#13 How to manage stakeholders and foster alignment | Bruce McCarthy, author of Product Roadmaps Relaunched and Aligned
Jul 29, 2024
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In this engaging discussion, Bruce McCarthy, author of 'Product Roadmaps Relaunched' and 'Aligned: Stakeholder Management for Product Leaders', shares his extensive expertise on managing stakeholders. He highlights the vital role of OKRs in fostering alignment and collaboration across teams. Bruce shares real-world examples showcasing the consequences of misalignment. He also provides practical tips for decision-making, emphasizing empathy in conflict resolution and the importance of defining roles within organizations for effective governance.
Effective stakeholder management requires empathy and understanding of their challenges to foster alignment and collaboration.
Using OKRs to establish shared objectives can prevent conflicting agendas and enhance overall business productivity across teams.
Deep dives
Viewing Stakeholders as Customers
Understanding the dynamics of stakeholder management is crucial for product leaders. Stakeholders should be approached similarly to customers, meaning their needs and problems should be prioritized to shape valuable solutions. Instead of focusing solely on promoting a product's strengths, leaders must convey empathy and a deep understanding of stakeholders' challenges. This shift in perspective fosters alignment and enhances the likelihood of successful collaboration across departments.
Identifying Misalignment in Organizations
Common signs of misalignment in organizations include low conversion rates and retention, indicating deeper misunderstandings about target customers among different functions. For instance, disagreements between sales and marketing regarding the ideal customer profile can lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities. By identifying and addressing these misalignments early, product leaders can facilitate better collaboration and create a more unified approach to customer targeting and problem-solving. This proactive stance is essential for improving overall business productivity and results.
The Power of OKRs for Alignment
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) serve as a vital tool for fostering alignment among cross-functional teams within an organization. By establishing shared objectives, teams can prioritize collective goals over individual department needs, preventing conflicting agendas. The process of refining OKRs should involve multiple iterations to ensure that all departments are aligned, and a single objective can simplify efforts and focus resources efficiently. This cohesive strategy ultimately leads to a healthier company culture and enhanced operational performance.
Collaborative Roadmapping Processes
Creating a strategic roadmap requires collaboration across all relevant functions, including product management, sales, marketing, and engineering. Instead of developing roadmaps in isolation, it's important to involve all stakeholders in a cooperative workshop setting to identify the right problems and solutions to tackle. This collective input leads to better prioritization, ultimately helping to achieve common objectives successfully. By fostering communication and understanding throughout the roadmapping process, product leaders can enhance buy-in and execution success across the organization.
Bruce and I met in Madrid a couple of years ago. Our first 1:1 was over breakfast, where we talked about different things - including the new book he was writing at the time.
I knew immediately that it would be a very relevant book for many folks...
And as Lenny Rachitsky puts it now in his review, this book is "Your guide to building exceptional stakeholder relationships".
This episode is a mini-masterclass on how to manage stakeholders and how to foster alignment in your organization.
We discussed:
* Why OKRs and Roadmaps are great tools to drive alignment - and how to do them well
* Real case examples and lessons learned on how to align stakeholders
* The importance of having collective outcomes and cross-functional collaboration
* Practical tips and habits for succeeding with stakeholder management
* Mental models, frameworks, and practices for effective decision making
* Why org charts tell us very little about who makes decisions
* And more!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com
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