Stakeholder alignment? Stuck?

Hello there ??,

Product Managers and Product Leaders are struggling ??.?

? To align stakeholders!

They spend more time in meetings than doing actual work. Convincing people.

They have good intentions. Hunger to create impact. Some want to shift product direction. Some want to try new tech. Some want to try new customer segments.

But these are the responses they get:

“It’s not the right time”

“It’s too risky”

“This will never work”

“It does not work in our industry”

“We don’t have the budget for this.”

“We have other priorities right now.”

Emails are sent to them, but no response comes back.?

Why do stakeholders act this way??

? They lack trust or confidence, fear big investments, or the proposal just doesn’t align with their views (it's like telling a tiger that vegan is in, so they should follow it)

Different stakeholders have different desires and fears. It’s an art to uncover them.?

• Executive Leadership is concerned about ROI, scalability, and long-term impact. They fear making wrong strategic decisions and the product failing in the market.
• Sales Team doubts that the product meets client expectations. They fear losing clients and not meeting sales targets.
• Marketing Team is concerned about the acquisition of new customers. They fear ineffective marketing campaigns and negative market reception.
• Development Team doubts the clarity of product requirements and the feasibility of timelines. They fear burnout and delivering subpar quality. They worry about technical debt.
• Customer Support and Success Teams are concerned about the customer experience. They fear facing unhappy customers and high churn rates.

Every stakeholder has a personal desire. Anything that enhances their image is welcomed, while anything that risks their image is rejected. The key is to uncover these true feelings, desires, and fears.

BUT - how?

Follow these 5 steps:

1. Map All Stakeholders ??????: Understand who will be impacted by your project, who will put investment, who will block?
2. Rank Them ??: Identify and prioritize the stakeholders crucial for your project's success.
3. Meet the Top Ones??: Hold 1-2-1 meetings to understand their perspectives and concerns.
4. Understand Their Desires ??: This is not a usual stakeholder interview - it is a therapy session - where their desires and fears are uncovered.?
5. Unified Communication ???: Craft a pitch, communication - where everyone feels they are winning.

Your story should tell them that you;

- understand the risk

- have a plan to de-risk it

- asked for small Investment

- will deliver quick wins. FAST.

This is the fastest way for them to realize – your actions – bring them wins.

More wins = More trust = More budget = More innovation

Join me on October 26th at 2 PM CEST for a masterclass called Product on Steroids, where we will share many more details on this topic.

I will see you there.

Cheers,

Narjeet