Executive Storytelling

October 16, 2023

Happy Monday everyone! Lots going on in the Cleveland Product community this week, so let’s get to it!

Article of the Week

Product people have immense responsibilities. They have to work with various stakeholders. They have to know the market and the competition. They have to talk to customers. And lots more, all of which take a wide array of skills. Technical skills. Communication skills. Prioritization. Negotiation. Arbitration. All of which are important. But none of those are the most important skill a Product Manager must possess.

Storytelling.

Telling a good story allows us to get buy-in from our leaders, collaborate with key stakeholders, and influence others. I read an article recently from Harvard Business School that really illustrated the value of storytelling, through the lens of an organization implementing OKRs. The article broke good storytelling into five major components:

Be audience-specific
Contextualize your story
Humanize your story
Make it action-oriented
Keep it humble

Click the Read Article button below to read the full article, and start telling great stories so you can achieve the best outcome you can!

Product Jobs of the Week

The Product roles at Cleveland companies keep rolling in!

Schaeffler - Manager, Product Management AAM Americans North and Product Management, Engine
Sherwin-Williams - Financial Product Owner and Product Manager - Craft & Speciality
Meritec - Product Manager (Electrical Interconnected Industry)

Upcoming Events

This week - Executive Storytelling with Justin Hunsaker (virtual)
November 8th - Product Lean Coffee @ Van Aken Market Hall
November 16th - Lay of The Land with Jeffrey Stern (virtual)

About the Author

My name is Shawn Leitner. I started the Cleveland Product networking group in 2017, which helps to connect Product professionals around Cleveland, providing them with a forum to network, learn, and share stories. For my day job, I'm a Product Consultant & Coach for Pathfinder Product and help clients implement strong Product practices so they can create products that their teams love building and their customers love using. Connect with me on LinkedIn or feel free to attend one of my events either virtually or in-person. Always up for meeting for a cup of coffee also!