Can I Speak to Your (Product) Manager?

This episode features an interview with Dave Bottoms, General Manager & VP of Product at Upwork.In this episode, Dave shares with us:His VC approach (40/30/30) to product frameworksThe importance of a growth team focused on achieving a specific ROIHow to balance customer feedback and innovationHow to establish clear principles to guide decision-makingHost takeaways:Kyle: Dave really stresses the importance of adopting a framework to your product leadership, and I appreciate his venture capitalist mindset (40/30/30) when it comes to allocating resources strategically across the product portfolio.Our conversation also highlights the importance of a growth team focused on moving metrics to achieve a specific ROI. Dave helped shed light on the role of this team in driving measurable results and contributing to the overall success of the product.Lukasz:I like the top-down perspective in managing larger products and how Dave acknowledges the value of working with experienced senior individuals. He emphasizes that product management guidelines are not rigid rules but adaptable principles that should be adjusted based on the specific situation.Clear principles, though sounding lofty, simplify decision-making by providing a clear direction. Dave drove home that when principles are well-defined and communicated, they serve as a framework that not only guides the PM but also aids other teams. Segment Timestamps: *(00:25) - Ship it or Skip it*(04:05) - PM Power Moves*(28:01) - Host TakeawaysLinks:Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich on LinkedInLearn more about Zuora  >> Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich >> Learn more about Zuora

This episode features an interview with Vrushali Paunikar, Chief Product Officer at Carta.In this episode, Vrushali shares with us:Why she’s a disciple of Luca PacioliHow to get buy-in from your CEOHow she secured the green light for what is now a $100 million fundAnd so much more!Host takeaways:Kyle: It’s vital to know where your products come from. When Vrushali mentioned Luca Pacioli, my ears perked up! It’s so important to know the material and get into the history of where your products come from and why they matter. This allows you much deeper insight into how users might utilize your products.Purpose-built products. Find your product niche and cultivate and validate it through customer feedback. You can create new value from “old” products or ideas through a new verticalization approach.Lukasz:“Nothing beats a small, laser-focused team aligned on a singular vision.” It all comes down to focus and fundamentals, and Vrushali’s team was able to utilize fund accountants within Carta to be laser-focused with her team on what’s working for the product outcome. This allowed Vrushali and her team to iterate and prove out their product very quickly.The foundation is key. You don’t want to rebuild products that already exist. Instead, apply it to a different vertical and go from there.Product marketing vs product management. Should product managers and product marketers? We’ve been wrestling with that idea for a while, but it’s an interesting topic to discuss across different companies.Segment Timestamps:*(00:32) - Ship it or Skip it*(05:07) - PM Power Moves*(38:17) - Host Takeaways  >> Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich >> Learn more about Zuora

This episode features an interview with Avantika Gomes, Group Product Manager at Figma. In this episode, Avantika shares with us:Assigning criteria for running beta successfullyBuilding products for an expanding audienceThe importance of listening to your user baseHow collaboration can help reduce inefficienciesAnd so much more! Host takeaways: Kyle: Being crisp on the problem. Collaboration is key, so when we have a good knowledge base and understand our personas we better understand their pain points and know where to start with mending them.Shipping fast and breaking stuff isn’t always the answer. Those of us who have been in the product space for a while have heard “ship it fast, break it fast” our whole careers, but Avantika invites us into a new way of thinking: thoughtful product development and the benefits it brings. Lukasz:Recognizing there are other personas engaging with your products. Our products are built for certain people, so when that pool of people starts to grow, we have to understand who those people are, what they want, and how our products can meet their needs.Shipping fast and failing past depends on your product. If we think about an issue that might arise on Facebook, if something breaks, you may not even notice it as a user. But if you experience an issue with an MRI machine while you’re getting a scan, that can affect your life immediately. So, it’s important to be aware of the stakes at hand in terms of shipping fast or not.Focus on the right things when hiring. We can say we want to be inclusive and lead a more diverse team all day long, but we need to be aware of the exact parameters we’re using and ask ourselves: how can we hire and retain the best people for the job? How can we help them learn, grow, and flourish? Segment Timestamps: *(00:29) - Ship it or Skip it*(03:44) - PM Power Moves*(29:07) - Host Takeaways  >> Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich >> Learn more about Zuora

This episode features an interview with Saumil Shrivastava, Director of Product Management on the AI Platform team at Microsoft. In this episode, Saumil shares with us:The importance of community feedbackHow best to enable customers to build LLM apps quicklyWhen products need to be scenario-based and domain-specificAnd much more! Host takeaways:Kyle: Security and privacy are gravitating toward LLMs. When we look at LLMs for industries such as healthcare, we see the models become more vertical and specialized so we need to account for that in how we build.Strong PMs are good problem solvers. As PMs, we have to be able to solve complex problems at scale with technology. And since we love to do this so much anyway, it shouldn’t be a surprise. However, when the needs of the products we build change, it’s up to us to provide ideas for solutions.Lukasz:We’re in an exploration phase. This also means that there are a lot of unknowns, so we’re often working off an instance-by-instance basis and not a generalized set of rules. The testing starts now and it might take longer than we thought historically.The obstacle is the way…sometimes. While I don’t believe every obstacle is the way, I do concur with Saumil that organizationally if there is pushback, it’s wise to push back further and ask questions as to why there are obstacles and then work to create effective solutions. Sometimes it’s time to explore different options and ways of doing things. Segment Timestamps: *(00:31) - Ship it or Skip it*(04:15) - PM Power Moves*(25:52) - Host Takeaways  >> Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich >> Learn more about Zuora

Thomas Fenrich, VP of Product Management at IKEA, discusses the importance of grounded AI, getting back to basics, impactful communication, testing internally first, and the power of small, fast releases. The podcast also touches on rapid-fire product ideas, AI robots in furniture assembly, IKEA's innovative strategies, course correction, and the significance of understanding customer needs. The speakers emphasize the role of effective communication, grounding AI in business context, and incremental releases.

Guests include Krishan Gupta, Product Manager at Google, Eugene Song, VP of Product Management at BrainPOP, and Bjorn Morton, Sr. Director of Product Development at Gannett. Topics covered in the podcast include AI in product management, implementing Kanban, shipping AI and hardware appreciation, evolving BrainPop and shifting direction, exploring new models for newspaper subscription, and debating the feasibility of fully automated gas attendants for electric cars.

Micah Peterson, Chief Product Evangelist at ProcedureFlow, shares tips for reducing ambiguity for customers and making knowledge repositories more consumable. The podcast also discusses the importance of leveraging user feedback, reducing confusion in customer interactions, and prioritizing the right things for product development.

In this episode, Randy Mercer, Chief Product Officer at 1WorldSync, discusses AI use cases, generating compelling content, and best practices for mergers and acquisitions. Key takeaways include content management's value prop, retailers' influence on SEO, determining cultural fit for acquisitions, and injecting AI into business processes.

This episode features an interview with Bjorn Morton, Sr. Director of Product Development at Gannett.In this episode, Bjorn gives us an inside look at basic vs smarter models of delivering products to subscribers, helps us understand why print isn’t dead, and the importance of continuing to understand the customer experience. Bjorn also shares his perspective on the evolution of physical media into digital media, and how to continue optimizing the consumption experience for loyal subscribers.Key Takeaways:Kyle: Basic vs smarter models: how it used to be vs how it is: Models should be subscriber specific, it’s not one size fits all.Print isn’t dead: The journey of converting physical products to digital products doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive - let’s make a better experience for the subscriber overall, whether they use a physical or digital product.Lukasz: Continue to figure out what the customer experience is: How do you actually deliver the service? Especially if it's a physical product in this digital world. How do you bring in the right readers and subscribers with the right packaging, pricing, etc? Look at innovating current products instead of making something totally new. Making the customer experience better is a process.Crypto can be a valuable perk to subscribers: There are many reasons as to why, but crypto is mostly valuable because it enhances the customer experience and makes the process of purchasing products smooth by working as a cash equivalent, easing the customer journey.Segment Timestamps: *(00:41) - Never Have I Ever*(09:02) - Innovation, Therapy & Other Wild Tales*(22:49) - PM Power Moves*(31:23) - Ship it or Skip it*(36:41) - Host TakeawaysLinks:Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich on LinkedInConnect with Bjorn MortonLearn more about GannettLearn more about Zuora  >> Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich >> Learn more about Zuora

This episode features an interview with Nathan Creswell, Head of Product at Isometric Technologies.In this episode, Nathan shares with us his journey of what it’s been like to enter into an entirely new domain in his career, the importance of shipping products and making customers happy, and how crucial it is to keep an open mind in everything you do.Key Takeaways:Kyle: Shipping products that make customers happy: Making sure products we create bring happiness to the end user is key. You want to make sure everything you’re doing is driving towards that.Making sure your first five customers are fully satisfied: They are the ones who become customers you recommend you and your company over and over.Lukasz: Switching to a brand new domain: One thing we’re hearing constantly, is that PMs need to be ready to jump into a completely brand new things they may not be experts on but leverage all experience and skillsets as well as other helpful things like online resources, folks they’ve worked with, etc.Be open-minded: Look at everything you’re working with and keep an open mind with whatever you’re doing and how you’re doing it.Billing is fun: Even though we already think that it’s still fun to hear.Segment Timestamps: *(00:40) - Never Have I Ever*(15:40) - Innovation, Therapy & Other Wild Tales*(27:28) - PM Power Moves*(34:31) - Ship it or Skip itLinks:Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich on LinkedInConnect with Nathan CreswellLearn more about Isometric TechnologiesLearn more about Zuora  >> Connect with Lukasz Weber & Kyle Kolich >> Learn more about Zuora