20 Product: Scott Belsky on How to Hire Your Product Leader and Team, 3 Questions All Great Product Leaders Ask, How To Structure and Run Effective Product Reviews & Is Product More Art or Science?
Scott Belsky, Adobe's Chief Product Officer and founder of Behance, delves into the complexities of product leadership. He discusses how to effectively hire product teams and the essential questions great leaders ask. Belsky emphasizes the significance of a user-friendly first mile experience, sharing insights on maintaining simplicity. He also explores the impact of defaults on user engagement and the necessity of empathy in product development. With a focus on refining product reviews and aligning team dynamics, Scott provides valuable strategies for aspiring product leaders.
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insights INSIGHT
Product Lifecycle
Products often follow a predictable lifecycle of simplicity to complexity.
This cycle repeats as newer, simpler products disrupt incumbents.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Key UX Questions
Evaluate every product screen by asking: "How did I get here?", "What do I do now?", and "What do I do next?".
These questions ensure an intuitive user experience and clear navigation.
insights INSIGHT
User Assumptions
Assume new users are "lazy, vain, and selfish"—they want instant gratification and don't want to learn.
Design presumptive defaults to cater to this initial laziness.
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Scott Belsky's "Making Ideas Happen" provides a practical framework for turning creative ideas into reality. It emphasizes the importance of planning, organization, and execution in achieving creative goals. The book offers a structured approach to managing creative projects, from ideation to completion. It addresses common challenges faced by creative individuals, such as procrastination and perfectionism, providing strategies for overcoming them. Belsky's work is valuable for anyone seeking to transform their ideas into tangible outcomes.
The messy middle
Scot Belsky
In 'The Messy Middle,' Scott Belsky delves into the often-overlooked middle phase of projects and ventures, where the initial excitement has worn off and the final success is still uncertain. The book is filled with practical insights, anecdotes, and actionable takeaways from Belsky's own experiences as an entrepreneur and investor. It covers topics such as managing uncertainty, powering through challenges, and making strategic decisions to ensure the success of any bold endeavor.
Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, author, investor, and currently serves as Adobe’s Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President, Creative Cloud. Scott oversees all of product and engineering for Creative Cloud, as well as design for Adobe. In 2006, Scott founded Behance, the leading online platform for the creative industry, and served as CEO until Adobe acquired Behance in 2012. Behance now has over 25M members. Scott is also an early advisor and investor in Pinterest, Uber, Sweetgreen, Carta, Flexport, Airtable, and several others. Finally, if that was not enough, Scott is the author of two national bestselling books - Making Ideas Happen and The Messy Middle.
In Today’s Episode with Scott Belsky You Will Learn:
1.) Narrow the Focus, Increase the Quality:
What does Scott believe is the core challenge in product?
What was the single biggest product challenge Scott faced at Behance? How did they overcome it?
When should product teams listen to customer feedback vs ignore it?
What are the core questions product teams should ask user groups to extract the most feedback and value?
2.) The Importance of the First Mile:
What does Scott believe makes a great first mile when it comes to the product experience?
Where do so many companies go wrong in creating the first mile user experience?
Which company at scale has retained this simplicity of the first mile? How did they do it?
What does Scott mean when he says, "the devil is in the defaults"? What can product teams learn from this?
3.) The Makings of a Great Product Leader:
What are the 3 core questions every great product leader should ask on every screen?
How do the best product leaders structure product reviews?
Who is invited to product reviews? How often are they? Who sets the agenda? When is it sent?
What do the best product leaders do to retain direction and productivity in reviews when there are many people and many ideas? How do they stay on track?
4.) The Hirings of a Great Product Team:
How can founders know whether to hire the product leader or retain the role? When is the right time?
What are the single biggest mistakes founders make when hiring their first product hires?
How should founders structure the hiring process for product hires? What should they look to gain from each interview?
What are the must ask questions in those interviews? How do the best respond?
What case studies or physical tests can be done to determine the quality of a candidate?
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