How product managers can promote human-centered design I wonder if you can relate to this frustration—the pressure to get products and product updates released quickly sometimes means making compromises on design quality. It’s an organizational issue—moving quickly to beat competitors and keep up with changing customer preferences. Speed is more important than quality. Our guest, […]

Matt Genovese, Founder and CEO at Planorama Design, discusses tips for selecting, planning, and prototyping product features. He highlights the challenges in hardware and software development and emphasizes starting small and using prototypes for validation. They also explore the pitfalls of an engineering-driven organization, the importance of user experience design, and the role of product managers in advocating for the right product and user experience. The chapter also touches on AI tools for product feature planning.

How product managers can use Adobe’s Kickbox innovation system Today we are talking about using the open source innovation system called Kickbox that was created at Adobe. This is a simple and effective tool for increasing innovation by orders of magnitude in an organization. Our guest is Ralph Hartmeier, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of rready, […]

In this episode, Eli Packouz, serial inventor and two-time founder, discusses the journey of bringing his revolutionary flossing product, Instafloss, to market. He shares insights on the challenges of flossing, the reasons people don't floss, and existing flossing solutions. Eli also talks about the iterative product development process, including prototyping and testing with flossing pigs. The episode explores the stages of developing a disruptive innovation and offers lessons on product development and overcoming challenges.

Former Head of Talent for tech companies turned Job Search Strategist, Erika Klics, shares common mistakes product leaders make when trying to get a job. She emphasizes the importance of relevant experience and building trust in the interview process. Erika also discusses the significance of receiving feedback after job interviews and suggests treating interviews as conversations. The chapter on researching before a product job interview highlights the importance of gathering information about the company's focus, job descriptions, and team by connecting with people on LinkedIn.

Tami Reiss, an experienced product executive, discusses how product leaders can increase team performance. She emphasizes the importance of fostering connection and empathy within the team and with other stakeholders. Building relationships with internal functions and team members is crucial. Profitability and connecting product metrics to business metrics are highlighted as key factors for overall business growth.

Bob Caporale, strategic practitioner with 20 years experience leading product, marketing, and business functions, discusses creating a product strategy. Product managers need to break down company objectives to impact the product. Bob emphasizes the importance of looking beyond the product roadmap and involving senior leadership in strategy development. Refreshing the strategy regularly and avoiding blindly copying competitors are key challenges for product people.

Atif Rafiq, who invented a problem-solving system, shares a three-part framework for faster problem-solving: Exploration, Alignment, and Decision-Making. He discusses the need for purposeful innovation in organizations, the importance of getting buy-in and stakeholder alignment, and the value of exploration and shared understanding in decision-making.

Jonas Klink, Vice President of Product Management & UX Design at Thrive Market, discusses the mission-driven product process. Thrive Market aims to make healthy and sustainable living easy and affordable. They curate a selection of high-quality, non-GMO, and organic products. Klink shares the importance of aligning the organizational mission with product vision and using OKRs to measure progress. He also emphasizes continuous learning and agile thinking in product management.

Ben Foster, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at Prodify, shares advice on solving common dysfunctions in product management. He discusses challenges in direction, people, and process, emphasizing the need for alignment between product strategy and organizational strategy. He also highlights the importance of effective communication, clear vision, and hiring and organizing teams based on growth stage. The concept of Conway's Law and its implications in product design are also explored.