Product Team Success: Recent Episodes
By Ross Webb
Welcome to "Product Team Success: Real-World Career Advice for Product". I'm your host, Ross Webb, and I'm here to supercharge your journey, whether you're climbing the ladder to the C-suite or already leading from the top.
Our content is your secret weapon - offering insights into business metrics, data-driven strategies, and stakeholder navigation, all tailored to propel you forward and keep you excelling in your role.
We believe in 'productizing' yourself and your team, leading the charge towards product success with a no-nonsense, no-fluff approach. We're paving the path in an innovative realm we call 'Data-Driven Empathy'.
We'll tackle an array of topics, from securing investment for data analytics, to acing product interviews, to presenting product direction with authority.
So, subscribe now to "Product Team Success", join our community of pioneers, and let's together redefine the landscape of product leadership! Get ready to be invigorated, inspired, and informed, as we revolutionize product leadership, one episode at a time!
š„ Dive into the intricate world of product management with Laura Jenner, Director of Product at ITV. š„
This episode of "Product Team Success" decodes:
ā PURPOSEFUL PROBLEM SOLVING: Before diving headfirst into challenges, ask, "Why are we solving it?" Laura stresses the need for leaders to understand the importance of purpose in their decision-making. ā
ā MINDSET MATTERS: Transition from a project-end approach to a continuous product improvement mindset. Laura explains why it's all about the journey and not the destination. š
ā FOUNDATIONS FIRST: The dangers of rushing and overlooking core understanding. Laura discusses why it's vital to lay strong foundational knowledge for sustained product success. š
ā MVP CHALLENGES: The nuanced world of MVPs ā not every MVP is made equal. Laura delves into the alignment challenges and sheds light on how to navigate them. š
ā LEADERSHIP & SAFETY: Dive into the dynamics of psychological safety. Laura explains the leader's role in taking risks to provide a protective layer for their teams. š”
Hosted by Ross Webb and Henry Latham, this episode promises a deep dive into the essentials of product management.
š Immerse yourself in Laura's insights now:
Stay engaged. Stay curious. Stay with us.
š„ For everyone navigating the maze of Product Management Leadership, THIS episode is your beacon! š„
Picture this: Stepping into the world of product management. The weight of diverse roles, from marketing to customer support, rests on your shoulders. š²
Enter the arena, Jamie Mercer, a trailblazer in Product Management, who not only embraces the challenges but offers insights into the importance of a versatile skill set. š
(Yes, we still love our vibrant Product imagery here at Product Team Success... š)
š Jump in with "Product Team Success" as we unfold:
ā VERSATILITY MAGIC: How Jamie's journey through different business facets became his strength. Hear about the language of marketers, support teams, and account managers from one voice.
ā REAL GROWTH MINDSET: Itās more than just a buzzword. Discover Jamieās tangible technique - asking "Imagine the you of today met the you of 3 years ago. What are three things you've learned that you'd like to teach the you of the past?" Understand the essence of humility, vulnerability, and authentic growth.
ā THE STRATEGIC 90: Jamieās 90-day onboarding plan, a secret sauce for settling into new roles, inspired by Michael Watkins.
ā PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY: The vital element in a team culture. Dive into the importance of making mistakes, learning from them, and maintaining transparency.
ā CUSTOMER AT THE HEART: Jamieās burning passion to connect with customers and develop products that resonate with their needs.
Co-hosted by the ever-enthusiastic Henry Latham and me, Ross Webb, get ready for a session brimming with invaluable takeaways for every Product Management Leader.
Equip yourself. Evolve. Keep listening.
On today's episode, we're thrilled to have Tom Shurock, a crucial figure in Tesco's response to the unprecedented panic buying at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tom brings his unique insights from the frontlines, sharing the strategies, challenges, and victories as a product manager.Tom begins by discussing how they managed the unexpected surge in demand and the strategies Tesco implemented to effectively stagger customer flow, ensuring a safe and efficient shopping environment for everyone.We then delve into the fascinating world of consumer behavior during a crisis. Listen as Tom describes the measures Tesco took to curb panic buying, from adjusting basket size to manipulating promotions. These critical adjustments helped maintain stock stability and kept customer satisfaction high.Tom underscores that during these trying times, Tesco's guiding principle was prioritizing customers' needs over revenue. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the decision-making process that ensured everyone had access to their necessary groceries.Navigating corporate relationships is an art, and Tom discusses his journey of internal networking within Tesco. He emphasizes the importance of empathy and influence, particularly when you're seeking buy-in within a large corporation.Tom gives us a peek into Tesco's unique corporate culture, including the mandate that everyone from the CTO to the CEO works one shift in a Tesco store each year. This practice encourages a culture of empathy and customer-centric thinking.Feedback is a fundamental part of product development. Tom talks about the need for product managers to use their own products and provides valuable insights based on his experiences.Wrapping up, Tom provides an invaluable piece of advice for aspiring product managers: strive to become a T-shaped manager. He stresses the importance of understanding all divisions well, rather than focusing solely on one vertical.Join hosts Ross Webb and Henry Latham as we navigate the storm of pandemic panic buying with our esteemed guest, Tom Shurock.You can connect with Tom on LinkedIn here. This is an episode packed with insights you won't want to miss!
In the latest episode of Product Team Success, host Ross Webb talks with Apple exec Jonathan Boice about AI and product team success.
Here are three key takeaways from this insightful episode:
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AI can amplify human behavior and experiences, but it can also disregard empathy and consideration for human impact if not used properly.
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Businesses should aim for MDPs (minimal, delightful products) rather than MVPs (minimal viable products) to create a core product that is already good before adding extra features.
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Balancing empathy and data-driven decision making is crucial for success in product management, and AI technology can help achieve this balance.
Listen now for more insights on AI and product team success from this thought-provoking episode
Jonathan Boice is the founder of Digital Visionary, a consulting agency that assists businesses in navigating the world of artificial intelligence (AI) without sacrificing their human touch. Boice recognizes the growing apprehension and excitement surrounding AI and aims to help companies use it to create impactful products and improve people's lives. He prides himself on finding the middle ground between the autonomous business model and the traditional approach, ensuring that AI is used to supplement and not replace human workers. With a focus on the product space, Boice is dedicated to helping companies incorporate AI in a mindful and responsible way.
Even if you're not starting a new job at the moment I think you'll get a lot of value out of this episode.
Based on industry trends, Product Managers stay in a role on average 2.5 years. So you're probably around 24 months away from needing to read this book.
What I love about the book is that it's not a dry outline of what it's like to start a new role but more of a workbook that John Franck has put together.
If you liked the episode and want to find out more about John then reach out to him on LinkedIn. He will respond to you.
John on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-franck-35a43826/
Book on Amazon.com :
https://link.theproduct.coach/90daysbook
It used to be CIO , CTO but now It's CPO.
We used to give an email to download a white paper but now Product Led Growth has enabled huge success for entire industries.
I recently spoke to Spenser Skates the Co-Founder and CEO of Amplitude, the world's largest Product Analytics company.
We discussed:
Product Led Growth
The rise of the CPO
How Under Armor has used insights they learned to create an experience their customers love and we can do this in our own products.
Check out Spenser's answers in the latest episode of Product Leadership Wisdom
Spotify :
Apple Podcasts:
When we move from Product Mangers to Product Leaders we're building the machine that builds the machine.Ā
Mariano Capezzani, at HSBC is the one of the people who has described this to me best.Ā
šOn our podcast discussion we were really able to dig deep into this. š
We spoke about :
š How removing processes can really speed our work up
šĀ Sometimes we should do less but better (and what we should focus on)Ā
š Why the use of intuition in Product is seriously underratedĀ
š Other great advice for working with teams
Check out Mariano's thoughts in the latest episode of Fast Track To CPO
As Product Managers so much of our time is spent building the machine that builds the machine that we end up with a lot of product management wisdom over time.
Thor Mitchell is one of theĀ wisest Product Leaders that I know. I met him when we were both presenting at Mind the Product in 2020 before the Pandemic took over.
His approach is measured, thoughtful and wise.
In this podcast we covered loads of interesting topics and one of the interesting things we spoke about was about his time at Google. He shared a great example of what Larry Page told him in a meeting.
It was really refreshing and I hope you enjoy this.
If you have any thoughts or questions, as always feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn,
In this Podcast I spoke to the legendary Nick Charalambous, the Founder of Few & Far , a recruitment company that specialises in Product.
When I first spoke to Nick I was really amazed as he didn't go into the normal recruiter type of questions and asked me questions that really challenged me in the best way possible.
In this podcast we discuss:
- How to advance in our Product Career
- The 3 Routes to a GREAT Product Career
- What Product can learn from Sales!
- How to make yourself stand out in your product job search
- How recruiters can tell if someone really will stand out
Enjoy the discussion. I really did and if you're super smart you'll want to connect with Nick.
You can find him on Linkedin here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncharalambous/
In our latest Weekly CPO Event, Henry Latham and I spoke about :
- How to raise the bar with your product teams
- How I created the Product Scorecard
- What the Key Steps are for creating YOUR own Product Scorecard
We also took lots of questions that the audience had around moving from being individual contributors in Product towards becoming Product Leaders.
The questions were great and we all had a great time.
Looking forward to having you on one of our events in the future.
Want to hear a Jobs To Be Done example including iPods, Cocaine, Cash, CD's and Jiffy Bags?
I can't wait for you to meet Matt Hawn.
Matt has been a product leader for years including stints at Sony, Last.FM, Samsung and Audio Network. Matt has tons of experience in Product and building teams.
He shared with me the most unique example of Jobs To Be Done ever and if you'll excuse the rather clickbaity first line it's really interesting. It's one of those stories that is so unique it really helps you get to the bottom of what Jobs To Be Done really is. It's amazing.
Now only that but Matt has some awesome insights on Product Culture and also how Product should interact with Sales and Go to Market.
You can find Matt on Linkedin at the link below. He's brilliant and I really hope you enjoy this episode.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhawn/
When you're looking at hiring and scaling up your Product Team there are so many things to consider and Glenn Martin has seen them all.
Glenn and I recently spoke about how to scale up your team and how you, as a Product Leader need to ABH (Always Be Hiring). We spoke about effective ways to do that so it doesn't take up all of your time. Glenn also had a very interesting view for all of those of us who are not hiring at Google, Meta or Amazon. I think Glenn's thinking was a breath of fresh air and it also made me realise just how important this is.
Enjoy the podcast.
If you'd like to reach out to Glenn or find out more about what he's up to the best place is Linkedin here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennnetworks/
Enjoy the episode and, as always, feel free to let me know what you think,
Ross
In this episode Ken Sandy, Author of The Influential Product Manager tells us how we can be more influential in our day to day roles as Product Managers and Product Leaders.
This is so important, especially when we are growing our team (and growing our product).
Ken also had some super interesting insights on how we can find our niche in product. For example he talks about how we focuses only on fast growing startups.
Know Teresa Torres as an expert in continual discovery?
I sure do but I didn't realise she had some amazing insights in what you can "discover" about your next product role.
If you're looking for a new product role, are a Teresa Torres fan or just plain interested in what we can learn from her on continual discovery I think you'll really enjoy this podcast.
It was great to talk to Teresa about things (getting your next product role) that aren't things that everyone necessarily associated her with but she was able to apply her brilliant mind and I really enjoyed her insights.
My friend Alex joined me for this one as she had some really interesting questions for Teresa. Thanks Alex. You Rock
Teresa's boo Continuous Discovery Habits: Discover Products that Create Customer Value and Business Value can be found at Amazon at the link above.
She can also be found at https://www.producttalk.org/
Really hope you enjoy this one and let me know what you think at ross at product dot coach
In this episode we have some big changes.
The Product Coach is now The Product Career Accelerator and to join us kick it off is Henry Latham the Founder of Prod.MBA and the founder of the Prod Career Accelerator.
We've had so much feedback over the last couple of years about how to accelerate one's product career that we've decided to focus the entire podcast on it.
Listen it while Henry and I discuss some of the biggest problems Product Managers and Leaders make in the interviewing process.
All too often as Product Managers we don't say no and just take too much work on.
In this podcast Iām talking to Rachel Hamlin. She's come from a Product Management background to now helping busy executives including Product Managers escape from burnout and recover from it.
Rachel helps us learn how to avoid burnout and we really get into a lot of great mindset topics.
I really hope you enjoy listening to Rachel as much as I enjoyed talking to her.Ā
Rachel can be found on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelhamlin/
Welcome to the Product Coach Podcast series for Product Leaders with me, Ross Webb,Ā
Identify online is something that us as Product Leaders and Product Managers need to know about.
In this podcast Iām talking to Paul McGuire, the founder of tru.ID.Ā
It's interesting that we don't even know how many people we lose after failed sign-ups
They stop in the process, bu thats half of the picture and then afterwards they post on social and they tried to use the app but the experience was so bad they aren't going to use it again. Big knock on effect.
so we're going to be talking to a real thought leader in the field of Authentication
especially now in the world of Mobile, Identify and mobile identity is theĀ is the issue
Why now? By the end of 2020, 46% of the global population owned a smartphone, that's 3.3bn according to Statista. This is projected to grow by a further 11% this year, according to Gartner. Half of the world is carrying a security device on them without realising it
So what's the problem? Product managers may not realise that the lift and shift approach from desktop to mobile goes way beyond making websites responsive, or smaller, or building mobile apps that mimic the way we used to build websites. By doing so, we've created a lot of UX clutter. Paul thinks about the 3 steps a user has to make to request for an SMS to validate their phone number, that's 3 screens right there. A magic link takes you out of your app, and into the email client, leading to interrupted experiences. Paul speaks to app developers and they lose between 20-30% of users at onboarding.
The other opportunity is that there's a very small, but very powerful technology that sits in our pocket - and that's the SIM card.
It's small but it packs a punch in terms of securty and identity data - it's connected to perhaps a boring but very solid, and important industry - the telcos.Ā
This is a fascinating episode.
I truly hope you enjoy and learn a lot from it
Product and Mindset Mastery with Henry Latham (Founder of Product Mastery MBA)
In this podcast Iām talking to Henry Latham the founder of the Product Mastery MBA course.
One of the big problems in product is that there's loads of courses out there but very few that actually give you hands on experience with problems as a product manager.
The Product Mastery MBA's objective is to fast track product managers to becoming a head of product where the students actually build a real product from idea to revenue in just 8 weeks.
The advice I've always given to people wanting to get into product has always been "well build a product" and Henry Latham and his team have created a great course that puts this into practice.
Personally I found the mindset skills we discussed to be personally the most fascinating part of product management. I really hope you enjoyed our discussion.
Learn more about Henry and his course at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrylatham/
https://productmastery.co/
Product Pricing Strategies (and why price point is not as important as you think)
In this podcast Iām talking to Ajit Ghuman and we are going to be focusing on pricing strategies.
Ajit has written a book called Price to Scale ( https://www.ajitghuman.com/pricing-book/ ) which is the only book that I'm aware of that really focuses on Pricing from a Product management and Product Marketing perspective.
One of the big takeaways for me is that the Price Point is sometimes the least important thing when it comes to pricing. (in SAAS and Especially in B2B SAAS)
Normally in Product marketing and product management we don't spend a huge amount of time learning from other companies and other people on how to best optimise our pricing strategy. Ajit has been in the trenches learning about different pricing strategies and is going to be joining us today so we can learn more. He gives us some great examples too.Ā
So check out his book and let me know what you think of this podcast
Price to Scale can be found at:Ā
https://www.ajitghuman.com/pricing-book/
In this Podcast youāre in for a treat and I think this is going to be one of those podcasts that you listen to it once and it makes sense but when you listen to it a few more times you'll get even more value from it.
Noa Ganot is someone Iāve been reading on Linkedin for a while and I really love her approach to Product Market fit but when I got to know her a bit better I learned sheās been in Product for a long time and has had some amazing experiences with some awesome companies.Ā
But more than that sheās able to really help with strategy for Product during what is an unprecedented time. We recorded this Podcast in May 2020 during the Covid 19 Pandemic and I think what Noa says it particularly relevant.Ā
Look, Product strategy is always hard , but can have a huge impact on your chances of successĀ
It'sĀ hard, andĀ takes time, especially when you think about Market Research.Ā
However in current times, companies needĀ do it much quicker than before.Ā
In this Podcast Noa really helps us understand how to do it.
You can find out more about Noa at
- "Speed-up the journey to product-market fit" - free ebook to download fromĀ www.ganotnoa.com/ebook
- Deep product blog -Ā www.ganotnoa.com/deep-product
In this podcast, Iām talking to John Cutler. John is a well-known and very respected product evangelist for the US-based company Amplitude, software that allows you to use your customer data to build better products and experiences.
John brings an insightful perspective on how marketers are using analytics to learn more about their customers and their own companies. While some only focus on the top of the funnel, thereās an incredible opportunity to learn more about your customer's behaviors and why they do or donāt work - by asking the right questions.
Keep listening to learn more about:
- How do we target humans?
- How deep you can really get with the right analytics tool
- The importance of learning soft skills and telling the stories from inside a company
- Finding value from your existing customers vs. Top of the funnel analytics
Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Links in the Podcast:
- John Cutler LinkedIn
- Amplitude LinkedIn
- Amplitude Website
In this podcast Iām talking to Roman Pichler. Roman is incredibly well known in the Product Space for his unique approach to Product.
He has a new book called:
How to Lead in Product Management: Practices to Align Stakeholders, Guide Development Teams, and Create Value Together
The focus is on Product Leadership and thatās exactly what this podcast is about.
Keep listening to learn:
How to deal with really difficult situations.
Should Product People learn more about how to negotiate?
How to deal with leadership when you donāt have direct authority
Whats the best way to work with Scrum Masters
And Roman is going to help us learn more about other leadership skills we need as Product Leaders
His book is available at Amazon here:
You can find Roman on Linkedin here:
His website is at:
Really hope you enjoy it!
Today we have Dave Subar with us.Ā
Dave brings a really interesting perspective to Product as he often straddles the line between product and engineering. He has had a fascinating career and some of the highlights of todays podcast are:Ā
The importance of WhyĀ
Why context is so important for teams
Learning to negotiate the relationship between engineering and product
When going back to waterfall actually makes sense.Ā
Daveās a great guy, I think youāre really going to enjoy this.Ā
Prioritisation Is One Of Those Skills That We Really Need To Get Great At As Product Leaders, But Is Really Hard To Sometimes Know The Best Way To Start Or What Else Is Out There That Works.
Malte Scholz Is The Co-Founder And CPO For AirFocus A Tool That Helps Product Leaders And Consultants With Prioritisation (As Well As Roadmapping But On This Podcast We Focused On Prioritisation.
Malte Shares Some Great Examples With Us That Heās Learned Over The Years And I Really Enjoyed Chatting With Him. Heās A Wealth Of Information When It Comes To Prioritisation And A Great Guy Who Was Very Generous In Sharing His Knowledge.
Have A Listen And Let Me Know What You Think.
Links In The Podcast:
- Malteās Linkedin Profile
- Airfocus Link
- The Ultimate Guide To Marketing RoadmapsĀ ā Templates, Examples And Marketing Roadmaps
The 4 elements your team needs to succeed
(AndĀ why youĀ shouldnāt rely on Net Promoter Scores)
WithĀ Jeff Gothelf
Iād been looking forward to talking to Jeff on the podcast for a while. Not only is he brilliant when it comes to discussing Product Leadership but heāsĀ written some great books and really has itĀ dialed in when it comes to how teams succeed.Ā
Jeffās insights on agile and how best to make teams succeed was really fascinating. He discussed how we needĀ four elements if we want to succeed.Ā
Teams need to beĀ
- Small
- Cross functional
- Managed to outcomes (not output)
- Empowered to make decisions
The fourth one is where Iāve seen teams stumble and fall.Ā
Iāve worked with so many companiesĀ in the past who get totally caught up in Net Promoter Scores and feel that it's a good understanding of reality. Jeff quickly put that thought to bed with a really thorough view on why Net Promoter Scores donāt work.Ā
Enjoy this podcast. Iāve love to know your thoughts.Ā
The links we talk about in the podcast are:
https://www.senseandrespondpress.com
https://jeffgothelf.com
Check them out, thereās tons of great content from Jeff on those sites.
Ever wanted to have a framework for your product that covers ALL of it?
Ever wondered how some product leaders seem to have their entire product just āworkā.
It helps to have the best framework to help you do that.
In this episode of the podcast Roger Snyder, VP Marketing for the 280 Group joins us to discuss Whole Product Thinking. While this has been around for a while (going back to Jeffrey Mooreās Crossing the Chasm in the 90ās) itās such a fundamental framework for Product Management that itās worth considering in detail.
Roger gives us loads of great examples of Whole Product Thinking and we have a brilliant discussion about how this can help you in your role as a Product Leader.
The 280 Group produce some amazing content so have a look at the show notes below and check them out for yourself.
Roger was a great guest and Iām really looking forward to talking to him again in the future.
Links to the resources mentioned in the podcast:
Blog Post w/webinar slide deck included ā Whole Product Concept ā A Quick Guide for the Expert PM
Blog Post ā Product Owner vs. Product Manager Exploration
280 Group Free Resources
Recently the ProductPlan team released their eBook From Product Manager to Product Leader - Lessons from today's product experts and I really enjoyed it.
One of the things I speak a lot about on the Product Coach podcast is how to be a Product Leader and this book really dives into a lot of detail about it and on this podcast Jim Semick from ProductPlan helps us dissect the lessons from the book.
As the book says: "While there are many reasons products might succeed, itās the direction of great product leadership that truly makes a difference."
I couldn't agree more. Enjoy the episode and The Product Leadership book can be downloaded from:
Ā https://www.productplan.com/lp/product-leadership-book/
Enjoy it and feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think.Ā
All the best on your product journey,Ā
Ross Webb,Ā
The Product Coach
Jock Busuttil wrote The Practitioner's Guide To Product Management, one of my favourite books on Product Management.Ā
In this episode we learn Jock's views on leadership, learning and some interesting best practices for Product Managers, Product Owners, Scrum Masters.Ā
We also discuss whether you need to be a specialist in a particular area to be a Product Manager.Ā
If you've got an interest in learning more about Product from someone who has been there and done that have a listen.Ā
It's a great chat and I'm sure there's something in it that you will be able to learn.Ā
I hope you enjoy it,Ā
Ross