In this discussion, Moshe Mikanovsky, a product coach and educator, shares his journey from engineering to product management, emphasizing the importance of understanding the role deeply. He tackles the challenges of selecting the right tools for your team, underlining a structured approach that considers user needs and the organizational landscape. The conversation also highlights the evolving nature of product management tools, the role of AI, and how to align tools with team capabilities while measuring ROI effectively.
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Moshe's Career Evolution
Moshe Mikanovsky transitioned from a 20-year software engineering career to product management about 14 years ago.
He now coaches startup founders and teaches design thinking to bridge business and engineering effectively.
insights INSIGHT
Challenges in Tool Selection
Choosing tools is hard because it's not the main task product people enjoy or excel at.
Many shortcut by relying on recommendations or price, often ignoring fit to actual needs.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Treat Tools Like Products
Approach tool selection like product development: identify your real problem and understand your user ecosystem.
Only choose tools after clarifying workflows, personas, and organizational context for better fit.
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What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19
A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19
Randy Silver
In this episode of The Product Experience, Lily and Randy sit down with Moshe Mikanovsky—product coach, educator, and host of the Product for Product podcast—to explore what makes an effective product management toolkit. From identifying the real problems in your workflow to choosing and implementing tools that stick, Moshe outlines a pragmatic, user-centric approach to tool selection.
Chapters: 2:59 – From Engineering to Product Management 5:25 – Why Choosing Tools is Hard 8:11 – Elements of a Product Stack 10:49 – From Roadmaps to Analytics 14:01 – A Framework for Selecting Tools 18:01 – Comparing Tools Beyond Features 21:18 – Test and Validate Your Tool Choices 26:01 – Why Implementation is Critical 28:04 – What’s Changing in Product Tools 29:26 – AI and the Future of Product Management 32:01 – Keeping Your Stack Modern 34:29 – Making the Case for Budget & ROI 37:23 – When ROI Forces a Change 38:45 – Final Thoughts & Listener Call to Action
Our Hosts Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.
Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.
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