We tell the stories of e-commerce leaders and let them explain how they got where they are, and where they think e-commerce is going in the next 12 months. In every episode, we uncover something that only this e-commerce leader can explain
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We tell the stories of e-commerce leaders and let them explain how they got where they are, and where they think e-commerce is going in the next 12 months. In every episode, we uncover something that only this e-commerce leader can explain
How to Say No To Stakeholders (Without Getting Fired) | Grace Edinger
Checkin to Checkout
46 minutes 38 seconds
3 weeks ago
How to Say No To Stakeholders (Without Getting Fired) | Grace Edinger
"But our brand is different."
It is the most dangerous phrase in enterprise e-commerce. It leads to tech debt, bloated roadmaps, and a digital ecosystem that represents a graveyard of "nice-to-have" features that never scale.
In this episode (our first-ever LIVE recording!), we sit down with Grace Edinger, Director of Ecommerce Product Management at Stanley Black & Decker.
Grace is responsible for the digital backbone powering some of the world’s most iconic brands—DeWalt, Craftsman, Black+Decker, and Cub Cadet. She joins the show to break down how she manages hundreds of stakeholders, navigates complex corporate politics, and enforces her strict "No Special Snowflakes" rule to keep the roadmap clean.
We cover:
The "Special Snowflake" Syndrome: Why saying "yes" to every custom brand request is actually destroying your ability to scale.
Project vs. Product Mindset: How to stop operating as an "Order Taker" for Marketing and start operating as a strategic partner who demands data before building.
The Invisible Work: Why the unsexy work of consolidating ERPs and building a unified foundation matters more than the latest AI hype.
Stakeholder Politics: The exact scripts and strategies Grace uses to say "no" to bad ideas without burning bridges.
If you are an E-Commerce Director drowning in feature requests or trying to drive digital transformation in a legacy organization, this episode is your playbook for taking back control.
Links:
Connect with Grace on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graceedinger/
Follow Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinaronstein/
Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://mobile1st.com/news
Checkin to Checkout
We tell the stories of e-commerce leaders and let them explain how they got where they are, and where they think e-commerce is going in the next 12 months. In every episode, we uncover something that only this e-commerce leader can explain
