Building the right product starts before design or development. It begins with consensus, aligning customers and internal teams around a shared goal.
In this episode of How I PM, Patrick Hoffman, building products at Meta, shares how early alignment creates momentum and shared ownership.
Consensus starts with customers. Understand the needs of different segments and focus where you can have the most impact. But it also extends to your internal teams. Sales, customer success, support, and finance each have their own priorities, from driving new business to reducing support burdens.
Patrick’s advice:
- Make them part of the solution so they are invested in the outcome
- Learn each team’s priorities and motivations
- Bring them into the conversation during discovery, not after launch
“When stakeholders have skin in the game, they want to see you succeed, and they help you get there.” – Patrick Hoffman
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The Product Guy 