SaaS Builder Podcast

Building Trust in Product Leadership with The Product Coach Tami Reiss

Oct 16, 2024

Tami Reiss, Founder and CEO of The Product Leader Coach, shares her 20-year expertise in product strategy. She highlights the importance of understanding customer needs and creating a compelling vision for effective product management. Tami discusses how collaboration across departments fosters growth and innovation, while also emphasizing the necessity of coaching for product leaders. Plus, she introduces her upcoming children's book, 'What Do Product Managers Do?', aimed at demystifying the role of product managers for young professionals.

42:56

Episode guests

Tami Reiss

AI Summary

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Understanding customer needs and establishing a clear strategy aligned with company goals are vital for successful product leadership.

Coaching product leaders enhances their ability to foster collaboration and trust within teams, enabling more effective decision-making and innovation.

Deep dives

Understanding Product Management Through Children's Literature

A children's book titled 'What Do Product Managers Do?' aims to explain the role of product managers through playful illustrations and rhymes. The book’s target audience includes aspiring product managers of all ages and parents seeking to understand this career path. It reflects the need for accessible resources that demystify the profession, especially for children. The author believes that providing relatable explanations will help both kids and parents grasp the significance of product management in the business world.

Intro

2min

Navigating the Product Management Journey

17min

Defining Strategic Goals and Product-Market Fit

5min

Strategic Product Development and Value Creation in SaaS

4min

Navigating M&A and Leadership Dynamics

9min

Understanding the Impact of Net Revenue Retention in B2B SaaS

3min

The Importance of Collaboration and Coaching in Product Leadership

4min

This week on the Expert Voices podcast, Randy Wootton, CEO of Maxio, speaks with Tami Reiss, Founder and CEO of The Product Leader Coach. Tami shares how understanding customer needs and creating a compelling vision that aligns with the company’s goals, leads to successful product management. Randy and Tami talk about the value of coaching for product leaders and the necessity of collaboration across departments to drive growth and innovation. Her upcoming children's book, 'What Do Product Managers Do?', showcases her passion for demystifying the role of product managers, particularly for aspiring young professionals.

Quotes

So first of all, the promise of SaaS is that your product is always going to get better, right? Right. It's why someone's paying for a subscription. So you always have to keep that in mind. So there has to be something you're doing to enhance your product for your current market. Your current users are paying you on a monthly or annual basis, because theoretically you're going to serve them more, and solve more of their problems. -Tami Reiss [24:42]

“The product leader has to coach their employees and say ‘You need to set up listening posts with the onboarding team. You need to set up listening posts with the platform team, or whatever else, and emphasize to them that they are also building trust and confidence in the entire product team and the product way of working." -Tami Reiss[33:21]

Expert Takeaways

Establishing a clear vision and strategy is crucial for product leaders to drive successful outcomes in their organizations.
The importance of aligning product management with sales and customer service to meet market demands effectively.
Product leaders need to focus on building trust and confidence in their relationships with stakeholders for long-term success.
The distinction between product management and project management is essential for effective product strategy execution in a company.
Coaching can help product leaders navigate complex organizational dynamics and enhance their decision-making skills.

Timestamps

(00:00) Meet Tami Reiss: Product Expert

(00:56) The Inspiration Behind Tami's Book

(02:12) The Importance of Product Management Education

(09:09) Establishing a Winning Strategy

(09:15) The Role of a Product Leader Coach

(19:07) Understanding Product-Market Fit

(18:43) Defining Your Kingdom: Market Strategy

(21:44) The Need for a North Star Metric

(28:39)The Value of Coaching for Product Leaders

(35:21) Speed Round: Metrics, Books, and Influencers

Links