ROCKY SHARMA at Stanford University Bookstore
About this Event
Join Stanford alumnus and author Rocky Sharma for a book chat celebrating his debut novel, Solving Problems that Matter: A Product Explorer's™ Playbook for AI Product Builders. He'll be joined by Ridhima Arora, Director of Product at eBay, for a moderated conversation, followed by an audience Q&A and book signing.
AI has made it cheap to build the wrong things. Solving Problems that Matter codifies the operating model Rocky built from leading the team responsible for the technology fitted onto the U.S. Army's bomb-disposal suit, Iron Man's helmet, in real life. The technician inside the suit was the alternative. His team ran 124 verbatim customer interviews with defense personnel, bomb-disposal operators, and experts, saving the Army $10 million, and kept those operators home with their families. Ten years later, that same operating discipline is what Solving Problems that Matter teaches senior product managers navigating the AI era. The counterargument to “ship faster with AI,” built for the era where code is cheap and judgment is scarce.
Solving Problems that Matter teaches an original methodology:
- The 12 P's: the operating spine for Product Explorer™ - The identity that comes before Product Builder
- Triple Fit (product fit · executive fit · mission fit): The pass gate before any code commits
- Mission Steward: The executive altitude every senior product leader must reach before approves the budget
Event format: Moderated conversation followed by an open Q&A and book signing.
About the author: Rocky Sharma created the Product Explorer™ Methodology: the Product Manager and Leader who thinks like an Executive, investigates like an Inventor, and commands like an Operator, before becoming a Product Builder, connecting every decision to their executive's metrics. Stanford GSB alumnus. Forged on a Stanford × U.S. Army mission in 2016, applied at Home Depot Supply’s $1.3B eCommerce P&L and across 20+ years in Product. Thought Leader at Forbes. CEO & CPO of Procurement AI and Luxeo Platforms, Also CEO at ASCM Golden Gate at Berkeley.
Public recognition:
- Rocky's June 2026 Forbes column on the book's thesis: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2026/06/18/sequence-matters-in-product-management-be-a-product-explorer-first-a-product-builder-second/
- 2016 Iron Man mission clip (Vimeo, 53 seconds): https://vimeo.com/162478948 This was featured on NBC Bay Area News.
Copies of Solving Problems that Matter will be available for purchase at the event.
Questions about this event?
Please view the FAQ below or contact Margarita at Stanford University Bookstore at [email protected]
Where is it happening?
USD 0.00
