That is a hard one to answer because there is no one-size-fits-all. There could
be launches where the product rarely evolves and checking in with stakeholders
once in a few months might suffice, at ot
Influencing the C-Suite
2 answers
Director of Product, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure at Oracle • November 2
Sr. Director, Product Operations at Realtor.com • March 28
If you believe that your partners are there to help you build the best
experiences/products possible, then you should have continuous feedback loops
with them not just at the start and finish. The mo
3 answers
Head of Product at Matterport • June 14
Working with data driven execs is in many ways easier - you present facts and
get alignment based on data arguments. The challenge comes when trying to
influence data driven execs when you dont have s
VP, Product at Barracuda Networks • July 12
Lots of people say they are data driven, not everyone actually is. I find people
are either swayed by data or by stories. Both are valid - it's easy for
anecdotal evidence to mislead, but it's also ea
Head of Product, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • March 1
You will need both EQ and data. More importantly, to influence data-driven execs
(which, arguably, all execs are) you will need to help expand their view of the
world by adding depth of understanding
4 answers
Senior Director of Product Management at Meta • April 19
Three best habits to follow Clear communication strategies on why you are
meeting, what problem you are trying to solve, what is the solution in your mind
and the reasoning behind it. At the end of
Director-Product (Data Science & Machine Learning Platform) at Booking.com • May 11
Even beyond C-suite, a PM should tailor his/her message to the audience. A
typical mistake aspiring leaders do whilst communicating with the leadership is
get too much into nitty gritties and details,
Head of Product at Matterport • June 14
Every interaction you have with your c-suite, set the context before jumping
into content. A number of times 5-10mins into the meeting, the conversation
derails into a completely different topic. That
Head of Product, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • March 1
Be helpful, be clear, be gone. Let me expand. Helpfulness: execs need your
help with in-depth expertise and knowledge in your local area of
product/business. You can show it in three ways: Provi
9 answers
Head of Product & Design at Coda • February 24
There are two things I think about in cases like this: fears and steel-manning.
I’ve found that one of the fastest ways to help get alignment amongst executives
is to start by establishing their fears
Director of Product at Loom • March 30
Watch the video response on Loom, or read the transcript below: This question is
a tough one. How do you ensure alignment when you have two executives, or
sometimes even more than two, who disagree
Assistant Manager Technology at SAMSUNG SDS • April 12
Trying to understand views of both stakeholders and discussing Pros and Cons of
points shared by both on given proposal would help in bringing more clarity
about reasons for disagreement. And still di
Senior Director of Product Management at Meta • April 19
'The stuck in the middle' is often a symptom of a larger problem which results
from lack of operating principles for decision making. For example: we follow
the DACI model for decision making where th
Director-Product (Data Science & Machine Learning Platform) at Booking.com • May 11
Carrying forward on the question above, it is imperative for you, as the
mediator, to make the stakeholders seek common ground. Practically, this could
involve a common session with. both of them exxp
Head of Product at Matterport • June 14
Your primary role as a product manager is to ensure doing what is best for your
products and customers. To manage conflict with stakeholders, try and listen to
their point of view, what is important t
VP, Product at Barracuda Networks • July 11
This is a really interesting question. I guess I’ve never really thought about
being stuck in between two stakeholders before. Whether they agree with each
other or not is actually mostly irrelevant –
Head of Product, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • March 1
To resolve this situation, you need to: Establish who is the decision maker (it
can't be two people) Summarize conflicting points of view and communicate the
process of how you evaluate them (pros &
3 answers
Head of Product at Matterport • June 14
If your company uses Objective Key Results (OKRs) or other goal setting
framework; that is the best guide for a PM to leverage. Tie your
product/projects to company priority and use that to guide what
VP, Product at Barracuda Networks • July 12
This comes down to transparency. See my later response on this topic. Make sure
everyone on the exec team clearly understands the priorities, and more
importantly, the non-priorities. When they make a
Head of Product, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • March 1
You need to educate the execs on those several directions. Often, folks assume
that execs know (or remember) about those different directions. Be very clear
and keep an ongoing education about the co
3 answers
Head of Product at Matterport • June 14
Use your product launches as a way to communicate how you are solving customer
problems and driving company outcomes. Most companies these days employ
communication platforms like slack, intranet boa
VP, Product at Barracuda Networks • July 11
Quite simply - get involved and that in things that affect the outcomes that
matter to executives. First make sure you clearly understand what you’re
executive teams focused on. Your organization sho
Head of Product, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • March 1
Communicate on topics that matter to the executives through the comms channels
that scale. For example, you can write your thoughts (but remember to bring
specifics/numbers/exact plans) about topics t
3 answers
Senior Director of Product Management at Meta • April 19
A common mistake most product managers and sometimes even senior product leaders
make while convincing c-suite in favor of a particular decision is bringing in
tunnel vision related to just their own
VP, Product at Barracuda Networks • July 12
Overwhelmingly, speaking the wrong language. Get out of the weeds, execs want to
hear dollars and cents - business outcomes. Don't talk about user satisfaction
in a vacuum, talk about how increasing u
Head of Product, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • March 1
3 most common pitfalls I see are: Not simple enough Not investing into
understanding broader context (outside of one's product area) Wrong
words-to-numbers ratio Lack of simplicity is the most comm
3 answers
Head of Product at Matterport • June 13
Start with the customer and business problem you are trying to solve and get
alignment on the priority to solving this problem. Oftentimes, the root cause of
the disconnect is the timing on when to so
VP, Product at Barracuda Networks • July 11
Here’s where you need to shift into an executive mindset. Good executives think
in terms of costs and benefits and business outcomes they want to drive. And I’m
not just talking about people in financ
Head of Product, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • March 1
By bringing clear plans, having a track record of driving results, and not being
known as a person who asks for resources to "build an empire". - I expanded on
what a "clear plan" means in other answ
7 answers
Vice President & GM, Global SMB at Braze • June 16
Startups are unique because (virtually) every employee is also a shareholder.
Which means that every internal meeting is also a shareholders' meeting. Now,
unlike companies where you are a passive sha
Director, Product Marketing at Intercom • November 10
This is a tough one! It can be really difficult when you have exec stakeholders
who aren't aligned. Ultimately, it's on them to get aligned and provide clear
direction 'down the chain' but a few thing
VP, Product and Growth Marketing at 1Password | Formerly Dropbox, SurveyMonkey, LinkedIn • February 11
This is where DACIs (or RACIs) decision-making frameworks are critical. At a
projects inception, it’s important to agree with senior executives on who the
single final approver should be. Who is accou
Head (VP) of Global Enablement at Benchling • March 10
Goes back to the shared goals - which at a high level, are hard to argue with -
revenue, cost savings, customer success, etc. Once you get that common
agreement, then it's about the strategy / the "h
Vice President, Marketing at Glassdoor • March 17
Getting senior alignment is a key strategic role for PMM - we can be powerful
bridges and connectors. Whenever there is a clear difference of opinion the best
thing I’ve found is to bring the customer
Head of Product Marketing at HiredScore • August 2
This is definitely a challenge most PMMs see themselves in. I typically find
success when I work the challenge from both ends. If the executives cannot
disagree and committ while in the same room, spe
Oftentimes, disagreements are simply differences of opinion, which exist because
there is a lack of data. In this case, PMMs are great neutral third-parties who
are well-positioned to close that data
2 answers
GM / Head of Strategy, Product & Partnerships at Adobe | Formerly Salesforce, Deloitte • May 3
Some elements to consider - 1. Market - Market landscape, gaps, and market
opportunities. You want to work on an impactful problem area. Key Geos you will
play in. etc. 2. Key vectors - I also like
Senior Product Manager, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • November 22
A product vision statement is a short, concise, and aspirational set of goals
for your product. As a Product Manager, you will need to develop a deep
understanding of your company, customers, compeiti