# Why Saying Yes to Every Stakeholder Request Is the Fastest Way to Fail as a Product Owner | Njegos Ilic

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/scrum-master-toolbox-podcast-agile-storytelling-from-the-trenches-445588/why-saying-yes-to-every-stakeholder-request-is-the-fastest-way-to-fail-as-a-product-owner-njegos-ilic
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/scrum-master-toolbox-podcast-agile-storytelling-from-the-trenches-445588/why-saying-yes-to-every-stakeholder-request-is-the-fastest-way-to-fail-as-a-product-owner-njegos-ilic.md
Podcast: [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches](https://stenobird.com/podcast/scrum-master-toolbox-podcast-agile-storytelling-from-the-trenches-445588)
Published: 2026-05-25T10:05:00+00:00
Episode link: https://scrummastertoolbox.libsyn.com/why-saying-yes-to-every-stakeholder-request-is-the-fastest-way-to-fail-as-a-product-owner-njegos-ilic
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/scrummastertoolbox/20260525_Njegos_Ilic_M.mp3?dest-id=246429
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/scrum-master-toolbox-podcast-agile-storytelling-from-the-trenches-445588/episodes/why-saying-yes-to-every-stakeholder-request-is-the-fastest-way-to-fail-as-a-product-owner-njegos-ilic
Duration seconds: 881

## Resource

Njegos Ilic: Why Saying Yes to Every Stakeholder Request Is the Fastest Way to Fail as a Product Owner Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes . "The game is rigged because they are strong personalities, they want to get things done, but you don't have a magic stick — it's really hard to deliver results if you cannot say no." - Njegos Ilic Njegos shares a failure from early in his career as a product owner in startup environments, where he found himself saying yes to every stakeholder request. Working with strong-willed founders who expected things done their way, Njegos fell into the trap of trying to please everyone — building everything that was asked without pushing back. The result was predictable: scattered priorities, no room to pivot, and a product backlog driven by the loudest voice in the room rather than real user needs. But Njegos frames this failure with a perspective that product owners at any stage can learn from. He compares the learning process to watching children learn to walk — stumbling and falling is not a sign of weakness, it's a necessary step in the process of growing. His advice to product owners currently stuck in this pattern: don't try to avoid failures too hard, because you might prevent yourself from learning the most important lessons. Instead, treat failure as a feedback loop — something happened, you can measure it, and you can change your approach. The key is doing the actual work of reflection: What did I do? What should have been different? What wasn't possible to change, and why? Self-reflection Question: When was the last time you said yes to a stakeholder request even though your gut told you…

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## Transcript

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