:17:00)

12. Earning a seat at the executive table: Building and maintaining executive relationships (00:19:45)

13. Mastering “the meeting before the meeting”: Setting up for success (00:21:00)

14. Decision-making cultures: Identifying decision-makers and distinguishing alignment vs. agreement (00:22:48)

15. Mining for conflict: Using strategic disagreement to foster psychological safety and alignment (00:26:30)

16. Trends in product leadership: Balancing empathy with founder-driven dynamics (00:33:37)

17. Hiring insights: Attracting top talent in competitive markets (00:35:12)

18. Where to find more about the book and authors (00:37:13)

19. Closing thoughts (00:38:22)

39 episodes

00:00 Meet the authors: Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel
00:44 The Story Behind the Book: How Aligned was born
01:08 Challenges in stakeholder management: When to say “yes” and “no”
03:28 Building rapport: Why understanding stakeholders is as crucial as understanding customers
05:04 The importance of organizational fit: Identifying hidden roadblocks to career growth
08:15 Communicating effectively: Strengthening relationships between product and sales
11:00 Positioning yourself for promotions and identifying influential "power players"
13:13 Learning from others: Gaining diverse perspectives to craft well-rounded strategies
15:00 Building comfortable, meaningful relationships
15:58 Practicing empathy: Reflecting stakeholder language for clarity and connection
17:00 Turning difficult relationships around: Finding common ground and bridging divides
19:45 Earning a seat at the executive table: Building and maintaining executive relationships
21:00 Mastering “the meeting before the meeting”: Setting up for success
22:48 Decision-making cultures: Identifying decision-makers and distinguishing alignment vs. agreement
26:30 Mining for conflict: Using strategic disagreement to foster psychological safety and alignment
33:37 Trends in product leadership: Balancing empathy with founder-driven dynamics
35:12 Hiring insights: Attracting top talent in competitive markets
37:13 Where to find more about the book and authors
38:22 Closing thoughts