Treat Executives Like Customers

Why It Matters

Treating executives as customers transforms approvals into collaborative insights, driving stronger products and faster alignment across the business.

Key Takeaways

• Treat executives as primary users, not just approvers
• Apply curiosity and empathy when engaging senior stakeholders
• Shift focus from seeking approval to learning from expertise
• Collaborative dialogue yields stronger product plans and executive buy‑in
• Mutual involvement improves product outcomes and stakeholder relationships

Summary

The video urges product managers to treat senior leaders as they would treat end‑users, applying the same curiosity‑driven, empathetic mindset that fuels great product design.

It argues that executives bring domain expertise and contextual knowledge that can sharpen a roadmap, and that seeking approval alone wastes time. Instead, managers should enter meetings asking how to learn, improve, and leverage the executive’s insights.

As the speaker puts it, “One of the most disastrous things you can do is going into a meeting just looking for approval.” By positioning the conversation as a partnership, the executive feels like a co‑creator rather than a gatekeeper.

This approach not only deepens stakeholder trust but also produces more robust products, accelerates decision‑making, and aligns strategy with market realities—benefits that ripple across the organization.

Original Description

#management #career #careergrowth