#13 How to manage stakeholders and foster alignment | Bruce McCarthy, author of Product Roadmaps Relaunched and Aligned

My guest today is someone special to me: Bruce McCarthy.

Bruce has probably seen and helped more companies with product roadmaps than anyone in the world.

He's the author of the best-selling book "Product Roadmaps Relaunched" and has just launched his new book Aligned: Stakeholder Management for Product Leaders.

Bruce and I met in Madrid a couple of years ago. Our first 1:1 was over breakfast, where we talked about different things - including the new book he was writing at the time.

I knew immediately that it would be a very relevant book for many folks...  

And as Lenny Rachitsky puts it now in his review, this book is "Your guide to building exceptional stakeholder relationships".

This episode is a mini-masterclass on how to manage stakeholders and how to foster alignment in your organization.

We discussed:

* Why OKRs and Roadmaps are great tools to drive alignment - and how to do them well

* Real case examples and lessons learned on how to align stakeholders

* The importance of having collective outcomes and cross-functional collaboration

* Practical tips and habits for succeeding with stakeholder management

* Mental models, frameworks, and practices for effective decision making

* Why org charts tell us very little about who makes decisions

* And more!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com