Product Momentum Podcast

For product people, a big part of the job is understanding not only what motivates our users, but also the systems they are tied to – and how those two things tie together. As it turns out, the bond that connects them is formed by the tools we build and the best practices we develop around them. We know these things thanks to digital anthropologists like Ali Colleen Neff, Ph.D., who joins Sean for this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast. To Ali, the role of digital anthropologist is to “think through with other product leaders what it means to make the tools and what it means to introduce them to cultures and systems.” Her research helps us understand the impact our products have on the individuals who use them and the systems in which they operate. “The tools we build serve as an extension of ourselves,” Ali Colleen Neff says. They enable us to achieve in ways that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. But, she warns (citing media studies leader, Marshall McCluhan), the tools we build to address one problem can simultaneously foreclose other ideas. Among Ali’s favorite research methods is directed storytelling, which helps us understand individuals’ thought and decision-making processes. Humans make up culture, so understanding individual stories is key to understanding culture. Tune in to catch some thought-provoking examples from Ali’s research. You’ll also hear: Journey mapping as a tool to understand user engagement at all stages How to earn trust from customers The importance of collaboration between engineers and social scientists Key elements of successful teams that Ali has observed The post 67 / Innovation Through Digital Anthropology appeared first on ITX Corp..

What job are product leaders really paid to do? When you boil it all down, leaders are paid to deliver results. Quantitative, which many believe are more easily measured. And qualitative, which invites the notion of organizational culture: much more difficult to measure, but more important in today’s world than ever before, Chalmers Brothers claims. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean chats with Chalmers Brothers, who for the past three decades has served as author, speaker, and certified leadership coach for executives in some of the world’s best-known companies. “I have had more conversations with leaders in the past 5 years about the conscious – not haphazard or accidental – creation of culture as a competitive advantage than I’ve had in the first 30 years of my career combined,” he says. “Something is going on.” That something starts with the effective use of language. Language creates and generates, Chalmers adds. It defines culture, creating a context that enables effective conversation. “With language, we make visible that which was previously invisible.” Tune in to hear more on this topic from Chalmers Brothers, including how: Time management is really commitment management. Effective conversation can help you manage your commitments. Key elements of leadership lie within the context of innovation. The post 65 / The Creation of Culture as a Competitive Advantage appeared first on ITX Corp..

There is an ongoing evolution in organizations toward an emphasis on the customer experience with your product versus a steady delivery of flashy new features. The former focuses on outcomes, known by Marc Abraham as “product mindset.” The latter embraces outputs, perhaps better known as “feature bloat” or “experience rot.” In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean is joined by Marc Abraham, Head of Product – Engagement at London-based ASOS, and the author of two books, My Product Management Toolkit and Managing Product = Managing Tension. He compares evolutions in product teams in the US and abroad in terms of the product mindset. Teams that boast a product mindset, Marc says, focus their energies around the 4 C’s: creativity, curiosity, clarity, and customer. “These elements are not unique to the domain of the product manager,” he adds. “But once you’ve got those four elements of the mindset, you’re really onto something in terms of creating that kind of customer-centric product culture organizations are looking for.” Listen to the full episode to hear more from Marc, including: The power of “W-H-Y” – the ultimate essence of being a good product person Embracing tension in product management in a constructive way Using a shared language for engagement within and outside of your organization The post 66 / Key Elements that Foster the Product Mindset appeared first on ITX Corp..

Product leaders need to be astute prioritizers. That means we have to say no – a lot. To the sales rep begging us to build “the next big thing.” And to the customer account rep pleading for a flashy new feature. The response from Keith Frankel to these cries for help is, “Make your case. Tell me why. Show me the user feedback for why we should reprioritize our long-term roadmap.” In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean checks in with Keith Frankel, co-founder and CEO at Parlor.io. Parlor is a widely popular feedback management system for SaaS teams. Gathering and analyzing user feedback is key, Keith explains. As a product leader at HubSpot and chief product officer at educational technology startup called Firecracker, Keith recalls telling his reps, “I will prioritize anything that you can prove to me will have a material impact on this business, but I just cannot chase after every shiny new object.” Sound familiar? Faced with competing business cases and insufficient budget to do both (or either), Keith and his team created Parlor – a product designed for product people. It engages users at multiple levels and serves as a “tie-breaker” of sorts that drives decision-making wisdom through customer insights that align product and customer-facing teams. Listen in to get Keith’s inside scoop on a super-interesting experiment he’s running that completely rethinks the role of internal meetings and their impact on workplace productivity in a remote-first environment. Finally, be sure to catch Keith’s three paths to innovation. Cool stuff, indeed. The post 64 / Managing User Feedback to Prioritize Your Product Roadmap appeared first on ITX Corp..

Attaining so-called “genius status” – Mozart, Steve Jobs, Einstein spring to mind – seems untouchable to us mere mortals. Or is it. As product people, we have more genius within us than we give ourselves credit for, Shawn Livermore says. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean and Matt are joined by Shawn Livermore. The author of Average Joe: Be the Silicon Valley Tech Genius and software architect/consultant with more than 20 years’ experience in our space, Shawn shares strategies the rest of us non-Mensa’s can use to create successful products. Our best ideas often come to us in seemingly mundane moments, like on our morning commute or while taking a shower, Shawn explains. During these times of “mindless activity,” our minds are free to harness the latent creativity that exists just beneath the surface of our normal, everyday activities. Innovation often comes to us as a “progressive daily trickle,” and by structuring it, anyone can come up with genius ideas, he adds. Genius may well be within our grasp, but we also need to give ourselves permission to fail. Thomas Edison once famously said, “I have not failed 10,000 times; I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” It’s all about perspective, right? Like Edison, even icons in the tech industry have stumbled through some not-so-great product ideas. But by documenting our thought processes and sharing them, we signal to others that we are thinkers who are highly capable. Shawn’s words to the wise: “Never underestimate a nerd with a good story.” Tune in to the whole episode to catch more of Shawn’s stories and tap into his genius. The post 63 / Unlock Your Inner Genius appeared first on ITX Corp..

We don’t have to know what the word archetype means to recognize how it connects our brand with our users. Brand archetypes help us choose the right words, assemble them in the right order, and communicate the experience our users expect, Margie Agin explains. Our brand is how our products speak to the world. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean is joined by Margie Agin, award-winning marketer and founder/chief strategist at Centerboard Marketing. Margie works with B2B companies to identify and communicate key aspects of their brand and drive action. “We use brand archetypes to reflect our product’s personality,” Margie offers. “It’s expressing your company, which includes your product, as a human – not just as technology,” she adds. “And when you do that, it makes you more relatable as a company, building trust and closing the gap between your brand and your customers.” For B2B technology companies that aren’t consumer facing, finding the human elements of your brand can be more challenging. Are you the Hero? Jester? Or maybe your product brand speaks as a Pioneer, Explorer, Lover, or Sage. Listen in as Margie shares valuable tips that make this task easier, including gathering people with different experiences with your product to identify and validate how it interacts with users. The post 62 / Brand Archetypes Help Our Products Speak to the World appeared first on ITX Corp..

Maybe more than anything else, product people want good, honest, relevant feedback about their products. And their go-to source for the straight-up truth? Moms and best friends. They’re the ones who’ll give you the sort of “big-picture feedback you’re desperate for.” And the best part is they know enough not to give advice you didn’t ask for. This is the “mom test,” Rob Fitzpatrick explains. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, author-entrepreneur Rob Fitzpatrick joins Sean and ITX product strategist Matt Bush to discuss how best to do product discovery and get answers to these questions: “How do I get people to talk to me? How do I know if I have enough feedback? How do I figure out if I’m building the right thing?” In his book, The Mom Test, Rob writes, “It’s not everyone else’s responsibility to tell you the truth; it’s your responsibility to go out and find it.” Coupled with his personal rule – i.e., to build products only for customers I actually want to be friends with – and you’ve got a recipe for product success. Even more than that, though, you’ve got a blueprint for research, discovery, and engagement that leads to better products and more interesting stuff to work on. Listen in to catch more of Rob’s “how to’s” on user engagement and workshopping: How (and where) to initiate the perfect learning conversation How keen focus on your MVA will help you build your MVP How to recognize compliments as the red flags that you’ve started asking bad questions How to match the 5 teaching formats with the type of content you’re teaching The post 61 / Simple Steps for High-Touch User Engagement appeared first on ITX Corp..

    As product people, how do we know when the time is right to “color outside the lines”? In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, award-winning product designer and strategist Bill Flora joins Sean and ITX’s Mike Thone (a designer/disruptor in his own right) to chip away at the question.  Maybe experiment with a new design approach or re-create some of the early Wild West days when design standards were the exception, not the rule. After all, isn’t that a fundamental piece of the innovation puzzle – standing convention on its head by doing something that hasn’t been done before? “I always feel like it’s our job to push,” Bill explains. “There are so many opportunities to innovate. But I also think there are areas where we can innovate within established patterns. You know, ‘let’s not try and reinvent here.’ At the end of the day, our job is to make sure our customers are happy.” Bill’s resume includes stints with Microsoft, Nike, MasterCard, and NASA. And he is currently the Chief Creative Officer at Blink, a user experience consulting and usability research firm. So if you’re keen on defining your brand through UX design and collaboration, Bill shares some key insights throughout the pod. He also defines design language and explains the key role it plays in boosting company culture and user experiences. Listen to hear more from Bill Flora, including – Enhancing wonder and discovery through communication and design at NASA Scrollytelling, the art of creating interactive experiences using content in multiple media to make stories come to life Setting priorities as a designer, making time for things that fit in your vision The post 60 / Define Your Brand With Innovative UX Design appeared first on ITX Corp..

    What does it really mean to be obsessed with serving your customers? How can we balance mission and vision to build great products? In this episode of Product Momentum, ITX product leader Matt Bush joins Sean in a lively conversation with Esteban Contreras, a Senior Director of Product Management at Hootsuite. Like many so organizations in the space, Hootsuite deftly adapted to a pandemic-driven business climate to continue serving customers from a fully remote work environment. Esteban shares how celebration and culture were key to this process. Some customers seem less concerned with the long-term vision of your product. Even product teams sometimes struggle to grasp their long-term goals when they don’t know the path for getting there. For some, Esteban adds, “A successful day simply means getting out of work on time.”  And that’s why mission is so important. Mission explains why we exist in the first place. It is our north star that gives meaning to our work. Along with culture, mission motivates employees to do more than the minimum. Listen in to catch more from Esteban Contreras; learn about his unique entrance into product management and cool ways to celebrate activities that are integral to customer success. The post 59 / Balance Mission & Vision For Great Products appeared first on ITX Corp..

    Innovation is important, especially for digital products. However, it can also be an annoyance if a clear focus on customer needs is not present. This is where continuous discovery comes into play, Teresa Torres explains. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean and Paul talk with Teresa Torres, a product discovery coach and author of Continuous Discovery Habits. Continuous discovery has numerous benefits for companies, product people, and customers, but product leaders must make time for continuous discovery on a weekly basis. Only by talking to customers can real value-producing innovation occur. Moving away from old-school ways of working can be difficult, no matter what industry your organization is in. Teresa says that you often have more influence than you might think and that a lot can be done if you have the confidence to “rock the boat a little bit.”  Listen to glean more valuable insights from Teresa, including:  Constantly evolving methods of work and how to contextualize them How Continuous Discovery and the Continuous Mindset are related to Agile principles The place for products that create joy, even if they don’t solve a problem How to get started, no matter how daunting a new initiative might seem The post 58 / Innovate With Continuous Discovery appeared first on ITX Corp..