Why stakeholders often feel like the enemy

Christian Idiodi sits down with SVPG partner Chris Jones to unpack the often-ignored other half of “empowered teams”: coaching the stakeholders. They dig into why stakeholders often feel like the enemy, what “healthy” actually looks like in the product operating model, and how trust, context-sharing, and outcome-thinking change the relationship. They also get practical about handling “because I said so,” avoiding the stakeholder “black hole,” and shifting finance from funding projects to funding teams and outcomes.

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Today’s episode will discuss:

• What makes someone a “stakeholder” and why product teams can’t pretend they’re optional
• What a healthy stakeholder relationship looks like
• Why stakeholder trust has to be earned
• How to get context when stakeholders tell you “because I said so”
• How to keep stakeholders engaged without hijacking teams
• Predictability without pretending roadmaps are fortune-telling
• How to avoid the stakeholder “black hole” through transparency
• Why postmortems are critical, even when outcomes miss

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References:

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/
• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/
• Google: https://www.google.com/

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SVPG on stakeholders:

• Articles: https://www.svpg.com/stakeholders-and-the-product-model/

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Where to find Chris Jones:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjonessvpg/

• SVPG profile: https://www.svpg.com/team/chris-jones/

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Where to find Christian Idiodi:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cidiodi/

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Where to find SVPG:

• SVPG’s newest book, TRANSFORMED: https://www.svpg.com/books/transformed-moving-to-the-product-operating-model/

• Other books: https://www.svpg.com/books/

• Articles: https://www.svpg.com/articles/

• Workshops: https://www.svpg.com/

• Videos: https://www.svpg.com/videos

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Timestamps:

(1:07) Why do stakeholders matter?

(3:52) The conflict between product and business

(6:47) Unpacking a healthy stakeholder relationship

(10:09) Stakeholders should give you problems, not solutions

(13:05) Why product has to make the first move

(17:58) Getting context when stakeholders won't give it

(24:42) The three reasons stakeholders resist you

(27:53) What we get wrong about “empowerment”

(31:56) Do senior executives need different coaching?

(37:21) Finance is the stakeholder nobody talks about

(41:47) Trust starts when teams own the outcome

(44:23) What dysfunction really looks like

(50:14) "We're too big for this" and other excuses

(53:45) The roadmap trap: predictability vs. discovery

(56:37) The accountability question everyone's afraid to ask

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Disclaimer:

While this podcast is named “Product Therapy”, it is not hosted by licensed therapists or mental health professionals, and it is in no way a substitute for professional mental health services. We recognize the importance of mental well-being and encourage anyone facing personal difficulties to seek support from qualified professionals. See https://findahelpline.com/

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Production:

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