Alberto Luengo

In my experience it is crucial to determine what the company needs to drive innovation. Does it need to invest in developing their own technology and technical capabilities to get an edge in a certain field? Or can it leverage existing technology to keep their products innovative and competitive? They are often different approaches. For example, Google AI, Meta AI and Uber AI, are quite focused on research and their advancements do not immediately or automatically translate into innovation that can be perceived and enjoyed by the customer. Conversely, immensely innovative and successful products like ChatGPT from OpenAI have been the product of very skillful implementations and marketing, more than the result of any research.

Having a transparent and healthy communication with stakeholders will keep the relation productive. It will help each part know what the other wants and expects, and how to deliver it.

Even when a stakeholder's approach may not be your personal cup of tea, it's usually representative of the industry or market they operate in. Dealing with a stakeholder can be much easier and productive than dealing with an entire industry, specially when that stakeholder has plenty of experience and resources, and the willingness to use them in your favour. For example, some entrepreneurs avoid "money-minded" investors for fear of them interfering with their creative spirit. Yet in the end, the nature of business often forces them to face those same harsh realities they avoided, but now on their own and without a figure to provide guidance and cushion.

Founders often overestimate the value of their ideas. Most of the time stakeholders are more interested in the founders approach and ability to execute it. Still, sometimes founders may have valid suspicions that the stakeholders interest are not aligned with their own. In those cases it's best to do some research on the stakeholders track record, and reach out to experience colleagues and entrepreneurs who have had similar experiences for advice. Undersatanding the stakeholders will help you asses if common ground can be found.

It is more effective to keep your stakeholders well informed and updated, than to set hard boundaries. Maintaining regular communication and keeping the door open to changes, can play in your favour. If more resources become available, your project may be seen as a good place to allocate them. Likewise, if you need to negotiate changes in schedule, budget or scope, you will be in a good position to do it.

The Project Management triangle (time-money-scope) is a simple and effective framework for managing expectations. A stakeholder that is well informed of the interrelation between time, money and scope in a specific project, will automatically self-manage their own expectations. They will understand what can be done and at what cost.