How to deal with difficult stakeholders

One of the biggest challenges product and innovation managers face is stakeholder management—especially when they push for features that, deep down, you know users don’t need. Too often, PMs give in, thinking “It’s just a difficult stakeholder.”

But here’s the thing:

Instead, I think of them as someone who:

• Wants clear data and facts before making decisions

• Has experienced success and holds strong opinions on what works

• Has a vision and certain objectives to meet

• Manages too many conflicting priorities and KPIs

• Doesn’t have time to dig into the details of every project

• Understanding this context can transform your approach.

Now, here’s how you can push back, build a strong case for the user, and win them over—all in just a day or two using AI:

1. Talk to 3-5 users.

Go beyond just your product—understand their overall experience and what they’re trying to achieve. This will reveal not only their challenges but also the alternative solutions they rely on. Record these interviews using a tool like Otter.ai.

2. Analyze the interviews.

Drop the transcripts into ChatGPT to extract meaningful insights, uncovering opportunities for your product. Use Miro AI for affinity mapping and to visualize the key takeaways.

3. Create a customer journey map.

Prompt ChatGPT to build a map based on these insights. Use the following structure:

→ Steps: What steps do customers take to achieve their goal?

→ Behaviors: What actions are they taking at each step?

→ Challenges: What obstacles do they face?

→ Desired Outcomes: What do they want to achieve throughout their journey?

4. Visualize the journey in Miro.

Now you’ve got a clear picture of your customer’s experience, rooted in real data.

5.Bring it to your next stakeholder meeting.

Armed with data, you’ll have stronger arguments to back up your case. But more importantly, you’ll shift the conversation from assumptions to facts, enabling smarter, data-driven decisions.

🚀 Bonus: These maps can be used in further workshops like problem framing or design sprints to align teams, ideate, and make decisions.

Most PMs aren’t doing this—so think about the edge you’ll gain by being part of the 1% who do.

✅ Manage stakeholders with confidence

✅ Align your team

✅ Stay customer-focused

Want to learn how to create these customer journey maps and more?

Join our Journey Mapping Training for Product Managers, where we teach you step-by-step how to build actionable customer journey maps that drive stakeholder alignment and fuel product innovation.