The Product Manager How to Balance Speed and Value: The Essential Role of Empathy in the AI Product Era (with Megan O'Rourke, Executive Director of Product at Metalab)
Aug 12, 2025
Megan O'Rourke, Executive Director of Product at Metalab, unpacks the crucial role of empathy in the product development landscape. She likens AI to the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, explaining how while it can mimic empathy, it lacks authentic human connection. Their discussion covers the importance of storytelling in AI teams and highlights the ethical dimensions of product design. Megan also shares practical strategies for leaders to embed empathy within their teams, ensuring products resonate on a human level and foster genuine connections.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Quiet Signals That Machines Miss
- Megan noticed a usually vocal team member go quiet and reached out personally to check in.
- That small human moment revealed overwhelm and prevented disengagement or potential attrition.
Map Experiences, Not Just Screens
- Run experience mapping with stakeholders and pause at each step to record what users think, do, and feel.
- Use those emotional highs, lows and frictions to ground design decisions before jumping to solutions.
Run Empathy-First Critiques
- Start crits with user-focused questions like 'Does this meaningfully solve the user's problem?' instead of specs.
- Prioritize clarity and emotion to ensure designs can be understood without a designer's voiceover.
