Let's say you're working with a bunch of other people, each of them from different departments. Everyone has their own agenda. You might care about the level of tech debt in the code. Maybe your primary focus is ensuring the product stays functional. Maybe you want to reduce the number of calls into your Service department. Whatever it is, it's clearly the most important thing to consider, right?

Guess what? Everyone else thinks the same thing about their primary focus.

No matter how hard we try, it's hard not to be blind to the needs and key focuses of other teams and department teams. After all, you are most involved with your own department, so you know it better than the others you're working with.

Lean on the subject matter experts in other departments. Take the time to understand what their needs are and what keeps them up at night. Empathize with them. How can you account for these concerns as part of your plan? Every change and every plan will involve risk for somebody. By learning the needs of other groups, you can keep those risks to a minimum for everyone involved.