Customer Success Playbook S3 E35 - Ken Sandy - Solve Meaningful Customer Problems

Mar 26, 2025

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In this dynamic midweek episode of the Customer Success Playbook, Kevin Metzger and Roman Trebon are back with product leadership veteran Ken Sandy. This time, Ken tackles one of the most pressing challenges in modern product management: how to juggle the urgent demand for quick wins with the strategic need for long-term customer value. He delivers practical frameworks, witty anecdotes, and powerful reframes that will resonate far beyond the product team.

Detailed Description: We’ve all felt the squeeze: stakeholders want that feature live yesterday, while customers expect thoughtful innovation. In this energizing conversation, Ken Sandy—author of The Influential Product Manager—returns to the Customer Success Playbook to answer one big question: how can product leaders (and cross-functional teams) balance short-term revenue goals with long-term innovation?

Ken starts with a provocative truth: solving meaningful customer problems should inherently deliver business value. If it doesn’t, the strategy might be missing the mark. He then walks through three steps to align customer-centric strategy with day-to-day execution:

Elevate customer value metrics to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with revenue goals.
Build and own a strategic roadmap that provides clarity and intention beyond reactive requests.
Track and communicate resource allocation so trade-off decisions are rooted in data, not drama.

What follows is a masterclass in how influence, transparency, and structured thinking can replace the chaos of ad hoc demands. Ken’s insights extend beyond product management. Customer success teams, account managers, and business leaders will find immediately usable tools to help their organizations solve the right problems for the right reasons.

Don’t miss this sharp, relatable, and practical playbook for aligning execution with vision—no matter what department you call home.

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