When AI can summarize meetings, draft updates, and even recommend priorities, what remains uniquely human about stakeholder alignment? In this episode, product coach and advisor Joy Adamson joins Matt and Moshe to explore why alignment is still one of the most essential, and most human, parts of a product manager’s work.

As part of our First Principles for PMs in the Age of AI series, Joy shares why stakeholder alignment is much more than keeping people informed or collecting feature requests. It is the ongoing work of connecting organizational needs with real customer and user needs, creating shared understanding of priorities, navigating competing incentives, and building enough trust to make difficult tradeoffs together.

Join Matt and Moshe as they explore with Joy:

  • What stakeholder alignment really means, and why true alignment reduces the need for constant stakeholder management
  • Why the word “stakeholder” itself can create friction when people assume their request should automatically become a roadmap item
  • How PMs can set healthy boundaries, say no with clarity, and prevent feature requests from becoming unchallenged commitments
  • Why emotional intelligence, negotiation, trust, and informal relationship-building remain critical product skills
  • The difference between simply considering stakeholder input and actually aligning on priorities, tradeoffs, and resource allocation
  • How hidden motivations, incentives, politics, and organizational culture shape product decisions in ways AI cannot fully understand
  • Where AI can help: meeting summaries, follow-ups, tailored stakeholder communications, preparation, and negotiation support
  • Why AI-generated recommendations still need human oversight, accountability, and judgment, especially when trust, risk, or ambiguity are involved
  • Could AI agents eventually become stakeholders themselves? What that might mean for product teams and decision-making
  • Why junior PMs should deliberately build their human relationship and influence skills as AI takes on more operational tasks
  • And much more!

Want to connect with Joy?

  • Website: https://www.digitaljoy.nl/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamsonj/

You can also connect with us and find more episodes:

  • Product for Product Podcast: http://linkedin.com/company/product-for-product-podcast
  • Matt Green: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgreenproduct/
  • Moshe Mikanovsky: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikanovsky

Note: Any views mentioned in the podcast are the sole views of our hosts and guests, and do not represent the products mentioned in any way.

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