Ritu Bhargava, xPresident & CPO, SAP CX/CRM - Build "OrgIQ", Manage Up and Across
Thu Feb 20 2025
Ritu Bhargava is xPresident and Chief Product Officer of SAP Customer Experience (CX/CRM) & Consumer Industries. Prior to that she was SVP of Software Engineering at Salesforce for Sales Cloud (CRM) and held various engineering leadership roles at Oracle. Ritu is a sought-after advisor, investor and has also served as a Board Member at Qualtrics.
In this conversation, Ritu is disarmingly honest and candid as she narrates stories about her experiences rising up in the organization, balancing getting visibility and being a team player, and learning from people six levels down in the org chart.
Key takeaways:
1. COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS
- A boss is also a human with a job, not just a title.
- Surface real issues and what they need to move forward.
- Ask “What would help you?”
2. SAYING NO TO MANAGEMENT
- Earn the right to say No
- Avoid the temptation to please
- Cover No’s in Yes’s
3. BEING A TEAM PLAYER
- Play the long game instead of little wins
- Be selfless, its not about you
- Can you give up the limelight when you could have claimed victory?
4. RISING UP IN THE ORGANIZATION
- Raise your hand and put yourself out there
- If you want to grow, make yourself redundant
- Earn the trust of peers who may report to you
- Hire people smarter than yourself without feeling threatened
- Build “OrgIQ”
5. DEALING WITH STRESS
- Apply five Why’s
- Have a growth mindset
Connect with Ritu Bhargava:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritubhargava/
Connect with Rahul Abhyankar, host of Product Leader's Journey:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulabhyankar/
For previous episodes:
https://www.productleadersjourney.com
https://youtube.com/@ProductLeadersJourney
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Ritu Bhargava is xPresident and Chief Product Officer of SAP Customer Experience (CX/CRM) & Consumer Industries. Prior to that she was SVP of Software Engineering at Salesforce for Sales Cloud (CRM) and held various engineering leadership roles at Oracle. Ritu is a sought-after advisor, investor and has also served as a Board Member at Qualtrics. In this conversation, Ritu is disarmingly honest and candid as she narrates stories about her experiences rising up in the organization, balancing getting visibility and being a team player, and learning from people six levels down in the org chart. Key takeaways: 1. COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS - A boss is also a human with a job, not just a title. - Surface real issues and what they need to move forward. - Ask “What would help you?” 2. SAYING NO TO MANAGEMENT - Earn the right to say No - Avoid the temptation to please - Cover No’s in Yes’s 3. BEING A TEAM PLAYER - Play the long game instead of little wins - Be selfless, its not about you - Can you give up the limelight when you could have claimed victory? 4. RISING UP IN THE ORGANIZATION - Raise your hand and put yourself out there - If you want to grow, make yourself redundant - Earn the trust of peers who may report to you - Hire people smarter than yourself without feeling threatened - Build “OrgIQ” 5. DEALING WITH STRESS - Apply five Why’s - Have a growth mindset Connect with Ritu Bhargava: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritubhargava/ Connect with Rahul Abhyankar, host of Product Leader's Journey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulabhyankar/ For previous episodes: https://www.productleadersjourney.com https://youtube.com/@ProductLeadersJourney