
Stakeholder Whispering
Uncover What People Need Before Doing What They Ask
Bill Shander(Author)
Wiley (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 24. April 2025
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-394-28952-3 (ISBN)
Description
Learn to uncover what your managers, clients, customers and other stakeholders need before doing what they ask
People don't know what they need. The wants we communicate to others are shaped by our subconscious and the familiar, and limited by what we think is possible. But they don't always reflect our actual needs.
In Stakeholder Whispering: Uncover What People Need Before Doing What They Ask, author Bill Shander demonstrates how to get from your stakeholders' "order"-what they're asking for-to what they really need. You'll learn how to uncover the needs and desires of your clients, colleagues, bosses, customers, and other stakeholders based on what they ask for and how they ask for it, and how to deliver products and services that meet those needs.
Inside the book:
Help your stakeholders accomplish their goals and make the best decisions possible by helping them see what they really need
Shift from executing on tactics driven by others' commands, to strategic action driven by underlying needs
Transform your organization from one filled with "order-takers" into one where people work collaboratively to meet goal-oriented requirements
Perfect for managers, executives, and other business leaders, Stakeholder Whispering will also earn a place on the bookshelves of entrepreneurs, founders, designers, product and project managers, UX experts, data and business analysts, and anyone else hoping to better meet the expectations of their coworkers, managers, clients, and customers.
People don't know what they need. The wants we communicate to others are shaped by our subconscious and the familiar, and limited by what we think is possible. But they don't always reflect our actual needs.
In Stakeholder Whispering: Uncover What People Need Before Doing What They Ask, author Bill Shander demonstrates how to get from your stakeholders' "order"-what they're asking for-to what they really need. You'll learn how to uncover the needs and desires of your clients, colleagues, bosses, customers, and other stakeholders based on what they ask for and how they ask for it, and how to deliver products and services that meet those needs.
Inside the book:
Help your stakeholders accomplish their goals and make the best decisions possible by helping them see what they really need
Shift from executing on tactics driven by others' commands, to strategic action driven by underlying needs
Transform your organization from one filled with "order-takers" into one where people work collaboratively to meet goal-oriented requirements
Perfect for managers, executives, and other business leaders, Stakeholder Whispering will also earn a place on the bookshelves of entrepreneurs, founders, designers, product and project managers, UX experts, data and business analysts, and anyone else hoping to better meet the expectations of their coworkers, managers, clients, and customers.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
512 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-394-28952-3 (9781394289523)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2025
1st Edition
Wiley
€22.99
Available for download

E-Book
04/2025
1st Edition
Wiley
€22.99
Available for download
Person
BILL SHANDER is an information designer. For over 30 years, he has been helping clients turn their data into compelling visual (and often interactive) experiences. Clients include the World Bank, United Nations, Starbucks, PwC, MIT, multiple U.S. government agencies, and many more. He's also spent the past 10 years as an educator teaching these skills.
Content
Preface vii
Acknowledgements xi
Whisper While You Work xiii
Part I: What & Why 1
Chapter 1: Nothing Is As It Seems 3
Chapter 2: More Rolling Stones, Less Coldplay 14
Chapter 3: Everything Is UX 21
Chapter 4: Who Are You? 31
Part II: How Ideas 35
Chapter 5: You Belong 37
Chapter 6: Just Asking Questions 47
Chapter 7: Useful Paranoia 54
Chapter 8: Kill the Cat 59
Chapter 9: Can You Hear Me Now? 65
Chapter 10: A Rigid and Flexible Process 72
Chapter 11: Peeling the Stakeholder Onion 81
Part III: How Hands-on 89
Chapter 12: How to Run a Therapy Session 91
Chapter 13: I Feel You 99
Chapter 14: Starting Broad, Digging Deep 107
Chapter 15: Chunky Segmentation 120
Chapter 16: Gained in Translation 126
Chapter 17: The Art of the (Im)Possible 131
Chapter 18: Bobbing for Apples 139
Chapter 19: Silence Is Golden 144
Chapter 20: Good Questions 151
Chapter 21: Turn It Around 157
Chapter 22: Whispering En Masse 163
Chapter 23: Let's Talk About Bias, Baby 173
Chapter 24: What It's Really All About 179
Chapter 25: Trouble 181
Chapter 26: When You Know You're Done 191
Part IV: Now What 199
Chapter 27: Prequalifying Whisperability 201
Chapter 28: Influence Without Authority 207
Chapter 29: Final Thoughts, Including Some Love for the Stakeholders 218
Index 223
Acknowledgements xi
Whisper While You Work xiii
Part I: What & Why 1
Chapter 1: Nothing Is As It Seems 3
Chapter 2: More Rolling Stones, Less Coldplay 14
Chapter 3: Everything Is UX 21
Chapter 4: Who Are You? 31
Part II: How Ideas 35
Chapter 5: You Belong 37
Chapter 6: Just Asking Questions 47
Chapter 7: Useful Paranoia 54
Chapter 8: Kill the Cat 59
Chapter 9: Can You Hear Me Now? 65
Chapter 10: A Rigid and Flexible Process 72
Chapter 11: Peeling the Stakeholder Onion 81
Part III: How Hands-on 89
Chapter 12: How to Run a Therapy Session 91
Chapter 13: I Feel You 99
Chapter 14: Starting Broad, Digging Deep 107
Chapter 15: Chunky Segmentation 120
Chapter 16: Gained in Translation 126
Chapter 17: The Art of the (Im)Possible 131
Chapter 18: Bobbing for Apples 139
Chapter 19: Silence Is Golden 144
Chapter 20: Good Questions 151
Chapter 21: Turn It Around 157
Chapter 22: Whispering En Masse 163
Chapter 23: Let's Talk About Bias, Baby 173
Chapter 24: What It's Really All About 179
Chapter 25: Trouble 181
Chapter 26: When You Know You're Done 191
Part IV: Now What 199
Chapter 27: Prequalifying Whisperability 201
Chapter 28: Influence Without Authority 207
Chapter 29: Final Thoughts, Including Some Love for the Stakeholders 218
Index 223