Product Momentum Podcast

If you’re a product manager who’s making the transition from individual contributor (IC) to people manager, you not only need to be nailing your job, Melika Hope advises. “You have to be showing up as a leader.” Opportunities for practicing leadership aren’t confined to managerial roles, she adds. ICs can exhibit leader-like traits every day by taking on a challenging strategic task, coming up with a creative solution, and solving complex problems that impact the business. Melika Hope is Director of Product Management at Spotify; after delivering her keynote and INDUSTRY Global, she sat down with Sean Flaherty and Sean Murray for a lively discussion about what it takes to make the transition from individual contributor to people manager. Turns out there’s plenty to consider. Showcasing Leadership Abilities Melika advised ICs not to wait for formal opportunities to present themselves before showcasing their leadership abilities. Instead, she adds, “ICs should look for ways to contribute meaningfully to their teams and organizations. Solve problems proactively to demonstrate your value and potential for higher roles.” Melika uses impactful anecdotes to encourage organizations to consider new career paths for individual contributors who excel in their roles but may not wish to manage people. “I find more folks actually aren’t as interested in becoming [people] managers anymore,” she says. Taking Control of Your Future What’s more, with widespread layoffs making it difficult for ICs to find new opportunities, “there’s a sense that if I am an IC, I have control over the work that I’m doing and the results I’m delivering. People are feeling more comfortable with that.” Are we witnessing a culture shift beginning to take hold? The notion that leadership is better defined by actions and impact rather than titles. Be sure to catch the entire episode with Melika Hope, recorded live at INDUSTRY Global. Looking for related content? Check out Product Momentum’s episode 90 with Liz Li: Amid the Great Resignation, It’s Time to Productize Your Career The post 151 / Helping Individual Contributors Into Management Roles, with Melika Hope appeared first on ITX Corp..

We didn’t realize it when we started recording this episode with Bob Moesta. But the moment our conversation ended, we knew his would serve as Product Momentum’s milestone 150th podcast! And what better topic to explore – and who better to explore it with – than a product manager’s job to be done with the champion of JTBD theory. As Bob explains, people don’t buy products at random; we hire them to solve specific problems or fulfill specific needs. Understanding the user’s struggling moments is our primary job to be done. Product Momentum co-hosts Sean Flaherty and Sean Murray caught up with Bob live and in person at INDUSTRY: The Product Conference. In their lively conversation, Bob touched on three main themes, each embracing our users’ struggling moments as the key to a product manager’s  success. Understanding User Context – The Path to Better Products As product managers, we have to grow to appreciate the context surrounding our end users’ struggling moments. When users realize “the anxieties or habits that prevent them from making changes easily,” product managers are enabled to actually see better ways to develop the products that fulfill users’ needs.” Focus on Cause, Not Probability Sales and Marketing often rely on probability-based approaches, Bob adds, “because they don’t fully understand customer behavior.” As product managers, though, we are better positioned to identify the causes behind a customer’s need for a product; when we do that, our teams can focus on helping them make real progress, rather than just pushing unnecessary features that fail to address their specific challenges. Customer Choice Is Based on Elimination, Not Selection Customers won’t even notice a product unless they are already frustrated, Bob explains. So we should be targeting these precise moments of frustration to effectively capture their attention. Then, as they evaluate the range of possible product solutions, customers eliminate the ones they know won’t meet their needs. The process is reminiscent of the standardized tests of our school-age years; oftentimes, we didn’t choose the best answer as much as we eliminated the ones we knew to be wrong. Be sure to catch the entire episode with Bob Moesta; as you do, be on the lookout for his list of 5 skills that every successful product team should possess. The post 150 / Bob Moesta: Understanding Users’ Struggling Moments Is Our Job To Be Done appeared first on ITX Corp..

Shikha Kapoor’s journey to Silicon Valley began in a small town in India, where she had only limited access to technology. She didn’t have access to the internet – or even to a computer. Now she’s a trailblazer in AI product management at Meta. Shikha credits a passion for learning, staying hungry, and maintaining a healthy curiosity as pillars in “a student mindset” that has served as her North star. Shikha currently serves as Meta’s Head of Product, Gen AI for Recommendations. Before then, she was a Product Leader AI for Consumer Productivity, at Google Assistant. In this episode of Product Momentum, she joins hosts Sean Flaherty and Sean Murray to discuss how she became a leading light in the rapidly evolving field of AI – specifically, embracing firsthand the connection between business needs and technology solutions and using that mindset to break from convention to foster creativity and innovation. “Early in my career, I always looked for a role that connected the dots from business problems to technology solutions,” Shikha says. “And when I came across product management, it was clear to me that PMs are at the intersection of engineering, business, and design. They get to participate from end to end in solving user needs, anticipating market trends, and building the solutions we must deploy to get there.” Now, as Meta’s Head of Product, Gen AI for Recommendations, Shikha Kapoor applies this product management mindset to balance long-term vision with agile execution. Her team often works in six-month planning cycles to develop big-picture AI-driven tools and then works backward from that distant horizon to maintain nimble and adaptable to emerging technologies and market shifts. Shikha highlights emerging trends in AI across various industries, such as legal and healthcare. She points out the potential for automation to drive dramatic increases in productivity and business value. As AI continues to disrupt traditional workflows, she says, product managers must remain open-minded and proactive in adapting to these changes. Catch the entire conversation with Shikha Kapoor to gain insights into the strategies she employs to stay ahead of the AI curve, including the importance of grounding your assumptions and embracing a culture of experimentation. Shikha also shares valuable advice for new and seasoned product managers alike on how to leverage AI to enhance user experiences and drive innovation. The post 149 / How Curiosity + Passion Deliver Next-Gen Innovations, with Shikha Kapoor appeared first on ITX Corp..

The success rate of new software products varies, depending on the criteria we used to define success. But a common statistic is unflattering: about 70% of new software releases fails to meet their initial expectations or goals. In this episode of Product Momentum – and in his new book, LAUNCH Code – James Whitman explains this phenomenon, describes the factors that contribute to such high failure rates, and presents research-based remedies we can deploy to reverse the trend. Too often in product development, we become so focused on heads-down requirements building that the act of launching the product feels like an afterthought. And to many, it’s become a lost art. James says that success requires a companywide, comprehensive plan for managing internal handoffs and bringing clients deeply into product development and launch. The development-to-sale process offers “many rakes to step on,” James says. And even the most well-intended teams make mistakes, often manifested in these critical areas: Client Listening. We tend to sample only our most favored clients; we limit discovery efforts to a specific segment of our market; and too often we wrongly assume that internal team members possess the domain knowledge to speak on behalf of the client. James underscores the critical role of continuous client listening and says that that every sales interaction is an opportunity for market research. “Maintaining a dialogue with clients both before and after the market launch is crucial for refining the product and addressing client needs effectively.” The Product-to-Sales Handoff. Software launches start with innovation and product design, followed by value-added activities within the product function, James says. But then there’s this completely separate activity that happens over here in Sales. The gap between those functions is where many products fail to launch. The best organizations integrate these activities into a holistic approach where sales and product teams work closely together rather than operating in silos. The Sales Cabinet. There’s a solid collective understanding that we should listen to our clients and that we should work collaboratively with our colleagues. But why don’t these things happen in the real world? James introduces the concept of a “sales cabinet,” a group of trusted senior sales representatives who provide early feedback on product ideas and help profile new offerings. Be sure to catch the entire episode with James Whitman to deepen your understanding of the LAUNCH process: Listen, Assess, Unify, Navigate, Control, and Hone. The post 148 / 3 Remedies that Boost Product Launch Success, with James Whitman appeared first on ITX Corp..

What percentage of your software product launches have been successful? If you answered, “about 50%,” you’re ahead of the curve, says Itamar Gilad. Itamar is a product leadership coach and author who also held senior product management and engineering roles at Microsoft and Google, where he worked at YouTube and led parts of Gmail. In today’s conversation, Itamar looks back on his early career that – he readily admits – includes ‘not that many big wins.’ As he explains, “The engineer in me kept whispering, ‘you don’t really know. You’re just faking it.’ And the results spoke for themselves.” It was then, while still at Google, that Itamar realized the power of discovery and user research. What he called, “all these good things that we now take for granted.” Once he embedded these techniques into his work, his perspective changed, and he started to consider a new product leadership playbook. What he came up with has replaced the traditional Plan and Execute model “that may have worked in the 20th century,” with an outcome- and evidence-based intuitive approach. “We used to believe that if we spend enough time creating the perfect top-level plan, and build a set of cascading plans, and then execute well on these plans, we will achieve greatness,” Itamar says. “It simply doesn’t work that way.” Even ideas from the most visionary leaders were informed by research and evidence, hypothesis and testing, he adds. In his book, Evidence Guided, Itamar presents an actionable model for bringing evidence-guided development into our organizations. Nested within Itamar’s larger framework are the GIST model, which leads to the ICE model, which then leads to the Confidence Meter. In this conversation, Itamar explains the role each model plays in specific detail and provides easy access to them. Be sure to catch our entire episode with Itamar Gilad and consider this famous quote from the late British statistician George E. P. Box: “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” The post 147 / ‘Useful Models’ That Boost Product Launch Success, with Itamar Gilad appeared first on ITX Corp..

Denise Tilles, a Product Operations expert and co-author of a pivotal book on the subject, dives deep into how Product Ops can revolutionize decision-making for product managers. She outlines the three key pillars of Product Ops: business insights, customer feedback, and streamlined processes. Denise emphasizes the importance of balancing quantitative and qualitative data to drive effective product strategies. Her insights on fostering a curious and adaptable culture within teams highlight how to empower product managers with the tools they need to succeed.

Patricia Reiners, a distinguished UX innovator and host of the Future of UX podcast, explores crucial intersections of user experience and AI. She emphasizes how while AI excels in speed and data analysis, it lacks the essential human traits of creativity, empathy, and complex decision-making. Patricia advocates for ongoing learning to adapt to AI's role in UX, stresses the importance of ethical considerations in product design, and shares insights from the upcoming Rochester conference, fostering a collaborative community for designers.

Ryan Rumsey, CEO of Second Wave Dive and founder of Chief Design Officer School, shares insights from his impactful keynote at the 2024 ITX Product + Design Conference. He highlights the people challenges in product building, asserting that personal experiences shape these dynamics. Rumsey emphasizes redefining success through emotional connections, shifting focus from traditional metrics. He advocates for the importance of power and influence in design roles, urging a more human-centric approach to creativity and teamwork for true value delivery.

John Maeda, VP of Engineering at Microsoft, discusses creativity as the foundation of wealth and the importance of taking risks in innovation. He explores how AI can enhance human potential and drive us towards a better future. The podcast delves into the mindset of risk-versed individuals who constantly strive for innovation, as well as the vast opportunities AI presents for the future.

In this episode of Product Momentum, Christian Idiodi shares insights gathered over his 20-year career as a product leader, leaning especially on the significance of human skills and highlighting the importance of product sense in product management. Christian Idiodi is a partner at Silicon Valley Product Group and co-author of TRANSFORMED, with Marty Cagan and partners at SVPG. He recently joined co-hosts Paul Gebel and ITX Product Manager Dan Sharp for a conversation exploring the two sides of product sense and why its human component is essential to product success in the context of today’s AI-focused world. Informed Decision-Making + Intuition Product sense combines informed decision-making with intuition that great product managers develop over time, Christian says. “It’s about having an intuitive feel for what makes a product valuable, which requires a deep understanding of your users and how they experience it.” Product Sense Is ‘Not Some Magical Gift’ But it’s not some magical gift that we’re born with, he adds. Product sense involves synthesizing data, everything from user feedback to market trends, and making quick, effective decisions that align with both user needs and business goals.“People who have product sense have worked hard to practice and fine-tune it,” Christian explains. The Essence of Product Management In this way, product sense lies at the very heart of product management: solving real problems for real users rather than focusing solely on commercial success. Companies lose their way, Christian says, by shifting their focus from helping people to extracting value from them. Product sense helps us maintain a balance between making customers happy and generating revenue for the business. This episode marks Christian Idiodi’s second visit with Product Momentum. Check out his initial conversation with the team, Product Problems Are People Problems. Marty Cagan and his partners at Silicon Valley Product Group, wrote INSPIRED, EMPOWERED, and (most recently) TRANSFORMED for product managers and teams; product leaders; and C-suite executives, respectively. Be sure to listen to the entire episode, as Christian explains how each book aligns with purpose to these audience segments. You can also catch our episode with Christian Idiodi in video on the Product Momentum YouTube Channel! The post 142 / Christian Idiodi, on Product Sense: Integrating Data and Intuition appeared first on ITX Corp..