Digital Innovator: Recent Episodes
Ken Yarmosh
Hosted by best-selling O’Reilly author and tech thought leader Ken Yarmosh, Digital Innovator is your place for insight into the world of better remote work, technology, apps, tools, and more. Ken has lead global remote teams for over a decade, built chart-topping apps, created startups backed by leading VCs, and pioneered innovations at Global 1000 companies. Episodes provide both strategies for leaders and tactics for those in the remote and hybrid work trenches.
As remote work continues to explode, we have a variety of tools, and our team members are spread out around timezones, capturing processes and knowledge has never been more important.
Unfortunately, this aspect of most organizations is either nonexistent or completely lacking. Knowledge is often trapped inside people, buildings, as well as real-time communication channels like messaging and video calls.
Scribe wants to change that with instant visual guides to create effortless, visual step-by-step how to guides.
In today’s conversation with CEO Jennifer Smith, we discuss why companies often fail with creating documentation, where Scribe fits in the landscape of today’s tools, how Scribe’s customers use the tools to create amazing, visual how-to guides, and it’s new feature called Pages.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Scribe
- Scribe website
- Scribe on LinkedIn
- Jennifer on LinkedIn
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In the short to medium term, many companies are choosing a hybrid work model. Hybrid really is a subset of a Remote First company. That doesn’t mean the office isn’t valuable...it means you need to define the value of the office.
Reid Hiatt is on the frontlines of helping companies do hybrid right. As a co-founder and CEO of Tactic, his platform provides a smarter way to turn your office into a more flexible workspace. Employers get more visibility into who is coming into the office and how it’s being used. Employees know who is going into the office...it's a win-win solution.
In this conversation, we cover how hybrid looks across companies, assessing how the office fits into the new workplace, how Tactic can help, and what’s coming next.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Ken's Guide to Hybrid
- Five Hybrid Workplace Strategies You Needed Yesterday
Tactic
- Tactic website
- Tactic on LinkedIn
- Reid on LinkedIn
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Many companies today are still Remote Forced. They didn’t choose to be remote. They had to become remote as of March 2020.
Moving from Remote Forced to Remote First doesn't happen overnight. The initial steps include chronicling shared culture values, standing up the remote handbook, and focusing on good processes and cadences.
In this conversation, Taylor Murphy Head of Product & Data at Meltano joins the show. We discuss what it looks like to stand up true Remote First operations, including his experience coming out of GitLab. We also touch on areas like the balance between following playbooks and using good judgement when it comes to collaboration and communication.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- 10 Ideas for Building a Strong Remote Work Company Culture
Meltano
- Website
- Meltano on Linkedin
- Taylor Murphy on LinkedIn
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Workers are spending 250% more time in meetings since 2020. They're now working a new 5 - 9...but it's not because of a side hustle. It's to keep up with work from all the lost hours during the day.
The madness has to stop. Justin Mitchell, CEO of Yac, believes async messaging is the answer. His hope is in the future the question will be, "Is this a sync or async meeting?"
In this discussion, we cover when to use real-time vs. async communication, meeting-driven cultures, Slack vs. Yac vs. Loom, how Yac uses Yac, and much more.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Ken's Guide to Async
- Getting Started with Async Collaboration
Yac
- Yac and Yac X
- Justin Mitchell on Twitter
- Yac on Twitter
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Remote work isn't about comfy clothes and no commutes. It's arguably ushering in the biggest change to society since the Industrial Revolution. Already, we can see a huge shift in where people are choosing to live. Businesses are also overhauling policies and increasingly, the way they work.
Liam Martin has been at the forefront of remote work. From his fully remote companies like Time Doctor to his Running Remote conference—and soon to be published book by the same name—he's catching up the rest of the world to being a productive remote company.
In today's discussion we cover his view on the state of remote work, the move towards async management, and what he sees on the horizon for running remote teams. Plus you'll hear about the end of "sacred knowledge."
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- The Future of Remote vs. Hybrid Work
- Improve Your Remote Work Productivity With These 5 Steps
Ken's No More Meetings Guide
- No More Meetings
Resources
- Time Doctor
- Running Remote Conference
- Running Remote on YouTube
- Running Remote on Twitter
- Liam Martin on Twitter
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Significant time is wasted in meetings. Especially when taking notes. Fathom instead wants you to never take notes on a Zoom call again.
Whether it's using Zoom, Google Meet, or a comparable video conferencing tools, taking notes is tedious. Many time notes aren't referenced because important information is missed or they are written from the perspective of the notetaker.
Transcription services like Otter and Rev have been on the rise the last few years to solve these problems. Arguably, they were still fairly "dumb" by just converting information versus offering intelligent summaries of meetings. Fathom evolves these approaches by offering the ability to add quick highlights with the click of a button. Now people are able to stay more focused on meetings instead of listening and trying to take notes at the same time.
In this episode, I cover some of the pitfalls of meetings today, where Fathom fits in, how it works including integrations with Salesforce and Slack, and alternatives to consider.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- The Coming Virtual Offices
- Fantastical Scheduling Turns Calendly On its Head
Tools
- Fathom
- Fireflies
- Grain
- tl;dv
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With all the talk of the future metaverse, virtual offices are already here. What are virtual offices? They don't require separate—and expensive—hardware like the metaverse. They also aren't like the more linear and productivity-oriented Slack and Zoom.
Virtual offices from companies like Gather and Cosmos Video instead are 2D spaces. They create the best of interactions available in physical offices that are missing in remote and hybrid workplaces.
This week I detail how we arrived at this moment, as well as traits and options for virtual offices. I then dive deep with the co-founder and CEO of Cosmos Video, a leading virtual office and all-in-one video solution.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- Beating Zoom Fatigue: Dominik Zane CEO of Around
- The Future of Remote vs. Hybrid Work
Tools
- Cosmos Video - Virtual spaces to work and hangout
- Gather | A better way to meet online.
- Teamflow: Virtual Office for Remote Team Collaboration
- SpatialChat
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Google and other large employers are hoping to lure workers back to the office. With the popularity of remote work, they're reinstating amenities like massages and fitness centers. Will that be enough?
The return to the office requires careful strategy as workers are loud and clear they want flexibility. Twitter now supports remote work indefinitely. Salesforce just made a big announcement about how they're thinking about the future of work and their physical "offices" with Trailblazer Ranch.
In this episode I share what Google and others are up against, detailing my own approaches to leading remote and hybrid teams.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- Google Spaces and its Focus on the Hybrid Workplace
- The Future of Remote vs. Hybrid Work
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The debate over the future of remote vs. hybrid work is seemingly just getting started. Yet there's a BIG secret.
In this conversation, you'll get the truth about remote vs. hybrid work, considerations around the future of work for employees and employers, and practical strategies you can begin to apply immediately.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- Improve Your Remote Work Productivity With These 5 Steps
- 10 Ideas to Build a Strong Remote Culture
- How to Improve Messaging in Slack
- Almanac as an "Async OS"
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Fantastical has been one of the best calendar apps over the last decade. It's just gotten even better with Fantastical Scheduling to simplify meeting scheduling.
Here's the thing: you're probably in a meeting right now or getting ready to go into one. The calendar is a critical part of the workday and Fantastical has been a trusted tool for me as I've grown and managed seven and eight-figure businesses.
If you're familiar with tools like Calendly, Fantastical Scheduling flips that model on its head. Calendly and other tools like it requires a tedious setup process, granting access to your calendars, and a separate cost. Fantastical Scheduling gives you that as part of its subscription all while already securely having access to your calendars. Oh, and by the way, you also get group polls for larger meetings—similar to Doodle—as part of being a Fantastical customer.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- Reduce Meetings Now with Video Clips
- Eliminate Never-Ending Meetings
Tools to Explore
- Fantastical
- Fantastical Scheduling
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You love your comfy clothes and not commuting in the remote work world. The data supports it. Yet immediately we hear about isolation, disconnectedness, and the inability to have that same "great" in-office culture for remote companies.
Was it really that great though?
Perception can be reality. Laughing in the office didn't mean everyone felt a sense of belonging. Building stronger remote work culture just takes some more intentionality and purpose.
In this episode, I share what's worked for better remote culture as I've built and lead global remote teams over the last 15 years. If you have another idea that's worked for you, send me a message.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- Improve Your Remote Work Productivity With These 5 Steps
Tools to Explore
- Gather
- Cosmos Video
- Dive*
- Donut
* Disclosure: I'm a LP in Dive but have no say in the company strategy or the fund's investment in them. Dive was not aware I would mention them in this episode.
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Remote work is still newer for many knowledge workers. Having spent the past 15 years working remotely, I know the challenges better than most. The problems go beyond getting a quiet workspace, dealing with work from home distractions, and navigating the schedules of your household members. Remote work productivity is often reduced based on issues we create for ourselves.
In this discussion, I cover five elements of remote work you can change that are in your control. You can get started with them immediately and they'll have measurable impacts in your remote work productivity and overall happiness at work.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- Create a Better Virtual Workspace
- Five Slack Productivity Tips
- Video Clips to Reduce Meetings Now
- Declare To Do Bankruptcy
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Ding. Boing. Drop. Messaging platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams are now solidified as the go-to business apps and tools in the workplace. But based on the constant interruptions and distraction they cause, should they be?
In this episode, I cover five tips you didn't even know you needed to make Slack and other messaging tools more productive. Instead of deep technical specifics, these are strategic shifts that can change the way you and your colleagues use messaging tools for the better. You'll move from the world of real-time distraction to an environment that supports more deep, creative work.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Other Episodes
- You're Using the WRONG Doc Editor
- Video Clips to Reduce Meetings Now
- Slack Joins Salesforce
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We spend the bulk of our day trying to be productive managing work in web browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. Yet we allow our productivity to suffer for a single reason.
The solution does not include more extensions or apps. It starts with a shift in your philosophy on how you want to approach using the most important tool of your work day.
If you follow this productivity tip and strategy, you'll find yourself with a clearer mind and a better ability to start deep, creative work whenever you want. Plus, your coworkers will no longer see your "messy room." Listen to find out what I mean.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Episode 73 - My Productivity UNSYSTEM
- Episode 74 - Declare To-Do Bankruptcy
- Episode 72 - What is Web3?
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You've heard of email bankruptcy. Now, I want you to feel OK to declare to do, task, or project bankruptcy for better productivity and a quieter mind.
Even if you follow a certain system, your to dos, tasks, ideas, projects, tickets in dev trackers, etc. add up over time. While they may not be in front of you each day, they carry more of a cognitive load than you realize.
As you go about your day, that means there's always another thing to do in the back of your mind. That can cause you to get distracted, try to relate what you're doing to other tasks, or develop stress and anxiety.
There's no time like the present to simply start afresh. In today's show, I'll share what to do bankruptcy is and how to get started with it.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Thomas Frank on The best way to tame your overwhelming to-do list
- David Allen's Getting Things Done
- Basecamp's Shape Up Chapter 7
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We are overwhelmed with data today. From email, files, notes, and much more. Yet we still adhere either to systems adapted from the physical world or overly complex methods to keep ourselves sane. What if there is a better way?
Today, I cover my much simpler digital "unsystem" I use to manage my professional and personal life. It leverages the power of digital instead of making you a categorizer, labeler, and filer. Instead of a series of complex rules, it's a set of principles you can use and adopt yourself. Steal it and make it yours to get significant hours back in your week.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Topics
- 0:00 - Introduction
- 4:20 - Email
- 8:08 - Files
- 13:19 - Notes
- 17:04 - Wrap up
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Web3 is beginning to hit mainstream. As someone who has built companies across each "version" from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and now Web3, I'm breaking down what has happened over the last 20-30 years. From Netscape and bad AOL screen names, user generated content and the creator economy, to crypto and NFTs, you'll understand where we've been, where we are today, and what's coming next.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- What is Web3? The Decentralized Internet of the Future Explained
- Curious Beginner's Guide to Crypto
- Chris Dixon on Twitter: "Why Web 3 matters 🧵"
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Quantum computers have been discussed since the early 1980s but until more recently, were considered theoretical or unachievable. Today, billions of dollars are being spent on them by governments, big tech, and academia. They just may be able to help us unlock discovering new materials, medicines, or provide unbreakable financial security.
Tom Wong is a Quantum Information Scientist and professor exploring the world of quantum computing. In this discussion, we provide an overview of quantum computing, what's happening today, important players, and possible applications.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Tom's website
- Tom's Twitter thread on quantum computing 101
- Tom on Twitter
- Tom on LinkedIn
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Amazon. Uber. Apple. Borders. Taxis. Kodak. What separates certain companies and innovation from finding a roadmap to revenue and others to go out of business or get leapfrogged by others?
Jay Haynes founded Thrv to help with these exact kinds of problems. He wants to mitigate wasting time and money and ensure product roadmaps tie back to revenue. He’s an expert in the jobs to be done methodology, studying under Clayton Christensen directly. Jay ultimately wants to see more iPhones and less Zunes.
We cover a ton of ground in this discussion…from defining the jobs to be done methodology, creating new platforms vs. new features, and how to tie back development to expenses and revenue.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Thrv website
- Jay on Twitter
- Jay on LinkedIn
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Hours are wasted every week trying to find files, messages, documents, and more across all your tools at work. Our disparate cloud environment of the modern workplace causes constant context switching and data scattered. Glean, a platform by former Google engineers including Arvind Jain, wants to be your new work assistant.
Glean works wherever you are. It's in your browser, sidebar, or Slack. So you don't have to stop what you're doing to find what you need. Further, it shows you information you don't even know you need. All with quick and secure setup...it's no wonder why they are fresh off $55M of funding, lead by General Catalyst.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Glean
- Glean Emerges From Stealth With $55 Million To Bring Search To The Enterprise
- Episode 60 - Google's Focus on the Hybrid Workplace
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Applications run today's businesses. Those applications are increasingly sitting on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Android devices that are distributed around the globe. You likely have lost or misplaced even just one device. Try managing tens of thousands of them. Jarrod Ranney is a device whisper and through creative MDM solutions, he's bringing order to chaos.
In this conversation, we cover everything from a recent story of MDM gone wrong for Disney, where to start in the process, different options to consider like JAMF, and MDM outside the workplace.
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Links
- Article: Stolen Walt Disney World iPad Used By Guest with Tour Group to Skip Ride Lines at Theme Parks
- Illustration: How Apple and Google build vs. everyone else
- Jarrod's speaking event
- Jarrod's website
- Jarrod on Linkedin
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Innovation is often considered solely building something new. Rajesh Nerlikar, co-author of Build What Matters, knows innovation is more nuanced than that.
In this conversation, we discuss what he describes as product roadmap balancing across innovation, iteration, and operation. We also more generally discuss his Vision-Lead Framework and prioritizing what to build next when dealing with the SDLC and digital innovation.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Book: Build What Matters
- Vision-Led Product Management
- The Color-Coded Product Roadmap
- 5 Key Takeaways from Shape Up by Basecamp
- Rajesh on Twitter
- Rajesh on LinkedIn
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Documents today still often begin by copying and pasting, then editing what you don't need. Further, cloud-based doc editors are increasingly slow. The most modern options like Coda and Notion do much more than just documents and aren't focusing their innovation exclusively around documents themselves. Enter Almanac.
Almanac is fresh off of receiving $34M from Tiger Global to be your next doc editor. Unlike newer cloud options, they are focused exclusively on docs. Their differentiators include claiming to have the fastest doc editor available, features like branching & merging to avoid copy/pasting docs, 3,000 community-driven templates, advanced workflows, and more.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Docs startup Almanac raises $34 million from Tiger as remote work shift hardens
- Almanac - A Collaborative Document Editor
- Episode 25 - Deep Collaboration in the Enterprise
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A number of problems in the digital innovation lifecycle occur when we start with tech and shiny object syndrome. Leading with tech instead of problems that it can solve often ends with expensive tech initiatives that either don't ship or don't get adopted.
In this conversation with Daren Hubbard, he shares his four tenets for being a successful tech executive and what he's learned leading digital transformation at large organizations as a CIO. He believes it's critical to start with values and a core mission to find ways to relate to those you work with and lead through the SDLC.
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Links
- Daren on Twitter
- GeorgiaTechCIO on Twitter
- Daren on LinkedIn
- Daren's CIO blog
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The last few years, real-time has been on all the rage. It’s gone from email to messaging through tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams. As well as video since COVID-19 with Zoom becoming a verb.
Slack Clips is Slack's attempt to help you reduce the volume of meetings you have each week. It lets you record a video message that you can send to others via DM or in a channel. Can a messaging tool really help you get more focused and reduce meetings?
In this briefing, you'll get a rundown of the three goals of Slack Clips—and comparable tools—and how Slack is trying to combat meeting overload.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- New Slack product innovations unveiled at Dreamforce
- Newsletter for bonus content
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Artificial intelligence is one of the forefronts of digital innovation today. What often isn’t spoken of, however, is the frightening reality of what AI can become.
Author and entrepreneur Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer of Google [X], joins this week to discuss his new book Scary Smart. We discuss where AI is in its lifecycle, what is coming in just a few short years, digital super intelligence, good & bad actors in AI, and the important responsibility we have in shaping AI both in the corporate environment as well as individuals.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Mo on Twitter
- Mo on LinkedIn
- Mo's podcast
- Scary Smart
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Everything is a meeting today. Emails become meetings. Slack messages become meetings. Meetings generate other meetings. 56% of workers are feeling overwhelmed by too many check-ins and meetings. But meetings aren't the issue. Remote isn't the issue.
Instead, it's about needing a shared understanding of how a team communicates, when to use certain tools, and how to escalate concerns.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- WSJ: The Pain of the Never-Ending Work Check-In (subscription required)
- Ken's featured LinkedIn post on how to do less meetings
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Supply chains have increasingly become complex over the years yet what manages them hasn’t. Digital twins solve that problem. Now, businesses can use a drag-and-drop interface to replicate their supply chain digitally, allowing advanced forecasting and scenario planning. In this episode, Matt Tichon, VP of Industry Strategy, shares his deep knowledge on everything from supply chains, getting started with digital twins, what kind of roles are needed for it, sample use cases, and much more.
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Links
- Coupa
- Matt on Twitter
- Matt on LinkedIn
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Google Spaces, its Slack and Teams competitor, goes general availability. Google's uniquely positioned to eat up market share in this well... space...especially for small and medium size businesses. Plus, new features for the hybrid workplace like location settings in Google Calendar and Google Meet calling for ad hoc discussions.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Episode 32 - Preparing for the Hybrid Workplace
- Episode 38 - Beating Zoom Fatigue: Dominik Zane CEO of Around
- Episode 40 - The Future of Work is Now: Lars Schmidt from Redefining HR
- Google Cloud Blog - Bridging the hybrid work gaps with Google Workspace
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Careers typically follow a linear path. Yet digital innovation is anything but linear. What if there were a Matrix-like way to download skills and experience quickly and effectively? Enter mentoring. No one better exemplifies the power of being mentored—and mentoring others—than Joseph Agresta. This week we get into how he supercharged his career with the power of mentorship and how he extends that to his own team in the digital lifecycle.
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Links
- Joseph's website
- Joseph on LinkedIn
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Digital innovation's acceleration increased dramatically as a result of 2020. No clearer are the impacts than at brands like Colour Republic, which focuses on fresh cut flowers. Kacy Fabie's deep digital expertise is helping lead the charge. Her knowledge of digital marketing and ecommerce is setting the foundation for DTC to become a more significant part of the business. This week we discuss everything from the evolution of digital marketing, optimizing digital channels, strategic decisions in digital transformation, last mile for fresh supply chains, and more.
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Links
- Colour Republic Flowers
- Kacy on LinkedIn
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The average person has 80+ apps installed with more than half of them not even being used one time a month. With the introduction of widgets and App Clips on iOS, companies now have the opportunity to become more front and center to their customers. In this special bonus episode, Ken shares a talk he did at Brand Growth Summit. You'll learn what these features are and how today's leading brands are using them to drive high-touch, high-value engagement.
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The digital lifecycle is full of challenges, including complex projects, highly specialized roles, and context that can span years. UX is often central to creating better alignment across product, design, and engineering. This week Rebecca Crimmin, Director of UX, shares her philosophy on UX and leadership, focusing on the importance of context and outcomes over output.
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- Rebecca on LinkedIn
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It's one thing to suggest you're user-driven. It's another to have a user-centered design practice at the core of everything you do. Kristopher Kinlen has gone from a practice of one to having the C-Suite fund and support a user-centered design practice that he leads. This week we cover standing up a user-centered design practice, landmines to avoid, building rapport across an organization, mentoring the next generation of designers, and much more.
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Links
- Resource: UX Core
- Kristopher on Twitter
- Kristopher on LinkedIn
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Is there a way to apply product management expertise to areas as diverse as the app stores, ads, and cryptocurrency? Davide Di Cillo shares the goods on how he's done that in this week's episode. From the glory days of the app stores, he's conquered big scary audacious projects at Facebook and Pinterest with a clear, repeatable approach. In this discussion, we touch on everything from greenfield projects, internal tools, scaling, and why profits follow passion.
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- Davide on Twitter
- Davide on LinkedIn
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It's easy to create something complex. It's complex to create something simple. Mike Mancuso's goal as a Director of UX is to create delightful, simple design experiences. He has 10+ years of leadership doing exactly that. Today, he instills this mentality into his team as he strives to not just create industry-leading work but world-class software. In this episode, we cover everything from his design philosophy to his approach to leading teams and a portfolio of projects that need great UX.
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- Mike on LinkedIn
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Today, the CDO—Chief Digital Officer—is seemingly becoming the more strategic way to represent technology across innovative organizations. Titles aside, Miloš Topić believes the key is having the right seat at the table and a true mandate from the C-Suite to enable digital transformation. This week we traverse the difference between a CDO and CIO or CTO, how to effect change without a C-Suite title, assessing and promoting team members, and much more.
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- Miloš' website
- Miloš on LinkedIn
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Unlocking and unblocking data is a key to forwarding digital innovation. Many organizations today are still struggling with having holistic approaches to data or leaders who can guide roles as diverse as data scientists and machine learning experts. Rob Phillips' career has enabled him to navigate each next technology wave and he's presently focused on this exact problem. This week Rob shares his knowledge in using data to drive decisions across orgs, navigating executive challenges, approaches on how to build new capabilities, and more.
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- Rob on LinkedIn
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Entrepreneurship is often seen as a separate track from traditional employment. But what if both could be combined in a way that served each other? Noah Rosenberg's career is a testament that the 5 - 9 can help advance the 9 - 5 (and vice-versa). Beyond that, this week we cover the early days of tech, his transition from design to product, finding flow, and how to ensure creativity thrives in and out of work.
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- Noah on LinkedIn
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The world of technology has evolved since the late 1990s and early 2000s. Proven digital executives are no longer seen as owning cost centers. Instead, they are charged with transforming strategic pieces of today's organizations.
Brian Rensing is no exception. From Procter & Gamble to PetSmart, he has a proven history of not falling for shiny new tech and valuing strategy above all else. This week we discuss everything ranging from how to bet on the right tech, managing up, his playbook for getting up to speed in new organizations, and user-centric digital innovation.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Brian on LinkedIn
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- @kenyarmosh
- /in/kenyarmosh
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Historically, a tension between product and engineering left engineers without a seat at the SDLC table. Product was seen as the driver of work, with engineers being the doers of their vision. Over the last number of years, this perspective has begun to shift thanks to senior engineering leaders like Sunita Venkatachalam. Working at firms like Yahoo! India and Target, Sunita dives in this week with thoughts from her recent talk and article on this exact theme. From creating boundaries, building alignment through team charters, and increasing empathy in conversations, Sunita shares proven strategies to help eliminate these tensions.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- How Eng and Prod can work better together
- Sunita on LinkedIn
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- /in/kenyarmosh
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Was Steve Jobs the best product manager of all time? Product is a critical part to digital innovation and Ilan Abehassera's experience as a product leader is proving invaluable for his latest venture Willo. From deciding to start with kids for their teeth-brushing robot to building out a "minimum lovable product", Ilan's critical product-based decisions drive success both for his and his portfolio companies. This week we cover everything from his product DNA, getting into IoT and physical manufacturing, being an investor himself, and most importantly, how to properly say "entrepreneur".
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Links
- Willow
- Ilan on Twitter
- Ilan on LinkedIn
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As a founding member of Capital One Labs, Chris Clarke helped define an innovation model that went on to impact capabilities of the entire organization. More significantly, his team and their approach became one of a handful often observed as "the" way to a labs group. Fast forward to 2021 and he's still applying his product leadership in a very entrepreneurial way. This week we dig into innovation 10 years ago compared to today, digital innovation at scale, how to fund innovation, and digital native product management.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Chris on LinkedIn
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Leaders and individual contributors are still figuring out how to create space between home and work in the remote environment while operating at a high output. David Ashman has been a senior engineering leader for years who wanted more exposure to a remote workforce. He was fast tracked from being colocated with office workers to managing an increasingly internationally distributed team. In this episode, we discuss moving to remote, new dynamics in recruiting tech talent, flexible work models, hybrid, and tomorrow's workforce.
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Links
- David on LinkedIn
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Digital Innovator is a show for the curious, for practitioners, for leaders, and for creators and makers across the digital innovation lifecycle.
It's happening! Sync is now Digital Innovator. This episode is a short bonus one on why the name is changing, what isn't changing, and what's coming next. Don't worry though, all the things you love about the show are staying! Including the intro. More in this episode. Take a listen now.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- YouTube channel
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- /in/kenyarmosh
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What does it look like to do UX at scale, leading teams across geographies and time zones? Om Suthar's career has taken him from an individual contributor honing his own craft to now focusing on empowering team members to do their best work. This week we talk about the challenges of guiding makers and creators, processes & tools like Linear, remote & hybrid, and the importance of balancing great design with business goals.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Linear
- Personify
- Om on Twitter
- Om on LinkedIn
- Om's website
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Content creation saw an explosion during the mid-2000s. Almost overnight anyone could start a blog or website. This evolved into what today is called "social media", where influencers now have large, trusted followings. Yet where do experts on more niche or academic topics have a space to share their knowledge? Enter Bookshlf.
This week Mike Abend, co-founder of Bookshlf, joins to share his assessment of the media landscape over the past 10 years. He details why Bookshlf is focused on a human-focused community of knowledge curators, where it sits in the market, and opines on everything from Substack to NFTs in the creator economy.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Bookshlf
- Mike on Bookshlf
- Mike on LinkedIn
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The next ten years digital will create $100 trillion in economic value. Yet it won't be lead by a single technology. Instead, argues Eric Redmond, it will be the combination of seven different general purpose technologies, which he calls "Deep Tech" in his book. This week we discuss how we arrived at this moment, examples of Deep Tech, and what businesses need to do to stay relevant in the 2020s.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Mapping Innovation book
- Deep Tech book website
- Eric on LinkedIn
- Eric on Twitter
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Scaling teams, tech, and communities may seemingly be unrelated. Looking deeper, you quickly can see how they are not only connected but actually all required for success.
Jared Sheehan lives this reality out across his professional and personal interests. A manager of managers of 20+ teams, he’s doing mobile at scale that few companies are today. Further, it’s his involvement in—and organization of— meetups and “communities of practices” that fills gap in his own knowledge and allows him and his team to do more faster, better, and at higher scale. You’ll hear how he applies this thinking to his management style, to technologies like Flutter, and even in his personal life.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Radical Candor
- Mobile Apps at Scale: 39 Engineering Challenges
- Flutter hits 2.0
- Airbnb Sunsetting React Native
- Michael Hyatt on Creating an Annual Time Block
- DevCommunity
- Jared on LinkedIn
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- @kenyarmosh
- /in/kenyarmosh
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We talk about the “future of work” as if it’s a far-off concept. The reality is it’s already here. So says Lars Schmidt, author of Redefining HR and founder of Amplify. This week a number of important themes from past episodes collide including deep collaboration across the SDLC, the open source mindset, tools for makers & creators, and the hybrid workplace. Ken and Lars cover lessons learned from the original dotcom bust, tech recruiting within big companies and startups alike, what he learned from speaking with companies such as HubSpot, Stripe, & VaynerMedia, as well as what knowledge workers can expect now & over the next 10 years in the new normal.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Google on hybrid work
- Episode 32 - Preparing for the Hybrid Workplace
- Episode 22 - Open Source for Enterprise Innovation with Jay Garcia
- Episode 38 - Beating Zoom Fatigue: Dominik Zane CEO of Around
- Redefining HR website
- Amplify website
- Lars on LinkedIn
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- /in/kenyarmosh
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Back in 2008, Apple released one of the more powerful SDKs of all-time in the Apple ecosystem. At the time, it was called the "iPhone SDK" and it allowed Apple developers—and developers more generally—to go mainstream. Now any developer could have a more personal relationship with end users and even make a living by selling their software. That's old news today but Emilio Peláez began building before the iPhone SDK ever existed as a jailbreak developer. Building notifications before Apple did, he successfully transitioned to creating apps for the biggest brands in the App Store. This week we dig in on 10 years of iOS, including lessons learned and how companies can take advantage of Apple's latest tech.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Emilio's website
- Emilio's Speed Dial widget
- Emilio on Twitter
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- /in/kenyarmosh
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Zoom fatigued? You're not the only one. It is occurs because many popular video conferencing tools were designed with the traditional office and traditional meeting in mind. Yet every time you get together with someone over video doesn't mean it has to be a meeting or should be just "a box in a window." CEO Dominik Zane joins this week to describe how his company Around caters to makers and creators, driving higher energy levels and more effective output through a series of very thoughtful design principles. From not showing entire backgrounds, lowering the fidelity of video, and even its "Echo Terminator" technology, Around is quickly becoming a tool of choice when it comes to deep collaboration in the SDLC.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Around.co
- Stanford researchers identify four causes for ‘Zoom fatigue’ and their simple fixes
- Rethinking communication in the hybrid workplace
- Dom on LinkedIn
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Many founders don't get to scale one venture, let alone multiple. Arman Eshraghi has been in the B2B space for decades now and been successful in building, scaling, and selling his ventures. This week, hear some of his lessons learned through the years, including a unique way he built Qrvey from experiences as CEO of Logi Analytics.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Qrvey
- Article: Why Tableau’s Days Were Numbered
- Arman's Medium blog
- Arman on LinkedIn
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- /in/kenyarmosh
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From the dawn of the Internet, social media, cloud services, and apps, technology is ever-changing. But how can organizations know when new tech is worth adopting? On the flip side, when should it be sunset? This week we hone in the technology adoption curve in the SDLC, providing important criteria to answer questions like these and more.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Topics
- 0:00 - The tech adoption curve
- 9:29 - Considerations around adopting new tech
- 13:57 - What to do for aging or outdated tech
- 16:47 - How re-platforming ties into the adoption curve
- 19:37 - Getting executive buy-in to re-invest into tech
- 22:02 - Strategies to overhaul existing tech
- 26:27 - Timelines and when the process restarts
- 29:24 - Microservices & micro frontends
- 31:15 - Assessing if some tech doesn't get sunset
- 33:05 - Other ways to mitigate risk
Links
- Episode 22 - Open Source for Enterprise Innovation with Jay Garcia
- Book: The New Kingmakers
Follow
- @kenyarmosh
- /in/kenyarmosh
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Historically, one of the biggest gaps in Trello's offering was the inability to do high-level project planning. With their new "Timeline View", Trello Power-Ups and other third-party tools are no longer needed. Trello can now be the single source of truth that can update in real-time for both day-to-day and broader project planning.
In this episode, I break down what the Timeline View is, how you might use it yourself, and why Trello's version of a Gantt Chart is superior to other offerings in the market.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Episode 30 - Leveraging Trello in the SDLC to Increase Team Efficiency
- Timeline View Is A Picture Perfect Way To See It All
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When discussing the shortcomings of remote, the inability to whiteboard is the first item mentioned. Yet CoScreen allows teams to work in ways not even possible when in person with "next generation" screen sharing. This week I review what CoScreen is, where it sits in the market, and how teams like Slack, Salesforce, and Okta are using it for enhanced collaboration.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- Episode 25 - Deep Collaboration in the Enterprise
- Episode 32 - Preparing for the Hybrid Workplace
- CoScreen: Deep Collaboration for Engineering Teams
- Review of Screen.so
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- @kenyarmosh
- /in/kenyarmosh
- kenyarmosh.com
Sometimes the best technology is the technology your users don't see. PersonalRX is a great example of that. Their tech powers their entire system but users can elect not to use their app and still get the same great service. This week founder and CEO of PersonalRX Larry Margolis joins to talk about going head to head with the Amazon's of the world (Pill Pack), what separates PersonalRX, standing up a technology organization, key decisions they've made, and traits of successful leaders.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Topics
- 0:00 - Background on PersonalRX
- 7:00 - Where PersonalRX sits in the market
- 11:49 - The philosophy behind PersonalRX's tech
- 16:59 - Building a tech-driven company without being a technologist
- 21:09 - What it truly takes to be an entrepreneurial leader
- 23:32 - Properly selecting & vetting key partners
- 29:50 - The white glove approach to onboarding at PersonalRX
- 35:05 - Why PersonalRX went with a PWA & what that app does
- 44:10 - Adoption across platforms, including Alexa
- 45:55 - Using crowdfunding investment for growth
- 52:08 - Where to find Larry and learn more about PersonalRX
Links
- PersonalRX.com
- PersonalRX on WeFunder
- Larry Margolis on LinkedIn
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- /in/kenyarmosh
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Remote is not easy. But it’s easier than hybrid. The hybrid workplace is coming and it’s filled with a myriad of challenges. I know from nearly 15 years of experience.
You can face communication silos, tribalism, distributed team members feeling like second-class citizens, and even isolationism. This week I dig into these problems, which I've experienced firsthand as part of the C-suite and an employee, and how to deal with them.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Links
- The pandemic forced a massive remote-work experiment. Now comes the hard part
- 1 year into Covid: Employers rethink offices, and function matters most
- Stripe’s remote engineering hub, one year in
- Inside The Buffer Retreat: How and Why We Spent $111,874 Meeting Face to Face
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- @kenyarmosh
- /in/kenyarmosh
- kenyarmosh.com
How do you successfully get buy-in to new ideas? When should projects get killed? Product Managers know this struggle all too well. This week Reneida Leon joins sharing her lessons across 10+ years of product innovation. From build vs. buy, internal innovation through labs, and more, you'll hear about the full product lifecycle from different positions across the organization.
Watch the video version of this episode.
Topics
- 0:00 - Becoming a product manager
- 11:01 - Internal versus external innovation
- 16:54 - Staying motivated when ideas fall flat
- 21:25 - Critical traits for getting buy-in
- 25:47 - How to learn from failure
- 30:54 - Knowing when to double down and invest further
- 35:27 - Balancing experience, instinct, & subjectivity
- 38:03 - How to approach product leadership
- 44:38 - Favorite tools in the tool belt
- 47:09 - Wrap up and where to find Reneida
Links
- /in/reneidaleon/
- Startup Space
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There are many tools involved in the software development lifecycle. Messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, development tracking systems like Jira and Pivotal Tracker, or document collaboration suites like Confluence and Google Docs tend to get top billing. Yet none of those really can represent your project's HQ. That's exactly where Trello fits in the tools stack. This week I share the philosophy behind how to use your tools and why Trello works well as your "project's glue."
Watch the video version of this episode.
Topics
- 0:00 - Overview
- 2:43 - The philosophy of how to use today's tools
- 6:09 - Where Trello fits in your project toolset
- 8:00 - Using Trello to ensure info isn't trapped in emails & DMs'
- 8:29 - Cards versus to-dos, tasks, and tickets
- 10:55 - Why Trello over alternatives in the market
- 12:35 - New features that are expanding the power of Trello
- 14:07 - The way you work helps you do better work
- 15:20 - Wrap up and staying connected
Links
- A Whole New Trello Is Here
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- @kenyarmosh
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The alternate title for this week's discussion is "the other s word"...but it's not what you think as we keep it G-rated here. No, the other "s" word in the world of software consulting is "solution" over the dirty word of "sales." This week Ken chats with Sarah McCasland, whose job is to accurately scope complex software through what she describes as "solution design." Learn about how she arrived in this role, properly structuring & staffing teams, assessing budgets, common pitfalls, & more in this week's discussion.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 0:00 - The two different "s" words in software consulting
- 9:50 - Separating solution design skills
- 13:39 - How to properly structure & staff teams
- 18:48 - Fostering better collaboration & communication
- 26:24 - Common problems & questions when starting new software projects
- 32:03 - Better engaging external software vendors & partners
- 36:48 - Being transparent about budgets plus scoping accuracy
- 42:35 - Proper handoff from solution design to recruiting & delivery
- 49:48 - Wrap up on being a generalist and where to find Sarah online
Links
- Values of a Remote-First Company
- The Importance of Mentorship for Growth
- /in/sarahmccasland/
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- @kenyarmosh
- /in/kenyarmosh
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How do you go from two people focused on a single JavaScript framework to a global consultancy of 300+ strategists, designers, & engineers working across the entire SDLC? Further, with no outside funding? Pat Sheridan, co-founder and Managing Partner at Modus Create, did just that. This week he joins me to discuss the last 20 years of the tech industry and what he sees as the disruption of consulting.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 0:00 - Tech consulting from 2000 to 2010
- 10:20 - From the “Dial-up Phase” of mobile to full-stack engineering
- 17:08 - Failures of traditional SLDC & productized consulting
- 23:06 - Properly approaching & funding innovation efforts
- 26:45 - Being tactical to effect organizational change
- 35:27 - Globally distributed talent vs. offshore & college grads
- 44:26 - The factors driving the disruption of consulting
- 52:05 - Wrap up and where to stay in touch with Pat
Links
- Pat Sheridan - Modus Create
- /in/patsheridan
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Why would a company spend $500M annually on its technology initiatives? Because it understands it's in what Simon Sinek describes as the "infinite game" of business. The results of CEO Marvin Ellison's strategy since taking over Lowe's in 2018 are now proving out with dotcom traffic up 49% and 2-year sales growth of 23.5%.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Links
- 'The most effective technology is technology that no one sees': Lowe's CEO
- Lowe’s ‘Total Home’ Strategy Turns House Into Home And Is Key For Market Share Growth
- Lowe's 2020 investor update
- Lowe's Chooses Charlotte for Global Technology Center
- 5 Key Technology Moves Lowe’s Is Making to Renovate Its Retail Business
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- @kenyarmosh
- /in/kenyarmosh
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How did Target handle 155% growth in digital sales in 2020? By thinking of themselves as a technology company with best-in-class talent, processes, architectural approaches, as well as a culture of innovation. This week Ken digs in to what their executive did ahead of COVID-19, which empowered them to respond rapidly to the demands on their business.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Links
- Cyber Monday Every Day: The Tech Mindset Behind Target’s Digital Growth
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"Deep Collaboration" represents a new breed of enterprise cloud software tools. This concept is espoused by Jake Saper, who is using this lens for his investments at Emergence Capital. In this episode, Ken discusses what makes these tools "deep collaboration," reviewing examples like Ironclad and Figma in the wild. But the bigger takeaway is how to apply these principles within the enterprise SDLC.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Links
- Deep Collaboration Arrives
- Emergence Capital
- Jake Saper on LinkedIn
- Get in touch with Ken
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Bed Bath & Beyond just crushed their digital initiatives with a huge amount of growth in just six months. This week Ken runs down how they set themselves up for success, what they accomplished, and some key takeaways. As usual, links and sources are in the show notes. Don't forget to also follow Ken on LinkedIn, where he usually posts new episodes and engages in the comments on questions and ideas.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Links
- Omni-always Investment | Bed Bath & Beyond
- Modern Retail: How Bed Bath & Beyond has revamped its digital operations during the pandemic
- Rafed Masood on LinkedIn
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Communicating across digital channels with personalization and scale is no easy feat. Just ask Mike Herrick, SVP of Technology at Airship. He's lead the company from being primarily known as a push provider to scaling across push, email, and SMS for enterprise customers ranging from Chipotle, Alaska Airlines, and more. Mike shares market insights, multi-channel engagement strategies, and highlights from their recent Elevate conference in this episode.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 0:00 - From Urban Airship to Airship
- 5:17 - Moving from push to multi-channel
- 12:18 - The SMS renaissance plus RCS
- 14:27 - Strategies for effective multi-channel engagement
- 18:09 - Pivotal decisions to help Airship scale
- 23:41 - What sort of volume can Airship handle
- 28:50 - Airship driving the shift to digital
- 36:21 - Highlights from Airship's Elevate conference
- 41:09 - Why customers ultimately select Airship
- 43:55 - How to connect with Mike
Links
- Airship Named a Leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Marketing Platforms
- Mike Herrick on migrating to GCP
- Airship Elevate
- /in/mikeherrick/
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How can digital innovation occur within the enterprise? And how does open source play into that? Jay Garcia knows best. As an early thought leader in modern JavaScript frameworks, he co-founded a company on the principles of open source. Today, he continues to use these principles to drive innovation within one of the fastest growing private firms in America.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 0:00 - Jay has a pinball machine
- 2:02 - Setting context for the discussion
- 4:21 - JavaScript over the last 10+ years
- 9:28 - Operating a business with an open source mindset
- 12:35 - Why some frameworks fail and others thrive
- 17:30 - Innovation within the enterprise
- 22:14 - Labs as an innovation center
- 26:00 - Transparency for empowerment
- 30:08 - The lifecycle of labs project "Modite Adventure"
- 33:07 - Going from a POC to production
- 35:28 - How the open source mindset impacts innovation
- 38:07 - Where to find Jay online
Links
- The rise and fall of Ext JS
- ESP32 game displayed on Raspberry Pi’s using Hzeller’s rpi-rgb-led-matrix library
- Custom RGB matrix panel screen running ESP32 video game real time
- Modite Adventure game trailer
- /in/jaydgarcia
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Slack gets bought by Salesforce for $27.7B. There's more behind this transaction with the history of corporate messaging going back to AOL Instant Messenger and the strategy on how Slack seemingly won...or did they? The platform is the feature. The feature is the platform.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 0:00 - The Platform is the Feature
- 0:57 - Corporate messaging history
- 3:28 - Campfire for business group chat circa 2006
- 7:25 - Steve Jobs and Dropbox on being a "feature"
- 9:03 - The Feature is the Platform
- 11:30 - Distribution is everything
- 15:08 - Concluding Note
Links
- Ken's written analysis on the exit
- Slack joins Salesforce
- Stowe Boyd reviews Campfire
- Basecamp prepares to sell Campfire
- Steve Jobs discussions with Dropbox
- Walmart takes on Amazon with edge computing and 5G
- Casey Newton MSFT Teams and Slack
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This week Ken reviews an article from MIT Sloan on The New Elements of Digital Transformation, CoStar acquiring Homesnap, Walmart's Holiday Drone Light Show, HEY letting you literally email a dumpster fire, and Nat Berman reflecting on potential.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 0:00 - It's December :-X
- 0:32 - The New Elements of Digital Transformation
- 3:13 - CoStar Group acquires Homesnap for $250M
- 5:07 - Walmart Holiday Drone Light Show
- 6:57 - HEY Email a Dumpster Fire
- 9:52 - Nat Berman Reflects on Potential
Links
- The New Elements of Digital Transformation (Ken's previous analysis)
- CoStar Group is set to acquire Bethesda-based real estate tech company Homesnap for $250M (Lou's "Startup Curve" tweetstorm)
- Janey Whiteside shares about Walmart Holiday Drone Light Show (official release)
- Email a Dumpster Fire. Literally. from HEY (archival footage when offline)
- Nat Berman reflects on potential
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- /in/kenyarmosh
- kenyarmosh.com
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This week Ken reviews an article from Greylock Partners on The Evolution of Cloud, OpenPhone launching v3.0 with a Series A raise, Apple's App Store Small Business Program, an ebook on Digital Transformation for 2021, and the Raspberry Pi 400.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 0:00 - Happy Thanksgiving
- 0:43 - The Evolution of Cloud
- 3:40 - OpenPhone v3.0
- 5:31 - App Store Small Business Program
- 8:39 - Digital Transformation Trends for 2021
- 9:31 - Raspberry Pi 400
Links
- The Evolution of Cloud
- Ken's post on the "webtop" from 2006
- OpenPhone (Series A raise)
- App Store Small Business Program (analysis from Eric Seufert)
- Digital Transformation 2021 Trends
- Raspberry Pi 400
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- /in/kenyarmosh
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Digital does not always equal digital transformation. The difference relates to the scale and scope, as well as the number of people, departments, and systems a digital initiative touches. Whether you've heard of "digital transformation" or are just getting up to speed, this week's briefing from Ken will provide you helpful perspectives.
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How does open source impact all stages of the software development lifecycle (SDLC)? What are the approaches to migrating legacy systems versus starting a greenfield initiatives versus MVPs? Ken chats with his new colleague Grgur Grisogono from Modus Create on these items and upcoming trends such as "micro frontends."
Watch the video version of this podcast.Topics
- 2:20 - Background on Grgur and how he got to Modus
- 6:34 - How to approach different kinds of software projects
- 12:00 - Defining "greenfield" and when is an MVP ready to ship?
- 19:13 - Strategies to consider when dealing with enterprise migrations
- 24:19 - Using real-world challenges to inform open source efforts
- 29:45 - Deciphering signals in open source from noise
- 35:00 - What are "micro frontends" and where can they be used?
- 38:49 - Wrap up of Grgur's favorite resources and where to find him
Links
- Vue 3 playlist
- How to Improve Application Performance with Google Chrome
- The 5 Key Traits Every Software Developer Needs to be a Star
- @ggrgur
- /in/grguru
- grgur.com
Follow
- @kenyarmosh
- /in/kenyarmosh
- kenyarmosh.com
People don't buy from corporations and they don't support organizations. People buy because of emotion and they support the causes they are passionate about. That's where brand affinity comes into play and there's no company doing it better than Wistia. This week, Ken speaks with Kyle Washburn at Wistia on how video plays into brand affinity. They also touch on how Wistia's new offering in the podcast space fits into its approach and the market as a whole.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 4:06 - Background on Kyle & Wistia
- 7:45 - The importance of video for business today
- 10:50 - How to get started with video
- 17:08 - YouTube vs. Wistia; how and where to use each
- 25:03 - What is an "audio conference" and why Wistia hosted one
- 30:45 - How podcasting evolved and Wistia entering the market
- 37:54 - Wrap up and where to find Kyle
Links
- How to Convince Your Boss that You Need Video
- Remote Podcasting Tips: How to Record Great Audio From Home
- Video Show Versus Podcast: What's Right for Me?
- How SalesHacker Uses Wistia and Youtube in Tandem
- Meet Podcasting: Telling Your Brand’s Story Your Way
- @wistia
- /in/kylewashburn
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How do you apply digital transformation and innovation to fashion and retail? In this briefing, Ken provides a rundown based on his experience leading these efforts in today's top retailers. Whether you're in these industries or not, you'll get value out of key resources you can put to use right now. Dig in further in this week's show notes.
Links
- Setting Up Your Digital Product For Success in the Long Term
- Create a Better Product With Design Collaboration — Mindset, Tools, Process
- 28 Metrics that Matter in Digital/Apps
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How do you go from side hustle to startup? Further, how do you balance a full-time job at a place like Amazon, a marriage, and kids, yet still stay sane growing a new venture? Donald Boone, CEO and Founder of BoxedUp, is doing just that. Hear about everything from how he almost beat KD in one-on-one to his perspectives on when taking venture funding makes sense. Plus we talk about lessons learned from his first venture Oleo, which Ken helped him build.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 5:25 - How to survive as an entrepreneur
- 7:04 - Job, family, and side hustle
- 18:53 - Lessons learned from Oleo
- 27:10 - Identifying the proper time to raise funds
- 30:25 - What is BoxedUp?
- 36:16 - Moving from side hustle to startup
- 45:06 - Where to find BoxedUp and Donald
Links
- Why My First Startup Failed and Why I’m Happy It Did
- BoxedUp
- @tryboxedup
- /in/donaldboone
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We're stressed when we don't get our steps.
We're no longer enjoying an activity for the activity itself.
We're more focused on a metric than a result or experience.
I share some stories, tips, & perspectives on this madness.
Disagree? Agree?
Let me hear from you.
I promise to track your sentiments.
By the way, did you enjoy this new, bite-sized episode format called "It's My Take"?
Share it, rate us on your favorite podcasting platform, or comparable, if you want more of them.
Our workforce is what drives growth, but so many times the core services for the physical, mental, and financial wellbeing of our employees are out of reach for small and mid-sized businesses.
Ken and Camilla Velasquez, SVP of Product at Justworks, discuss how Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) are pushing boundaries and acting as the delivery mechanisms for businesses of all shapes and sizes, allowing them to prosper and ensure employees are well-cared for to become the "hero" their employees need.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 3:55 - Defining Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs)
- 10:50 - Small businesses and PEOs "at scale"
- 24:25 - Taking care of your team
- 31:00 - Driving the product through "Benefits Lab"
- 34:00 - User feedback, beta groups, and long-term roadmapping
- 43:45 - Changes and challenges in 2021
Links
- Justworks.com
- Justworks blog
- Justworks Instagram
- Resources for Growing Business
- The Guidepost by Justworks
- Justworks to Launch Free Online Therapy Services from Talkspace
- /in/camillavelasquez
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We all dread that late-night or weekend emergency ping that takes us away from family, friends, or hobbies. But being proactive and implementing steadfast performance and error monitoring can make the difference between burning the midnight oil scouring logs of obscure errors or playing your next uninterrupted racquetball match.
Ken and Neil Manvar, Solutions Engineering Manager at Sentry, discuss how proper error and performance monitoring can uncover problems before they spread, help to identify and reduce unnecessary infrastructure costs and help you promote only the most healthy releases to production.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 3:07 - The history of Sentry
- 7:15 - The four different categories of monitoring
- 11:23 - Fixing problems before they spread
- 16:49 - Common mistakes of monitoring
- 23:50 - Favorite features
- 29:47 - Monitoring to help fight rising infrastructure costs
- 31:28 - Identifying catastrophic system issues
- 33:17 - Combating poor user experience through performance monitoring
Links
- Sentry.io
- Let’s Get Ready to Monitorrrrr!
- See Slow Faster with Performance Monitoring
- Webinar: "Filtering signal from noise using Sentry Alerts."
- Surfacing Application Errors in Selenium Tests
- /in/neilmanvar
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Every product manager wants the same thing: to build better, more engaging products. Yet even the best ideas need to be supported by strong data. Cassandra Gamm and Jono Loeser join Ken this week to discuss how product analytics tools like Mixpanel help PMs, engineers, and other stakeholders increase the rate of innovation by discovering key value moments that can help drive growth and retention.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 2:00 - Mixpanel in the modern tech stack
- 6:17 - Finding your key value moments
- 14:17 - Resurrecting users
- 16:56 - Using product analytics to drive retention
- 24:17 - Using Mixpanel for Growth
- 29:30 - Key metrics for success
- 34:22 - Mixpanel's Modeling Layer
- 36:45 - Macro trends in products analytics
Links
- mixpanel.com
- @mixpanel
- The Guide to Product Analytics
- The Mixpanel Modeling Layer
- /in/jono-loeser
- /in/cassandragamm
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Engaging, acquiring, and retaining users across a fragmented mobile ecosystem is no small feat. Branch learned this the hard way. As the only company in its sector that didn't start as a marketing technology company (Branch was originally a photo book app), they were driven to build something that could bridge the gaps between diverse marketing channels, both online and off.
Ken and Eric Stein, EVP & GM at Branch, discuss the challenges Branch faced in creating a "universal" deep linking product that works seamlessly cross-platform, the ever-changing world of attribution in 2020, and how Branch has worked to help better user experiences and provide deeper insights to marketers.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 1:50 - Deep linking defined
- 11:33 - The true cost of deep linking ownership
- 23:44 - IDFA, iOS 14, and driving better attribution
- 32:48 - Implementing Branch and the measure of success
- 42:04 - Focusing on the future
Links
- [Sync Episode 3] Apple and the Death of IDFA: John Koetsier from Forbes
- Prepare for iOS 14 with Branch
- The Limitations of SKAdNetwork – Pros and Cons vs. an MMP for Mobile Tracking
- Ad Networks Supporting SKAdNetwork & Predictive Modeling
- Branch.io free for up to 10K MAUs
- /in/ecstein
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Ten years ago, many companies sought to hire "UX unicorns," who were capable of all aspects of UX, visual design, and even coding. While in today's market specializing in UX or specific aspects of it are more normalized, there are a host of new challenges designers face in creating unique and seamless experiences across a multitude of different platforms.
Ken and Megan Balaguer, Lead UX Designer at Savvy, discuss changes to the user experience field over the last 10+ years, the benefits of doing in-person moderated testing, leaving your own biases at the door, and the evolution of designing experiences for multiple device types that even the least technical of users can comprehend.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 6:46 - UX as a service provider versus UX in-house
- 10:10 - Designing for the least technical user
- 14:42 - The best UX exercises
- 19:44 - Working across platforms fluidly
- 25:54 - Consumer vs. Enterprise UX
- 32:05 - The evolution of UX: 2010 vs. 2020
- 36:26 - The importance of design collaboration
Links
- /in/meganedolan/
- Balaguer Guitars
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With the proliferation of customer data, customer data platforms or "CDPs" have stepped in to provide a single source of truth. They streamline customer data collection, ensure data meets any governance standards, and allow it to more easily be activated across product, marketing, and engineering.
Ken and Joey Malysz, Head of Channel Partnerships at Segment, talk about using CDPs to make sense of customer data overload in the age of bloated SDKs, the 80+ tools that many companies use to run their business and organizations, and the need for a privacy-focused approach.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 3:35 - Getting started with CDPs
- 9:00 - Driving to a single source of truth for your customer data
- 14:26 - Data activation and execution
- 23:04 - The power of CDPs; advanced use cases
- 35:00 - Defining the privacy-personalization paradox
- 40:40 - Acquisitions and the growth of CDPs
Links
- Segment
- Recipes
- The CDP Report 2020
- Partnership Leaders
- Joey Malysz on The Partnered Podcast
- /in/joe-malysz
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From the early days of creating Winamp skins and modding interfaces on Mac to current trends introduced by Big Sur, Ken and founder of Apply Pixels Michael Flarup discuss the evolution of visual design, Apple's strong influence on historical and current design trends, and finding fun in your work.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 5:05 - The evolution of visual design; from skeuomorphism to flat design and beyond.
- 15:10 - The democratization of design.
- 23:32 - Neumorphism, Apple, and Big Sur.
- 32:50 - Tools of the trade.
- 38:30 - Children as inspiration and bringing back the fun in design.
Links
- Pixelresort
- Apply Pixels
- Northplay
- @flarup
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In an age where "there's an app for that," how can we use UX and visual design to address user needs where other apps have yet to succeed?
Ken and Harold Emsheimer, Principal at Overcommitted, discuss everything from the early days of the App Store, using "hero" screens in the design process, and the best ways to navigate critical design feedback.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- Building a brand by word of mouth
- 20 years of remote work
- The creative process deconstructed
- Navigating design feedback...the good, the bad, and the ugly
- The evolution of the tech stack and design tools
Links
- Overcommitted.com
- MacStories reviews Ember
- 37Signals acquires Ember
- @overcommitted
- @pws
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A sabbatical every 8 weeks? Work-life...boundaries?
We arguably live in one of the most distracting times in human history. Constant notifications, messages, calls, and emails vie for our attention, all while detracting focus from our work and home lives.
Ken and Shawn Blanc, the founder of The Sweet Setup, Tools & Toys, and The Focused Course, dispel the idea that "everything is urgent." They discuss the work philosophies and tools behind having a more productive and fulfilling life.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- 8-week work cycles
- What is "focused" work?
- Work-life...boundaries (not balance)
- Favorite productivity tools and apps
Links
- Tools & Toys
- The Sweet Setup
- The Focus Course
- @shawnblanc
- shawnblanc.net
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Starting in iOS 14, apps using IDFA are required to fire a prompt requesting permission to allow tracking, effectively guaranteeing most users will opt out.
Ken and Senior Forbes Contributor John Koetsier discuss the implications and potential repercussions on an $80-billion industry as mobile marketers and attribution platforms scramble to make sense of Apple's latest updates.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- iOS 14 updates to IDFA
- User privacy gains
- Repercussions for mobile marketers and attribution platforms
- The future of targeted advertising and attribution
Links
- Apple Just Crippled IDFA, Sending An $80 Billion Industry Into Upheaval
- Apple Killed The IDFA. What Else Dies?
- The Value of Personalized Ads to a Thriving App Ecosystem
- @johnkoetsier
- /in/johnkoetsier
- johnkoetsier.com
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From contextual curbside pickup notifications to delivery tracking and more, the use of location data in digital products can make or break a user's experience.
Ken and Radar Co-Founder Coby Berman examine how Radar.io is helping brands implement location data infrastructure and elevate their digital experiences while addressing modern-day privacy concerns. Radar provides developer-friendly, privacy-first geofencing and geo APIs that help product and growth teams build amazing location-based app experiences.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- Merging physical and digital experiences
- Improving user experience through location
- Contextual use of geofencing and location data
- Location data and user privacy
Links
- Location data infrastructure | Geofencing SDK and API | Radar
- Second Wave of the Growth Stack
- Introducing Last Mile for customer arrival tracking and curbside pickup
- @cobyberman
- /in/cobyberman
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In-app subscriptions are the lifeblood of most modern apps, financing continued growth and user engagement for large-scale products and businesses. Implementing a subscription ecosystem, however, can be a complex, time-consuming, resource-intensive endeavor mired in bugs and lack of support.
Ken sits down with entrepreneur and developer advocate David Barnard to discuss how RevenueCat simplifies the puzzle of implementing native app subscriptions by delivering near-real-time receipt verification and validation. With mountains of transactional data flowing efficiently throughout the backend, those creating apps are liberated to focus on business-critical features that lead to expansion and success.
Watch the video version of this podcast.
Topics
- In-app subscription pain points
- Simplifying receipt validation and verification
- Expanding access to receipt and purchase data points for a better customer experience
- In-app purchases and SaaS
- The future of the subscription model
Links
- In-App Subscriptions Made Easy | RevenueCat
- Implementing StoreKit with and without RevenueCat
- Personal SaaS Will Go Mainstream in 2020 | RevenueCat
- David Barnard (@drbarnard) / Twitter
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