Corporate Underpants

This is a great 2-parter, people. The first part is all about how uniquely challenging Higher Ed and other non-tech-first orgs for website strategist and product people. Adam shares his experiences working in higher education and other sectors, where unique and complex Governance structures, diverse stakeholder groups, and entrenched institutional politics create substantial obstacles. You'll hear about how the first big project he did was chaos due to misalignment. In part 2, you'll hear about the magic of stakeholder Alignment, alignment Personas, and clear goals! Hint: the second project came in early and under budget. Have YOU ever gotten hate mail after launching? Adam has. Have YOU ever turned that hate mail into thank-you notes within months? Adam has.   00:27 Welcome!   05:14 We're going to start talking about the solution to underpants! 08:02 Introducing Adam Staffa 10:45 Stakeholders and Governance in HIgher Ed Projects 11:46 Stakeholders in Higher Ed, and Understanding Governance 19:53 #The Value of Being One Step Behind 23:44 In higher ed, the pipeline is YEARS. 25:18 The Scale of Content is Mind-Boggling 26:47 A Story of Educational Underpants 32:38 No matter how successful a project is, if everyone doesn't think it was successful, it wasn't. 33:04 Stakeholders were popping up everywhere! 35:05 Endless Meetings = Jenga 36:29 How the  project  ended

In this episode of Corporate Underpants, host Tamara Adlin delves into the complex relationship between politics and product success with guest Jillian Hudson, a seasoned UX researcher and strategist. Through Jillian’s story, we learn about the unexpected challenges she faced when hired for a role that didn't match the initial promise, working under a manager who was often absent and dealing with a company in chaos prioritizing stock prices over UX maturity. Jillian shares how she built strong internal relationships by understanding the true needs of her stakeholders, organizing educational sessions, and advocating UX despite internal resistance and misalignment. Her narrative offers valuable insights for UX professionals on how to navigate organizational politics to achieve product success. 00:00 Corporate Underpants Live_ Episode 3_ A True Story of UX Democratization Go 03:40 Introducing Jillian! 05:44 What is UX Strategy? 06:16 Pisces Vesica 07:16 Diving int the story: Jillian got the job 09:02 No France for you! 11:24 And then they laid off most of the team. 12:30 Turns out, it was all about the stock price. 14:49 Jillian invited everyone to see her work - and found a fan! 18:05 How to build a UX Champion: "How can I help you?" 19:25 Discovering a whole team of "Systems Coaches" built to satisfy research cravings 21:28 "UX Democratization" in the wild 23:16 They were powerful, but they weren't trained. 26:07 If you can't beat 'em, train 'em: launching "UX Snacks" internally 28:12 Seeing results: building bridges with the system coaches 30:42 New thoughts on "UX Maturity" 33:50 Turning the UX lens on your own teams and company 36:32 Building more champions 38:43 Attract UX Champions with research bait 39:17 Networking skills are key 44:40 Lessons were learned.

Jeff Verona recounts the chaos caused by hidden misalignments and untested assumptions that ultimately derailed an initiative to streamline loan officer workflows. Woven into Jeff's tale are seven actionable "gems" that can help you spot and fix the kind of problems that left his team reeling.

Are your Corporate Underpants showing? In this first episode of Corporate Underpants, we dive into the messy realities of workplace politics and uncover what it really takes to gain influence and grow as a product manager or designer. Learn from Scott’s journey as he reflects on the cultural biases that shape UX and product teams, why rigor isn’t always the answer, and how to align with decision-makers to drive meaningful impact. What’s Inside: Why some UX pros feel stuck while product managers rise. The truth about navigating workplace politics and egos. How to turn constraints into career growth opportunities. 💡 Take Action: If you’ve ever felt frustrated by the disconnect between your vision and your organization’s reality, this series is for you. 🔔 Subscribe for raw, actionable insights on mastering the underbelly of corporate life.