Episode 186: Optimizing Enterprise Product Development Processes with Christopher Li
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Christopher Li, SVP of Product at Xactly to explore the evolving landscape of product management. Christopher, with his wealth of experience in product ownership and strategy, offered a fascinating perspective on the multifaceted role of a product manager and the dynamic nature of product development.
In our conversation on the Product Thinking podcast, Christopher shared his unique approach to balancing strategic vision with practical execution. We delved into the art of aligning product teams, navigating career flexibility within product management, and leveraging innovative strategies to drive successful product launches. His insights into the integration of various roles and the importance of cross-functional collaboration provided a refreshing take on managing complex product ecosystems.
Join me as I dive into Christopher's expert advice and uncover practical tips for enhancing your product management practices, embracing career versatility, and fostering a more cohesive product development process.
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Episode 185: Moving to a Product Model and Embracing Digital Transformation with Melissa Douros
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Melissa Douros, Chief Product Officer at Green Dot, who is redefining how we approach product management in today’s dynamic market. Melissa, with her deep expertise in creating cohesive customer experiences and integrating strategic design practices, shared her invaluable insights on building robust product strategies and fostering innovation.
In our engaging conversation on the Product Thinking podcast, Melissa delved into the significance of understanding the customer journey as a continuous, non-linear experience and the impact of having a unified design system. Her approach to aligning product management with strategic design and her perspective on the role of a well-structured product council provided a fresh outlook on effective product development.
Join me as I explore Melissa's strategic wisdom and discover actionable advice on enhancing your product management practices while driving meaningful customer engagement.
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Episode 184: Building Products for Product Managers with Trisha Price
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Trisha Price, Chief Product Officer at Pendo, a trailblazer in harnessing customer-centric innovation and integrating cutting-edge technologies into product development. Trisha, with her extensive experience in leading product teams and championing AI-driven solutions, shared her unique perspective on balancing immediate customer needs with long-term strategic goals.
In our compelling conversation on the Product Thinking podcast, Trisha explored how Pendo utilizes AI and LLMs to address real customer pain points while fostering a culture of experimentation and creativity. Her insights into creating a dynamic and innovative product environment, as well as her approach to implementing effective processes, offered a fresh perspective on modern product management.
Dive in as I unpack more of Trisha's strategic wisdom and actionable advice for navigating the exciting intersection of technology, customer experience, and product innovation.
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Episode 183: Building a Team Culture of Ownership and Collaboration with Todd Wilkens
I recently had the privilege of chatting with Todd Wilkens, Chief Product Officer at Qualio and a seasoned expert in product development and scaling teams for success. Todd brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at IBM, where he spearheaded transformative projects that reshaped how teams collaborate and innovate in the digital age.
Throughout our engaging discussion on the Product Thinking podcast, Todd delved into the intricacies of building customer-centric solutions and breaking down organizational silos. His insights into the role of agility and strategic alignment in driving continuous innovation were particularly enlightening.
Read on as I share more of Todd's invaluable advice and strategies for navigating the evolving landscape of product development and innovation.
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Episode 182: Balancing Stakeholder Needs in Educational Products with Amir Kabbara
I recently spoke with Amir Kabbara, a product leader with experience at Microsoft, Amazon and Shopify, who currently serves as Advisor to the CEO at Paper. Amir is an expert in product management and he and I discussed at length the ethical concerns surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the education sector, among other topics.
We also discussed the critical role of data-driven decision-making at Microsoft, the significance of customer conversations at Amazon, and the application of Shopify's frameworks in shaping product strategies
Read on to discover more of what we chatted about in the recent episode of the Product Thinking podcast.
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Episode 181: Exploring the Unknown: The Decision Sprint Framework with Atif Rafiq
I recently sat down with Atif Rafiq, best-selling author of ‘Decision Sprint’, founder and CEO of Ritual, but crucially also someone with a bonafide background in problem-solving and creating systems for innovation. Atif's career began in internet companies in the early days, working for AOL during its heyday.
He had loads to say on the Product Thinking podcast about how to create a culture of sustainable innovation and why it’s the CEO's responsibility to add clarity to the problem-solving frontier of every business.
Running explorations was another topic he hit upon in our conversations and how getting buy-in for that exploration is key to balancing long-term missions and short-term objectives.
Read on to discover more of what he told me.
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Episode 180: Aligning Product Goals with Business Outcomes: Insights from Sean O'Neill of Syncron
Sean O’Neill is currently the Chief Product & Technology Officer at Syncron but he has held senior product roles at a number of big organizations spanning Europe and the USA, including Amazon and Tesco.
He understands the importance of adaptability for a product manager, but he also has a lot of strong principles surrounding product management that he rarely veers from. These include the value-creation moments and financial literacy. I spoke to him recently on the newest episode of the Product Thinking podcast about the difference between product development in the US compared to Europe and he explained the subtleties in how he measures success, looking predominantly at renewals more than initial user sign-ups.
Read on to hear more of what he had to say.
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Episode 179: Achieving Trust and Authenticity in Product Reviews: G2's Approach with Sara Rossio
Sara Rossio is the Chief Product Officer at G2 and a hugely effective leader. Sara can leverage teams to develop and execute the sort of short and long-term strategic product plans that drive profitability up up and up. The way she talks about the dedication she has to bringing people along with her and helping to develop people on a personal level is utterly inspiring.
It was a real pleasure then, to sit down with Sara as I have recently. We shared ideas around AI, personalization, team motivation, user trust and many other topics.
Read on to hear what she had to say.
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Episode 178: Startups or Enterprise: Advice from a CPO with Ying Chen
Ying Chen is a seasoned product manager who has worked in both large enterprises and startups. She is well placed then, to discuss the pitfalls and upsides of working in both.
Choosing which path is best for you is not straightforward, but advice on that front from someone who has worked in senior product roles at Covetrus, HubSpot, Luminoso Tech, and Quantive is worth listening to.
It was fascinating to speak to Ying on the Product Thinking podcast and understand how her learning mindset has allowed her to take different lessons from every position she’s held.
Read on to discover the key points made by Ying in our chat.
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Episode 177: The Evolution of User Research: A Conversation with Steve Portigal, Author of Interviewing Users
Steve Portigal is an experienced user researcher who works with organizations to uncover insights about users, improve their research practice, and aid them in their product development. Ten years ago he first published “Interviewing Users”, and he has recently released a second, updated edition of the book.
It was eye-opening to have him on the Product Thinking podcast to find out why he felt this update was a much-needed response to the changing ways in which research is and can be conducted
Read on to discover some of the key points made by Steve in our chat.
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Episode 176: Harnessing the Power of Product Principles: A Conversation with Debbie Widjaja of Zero Gravity
Debbie Widjaja is the Chief Product Officer of Zero Gravity, but in her 13 year career has worked in roles with Shopify, Bulb, and Facebook just to name a few. I was delighted to welcome her onto the Product Thinking podcast to delve into her journey from Indonesia to her current role.
She explained her view on product principles and how important it is to establish them in order to guide your team in a direction that aligns with your values and the company DNA.
We covered AI, how to deliver innovation in smaller companies and what the future of product management looks like.
Read on to see what Debbie had to say.
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Episode 175: Evolution of Product Management and the Importance of Diverse Backgrounds with Ryan Johnson of CallRail
I recently sat down with Ryan Johnson, Chief Product Officer at CallRail to hear all about his fascinating journey in product management and how he feels the role has changed since his career began.
And it’s not only the role of the product manager that he sees as being all-change in recent years. Ryan explained to me how he sees storytelling being far more important than it used to be in boardroom environments.
Read on to hear more about Brian's journey and his valuable insights on product strategy and communication within a company.
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Episode 174: Integrating AI & Transforming Workflows with Anthony Maggio, VP & Head of Product at Airtable
I recently sat down with Anthony Maggio, Head of Product and VP at Airtable to discuss combating challenges within the digital supply chain, addressing strategy drift, and how Anthony is spearheading Airtable’s newest: Airtable AI.
Airtable is all about connecting people and data, and connecting with Anthony to hear his clarity of thought and collaborative ethos, it was clear to see why he’s become such a trusted figure in this space. You can read about some of the fascinating thoughts he shared with me on AI integration below.
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Episode 173: Building a Healthy Failure Culture for Innovation and Learning with Amy Edmondson, Professor at Harvard
I was joined by a Harvard professor this week on the Product Thinking podcast. Amy Edmondson was my illustrious guest, author of the new hit book: “Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well”.
In our wide-reaching discussion around psychological safety and the distinction between leadership and leaders, Amy’s ideas about how we ought to be better at failing took real compelling shape. I’m excited to share with you some of the thoughts and insights that arose out of our discussion below.
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Episode 172: The Power of Culture: Unlocking High Performance in Your Company with Mark McNally, Chief Nobody at Nobody Studios
In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, host Melissa Perri is joined by Mark McNally, a venture innovator who founded Nobody Studios, a startup incubator on the path to creating 100 compelling companies in the next 5 years. Join them as they discuss the fundamentals of building successful companies, the importance of culture, and the role of venture studios in supporting founders.
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Episode 171: Applying Military Tactics to Strategy Execution with Author Stephen Bungay
In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, host Melissa Perri is joined by Stephen Bungay, author of The Art of Action and former Director of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre. Join them as they explore Stephen’s approach to strategy execution. They discuss the common struggles in strategy execution and how to overcome them in your product management team.
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Episode 170: Unlocking the Future with the Power of Alignment with Margaret Jastrebski, SVP of Product at Tegus
In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, host Melissa Perri is joined by Margaret Jastrebski, the SVP of Product at Tegus. Join them as they explore what it means to be a leader today. They discuss Margaret’s role at Tegus, the power of alignment within an organization, understanding sales and marketing, and the importance of a vision for execution.
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Episode 169: How Balancing Vulnerability with Ability is the Secret to Great Leadership with Author, Jacob Morgan
In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, host Melissa Perri is joined by Jacob Morgan, author of “Leading with Vulnerability.” Join them as they explore what it means to be a leader today. They discuss Jacob’s personal journey to vulnerability, balancing vulnerability and competency, the importance of being self aware and many actionables to be a better overall leader.
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Episode 168: Cutting the Fat after a Crisis with Alex Wattrelos, Previous CPO of Sunday
In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, host Melissa Perri is joined by Alex Wettrelos Chief Product Officer at Sunday. Join them as they explore the challenges of rapid scaling and then descaling during the 2022 tech-crisis. They discuss how Sunday, a fintech company innovating payment methods across the hospitality industry, went from an idea on a slide deck to 450 employees with $203 million of seed funding. They also touch on the differences between product management in Europe & the US.
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Episode 167: How to Use More Than 10% of Your Company's Brain with Aaron Smith, Chief Product Officer
In this episode of Product Thinking, Aaron Smith joins Melissa Perri. Together, they discuss Aaron’s best practices he learned from his time at Amazon, key leadership principles, creating a culture of accountability, and the destiny creator mindset.
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