How do you balance getting feedback and buy-in with different stakeholders and resolving key differences while keeping the lift light?

I have a new hack for this: it's called Loom.

I swear I'm not trying to promote this product, but marketers gonna market ;)

Seriously though, Loom has been a game changer for us to keep tight feedback loops, stakeholders informed, and identifying when there needs to be a deeper dive on an area of disagreement.

• Record your presentation on Loom and send it to your stakeholders for feedback.

• Ask them to comment on the video directly and then either respond to their comments directly, or use the comments to set the agenda for your alignment meeting.

• Never present live in a room full of lots of VPs. First, you'll never get the feedback you want, you'll likely never get consensus, and you'll probably stay in the feedback loop for 3x as long as you'd like. By sending the presentation ahead of a meeting, you'll be able to gather feedback beforehand, and use your meeting time to hash it out.

• Another hack, if your stakeholders won't watch the video ahead of a meeting, use the first 15 minutes of the meeting for them to watch & respond to the video while you're all together, then the second half of the meeting can be focused on discussion.

I hope this hack saves you lots of time and headaches!

A key part of getting buy-in from different stakeholders involves first ensuring that everyone understands the context behind the project, the objectives for the project, and the importance of moving quickly. Make sure all of this is very clearly laid out for stakeholder consumption. Set a timeline for when you need to make a decision, and make sure stakeholders also understand the consequences of not moving quickly— in some cases, it could be a tradeoff you’re willing to make.

In many cases, prealigning 1:1 with key stakeholders ahead of a larger group alignment discussion can actually expedite decision-making, since it gives you the opportunity to understand key concerns and resolve any key differences 1:1.