Andrew Clark

AMA: 15Five VP of Product, Andrew Clark on Stakeholder Management

June 9 @ 9:00AM PST
View AMA Answers
15Five VP of Product, Andrew Clark on Stakeholder Management
Top Questions
Andrew Clark
Andrew Clark
VP of ProductJune 9
I flinched at the word "approval" here. I don't like the idea that Product would be seeking roadmap approval from other departments in the org. What you really want is buy-in. You want your key stakeholders to be as confident and excited about the roadmap as you are.  Here's how to make ......Read More
1013 Views
2 requests
Andrew Clark
Andrew Clark
VP of ProductJune 9
Yes and no. I think of these relationships in terms layers of depth. Design and Engineering are, of course, your deepest stakeholder relationships. You're building a product together, so the dynamic is fundamentally different. Customer Success (and Support) should be the next layer. They sh......Read More
830 Views
2 requests
Andrew Clark
Andrew Clark
VP of ProductJune 9
Here's one that I don't think gets enough love: humility. Product people are very smart*, and it takes a lot of confidence to say no to a series of good ideas just so you can get to a great one. Very smart, confident people aren't always the most humble. Humility, though, is a key trait as ......Read More
1077 Views
1 request
Andrew Clark
Andrew Clark
VP of ProductJune 9
This one is interesting.  If your goals are truly inversely correlated, I'd say there is something wrong with the top-line goals. That would suggest misalignment or lack of clarity higher in the org. If it's more a case of mismatch in focus—say, your primary goals are around customer retent......Read More
963 Views
2 requests
Andrew Clark
Andrew Clark
VP of ProductJune 9
I've tried to drive a writing culture in every team I've been on—with varying degrees of success. I don't think there's a more effective way to drive alignment, especially for remote teams. I'm a big fan of providing pre-reads for meetings, so that everyone comes in to the meeting with the sam......Read More
947 Views
1 request