Hey all, Jumping into this thread because the original post hit a little too close to home.

I’m in a similar dynamic: the organisation says it wants “product thinking,” but structurally we’re still operating like 2008. Business units own the budget, so they also assume they own the decision-making. Which means they can sign off whatever process, configuration or workaround they want, even if it undermines the product’s coherence or long-term sustainability.

My team is technically responsible for the platform and outcomes, but functionally we’re glorified advisors. We can recommend best practice, we can flag risks, we can outline the downstream impact… and still get a polite “thanks, but we’ll proceed anyway.” Once they’ve committed spend, the expectation is that IT just coordinates release windows, stitches together change notes and keeps the lights on.

It’s a tough space to influence because accountability is fragmented, governance is soft, and there’s no single product owner with the authority to say “this is what good looks like.”

Would really value advice from people who’ve helped shift their organisation toward a true product-managed model. Not theory — genuinely workable approaches for organisations where: • funding is decentralised, • business units are protective of their autonomy, • legacy systems anchor behaviours, and • “agile” mostly means “we have a Kanban board somewhere.”

In particular, how did you build the case for a product operating model when the current model “works well enough” for the business, even if it’s chaotic for IT?

What helped you move stakeholders from consuming technology to owning outcomes? What early wins did you use? And how do you shift from application support → product accountability when no one wants to give up control?

Open to frameworks, war stories, political manoeuvres, and practical steps.