Taming the Friday Night Firestorm

Alex (design manager), Nicole (lead UI/UX designer), and Mike (product manager) are on a video coaching call discussing their stakeholder at the Austin-based fintech startup NovaPay.

Taming the Friday Night Firestorm

True or false?

Arthur is the compliance stakeholder who gives late feedback.

• True
• False

Nicole and Mike want to cancel all weekly meetings with Arthur.

• True
• False

Alex suggests a fifteen-minute Tuesday coffee check-in to pin down Arthur's requirements early.

• True
• False

Mike thinks Arthur will love the Tuesday morning check-in immediately without any doubts.

• True
• False

The team decides to test the new sign-off ritual next week.

• True
• False

Listen again and complete the sentences

• Alex: That sounds exhausting. Why do you think he keeps doing that? Is there some ____ about the upcoming launch event?
• Alex: Well, shouting at him won't fix it. Have you tried to ____ and build some proper rapport with him before he sees the final screens?
• Nicole: We try, but he's a ____ . He never responds to our Slack messages during the week.
• Alex: Then let's change the format completely. Instead of waiting for the big reveal, what if you schedule a mandatory fifteen-minute coffee check-in every Tuesday morning to ____ his thoughts early?
• Alex: Not if you frame it as a quick ____ where he gets to feel important without derailing the project. Stakeholders act like moving targets when they feel left out of the daily process.

Sources: photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels