Make the C-Suite Think Like a Startup (Without Getting Fired) | West Stringfellow, VP Product (ex-Target, Blackhawk)

Episode notes

Today, we’re joined by West Stringfellow, currently VP of Product at Blackhawk Network and former VP of Innovation at Target. In this episode, West shares: How he went from stealth startups to leading innovation at a company with over $77 billion in annual sales The methods he uses to manage up and influence leadership in order to achieve the outcomes necessary to create successful organizations time and time again The bold move that accelerated his Target career, which included hand-delivering over 300 copies of his innovation proposal to every executive at their Minneapolis HQ, even catching the attention of Target’s CEO An inside look at how Blackhawk is thinking about AI and digital transformation by cultivating “culture carriers” to champion AI Links West’s LinkedIn: Blackhawk Network: HowDo: Chapters 00:00: Introduction 01:17: West's career journey 02:08: Project Goldfish and West's startup background 05:43: Making product and strategy decisions at Target 06:25: West building a Techstars Startup Accelerator 08:39: How West's work at Target inspired his startup, HowDo 09:44: How did West "manage up" at Target?