Ep. 494 | Aligning Through Cross-Functional Collaboration and Consensus Building

Episode Summary
In this episode, Christopher Mael discusses how he has made alignment meetings the most enjoyable part of the month. Christopher explains how he created a unified, goal-oriented environment by bringing diverse perspectives together and facilitating honest conversations to address gaps and align perceptions. He emphasizes the importance of understanding leadership's priorities and building consensus, even when different metrics and priorities exist across functions.

About the guest

Christopher Mael has been the Director of Sales and Operations Planning for Precor subsidiary Peloton and the fitness space for the last five years. Previously he worked for Loud Technologies, a global leader in performance professional audio equipment for over 12 years.

Connect with Christopher Mael

Key takeaways
- Make alignment meetings the most enjoyable part of the month by facilitating difficult conversations and bringing diverse perspectives together

- Build consensus and align perceptions by creating space for honest conversations and understanding leadership's priorities

- Address misconceptions about alignment, as it is not a given and can prevent teams from being on the same page

Quotes
"The biggest misconception about alignment is that it exists most of the time. You get into a meeting and people think they're all on the same page, and they might even be grumpy, like, why are we even having this meeting?" -Christopher Mael

Recommended Resource

Books
- "Fundamentals of Demand Planning and Forecasting" by Chamal Jain

- "Demand Management Best Practices" by George Palmatier and Colin Crum

Journals
- Journal of Business Forecasting by Institute of Business Planning and Forecasting
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