In this discussion, Ben Foster, Chief Product Officer at Whoop and author of Building What Matters, shares his insights on vision-led product management. He emphasizes the importance of defining the value of a product and who it serves. Ben and Melissa delve into how successful companies prioritize customer understanding and embrace self-cannibalization to innovate. They explore the need for effective communication of vision within teams and the partnership between CEOs and product leaders, ensuring that everyone aligns towards delivering exceptional user experiences.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Accidental Product Manager
Ben Foster's entry into product management was accidental.
He transitioned from a statistics major doing QA to a product role after an unexpected job offer.
insights INSIGHT
Balancing Act
Many companies struggle with balancing daily product challenges and forward-thinking vision.
Foster's book "Build What Matters" addresses this gap in product leadership.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Vision-Led Product Management
Define your product vision by focusing on customer value and differentiation.
Determine how customers measure success and align your team towards realizing that vision.
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In 'Build What Matters', Ben Foster and Rajesh Nerlikar introduce a methodology for becoming a product-driven company. They emphasize the importance of combining a bold customer-centric vision with a practical execution strategy to deliver meaningful outcomes and drive innovation. The book provides tested strategies and stories of success to help product leaders align product development with both current and future customer needs.
Melissa Perri welcomes Ben Foster - Chief Product Officer at Whoop and author of Building What Matters: Delivering Key Outcomes with Vision-Led Product Management - to this week’s Product Thinking Podcast. Ben is an experienced product leader who teaches the value of vision to help us craft the right strategy and achieve our desired outcomes. He joins Melissa to discuss the framework he details in his book and what makes a great vision.
Here are some key points you’ll hear Melissa and Ben talk about in this episode:
Ben and Melissa swap stories of how they “accidentally” got into product management. [2:31]
Ben’s book describes what causes some companies to struggle with product management, as well as what makes other companies excel. It also features recommendations for product leaders. [9:10]
Vision-led product management, Ben tells Melissa, is “being definitive about what the value of your product is going to be, for whom you're going to provide that value, where the differentiation is going to lie, ...all these major components of the product vision.” [10:12]
Successful companies see their profits as a byproduct of the value they provide for their customers. Defining what success looks like to customers involves deep research into who your customers are, what motivates them, who else can solve their problem, and what would make them choose you and stay with you. “As you map that out,” Ben remarks, “then you can make sure that everybody on the product team is rowing in the same direction towards actually realizing that vision.” [11:35]
Melissa asks Ben to talk about how he implemented his vision-led product management framework at Go Canvas. [20:02]
Melissa and Ben talk about the steps in the customer journey. [22:17]
“The reason that people actually buy is because of the performance things; the reason they continue to buy is because of the delight,” Ben emphasizes. [27:55]
Melissa asks Ben, “What else do you see [as] the differentiators between companies that do product management well and companies that don't?” Ben responds, “One of the key elements for me is they understand the connectedness between value for their customers and value for their business.” [32:33]
Ben and Melissa discuss how to convince the CEO that not every opportunity should be pursued. [42:26]
Resources
Ben Foster on LinkedIn
Building What Matters: Delivering Key Outcomes with Vision-Led Product Management
Product Thinking 