Indigestion, not starvation, is the most common cause of startup failure. There are so many good ideas that product teams can get into a vicious cycle where they can’t plan ahead because they’re always scrambling to execute on today’s stuff… because they didn’t plan ahead because they were scrambling to execute on yesterday’s stuff… and on and on. The CEO can help, but not in the way you might think.
Rather than rolling up your sleeves and brute forcing solutions, take a step back and collaborate with your CPO to improve the foundation on which the product team is operating. In software, having a solid platform can make feature delivery faster. For product teams, having a solid foundation will enable the product team to deliver value better and faster than scrambling (and with less attrition).
There are five key things that CEOs can do to build the foundation that sets the product team up for efficient and successful value delivery: enable your team, align on goals, define your customer, measure success, and determine criteria for change. Melissa will share tools and approaches that keep you and your team focused and aligned on the success of your business. You will learn how to be the leader your product team needs to flourish and deliver results that make your investors happy.
Melissa Appel
Executive Product Management Coach, Product Culture
Melissa Appel coaches product management leaders, helping them build and manage effective teams and improve stakeholder relationships. She previously spent 20 years in product management at companies of various sizes and stages. She has worked in industries such as manufacturing, energy conservation, food sustainability, and supply chain. She recently co-wrote a book with Bruce McCarthy called Aligned: Stakeholder Management for Product Leaders.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melappel/
Consulting: https://www.productculture.org
Book on Amazon: Aligned: Stakeholder Management for Product Leaders
Book website: alignedthebook.com
Next Events
BoS USA 2025 🇺🇸
🗓️ 6-8 October 2025
📍 Raleigh, NC
❗️Early bird tickets available
Learn how great software companies are built at an extraordinary conference run since 2007 to help you build long term, profitable, sustainable businesses.
The Road to Exit: A BoS Mastermind Group 🌐
🗓️ April 2025
📍Online
Exit from a position of power and join this mastermind group facilitated by Mr. Joe Leech. Join us for honest, frank conversations with founders on the same path as you and partake in Q&As with exited founders who share the real experience.