From A to B

What REALLY is the impact of leadership in growing an experimentation? And is "stable leadership" something which may actually be messing up your ability to grow your program?This was something I wanted to enlist the thoughts from the "Taco King" himself, Lukas Vermeer. We went into some great thoughts and conversations around building trust, being perceived as a credible person to help you grow your experimentation program, and other important things related to leadership and experimentation. We got into: - How Lukas REALLY built anti-fragile experimentation at Booking.com (and how some parts MAY have been influenced by the ... Dutch Mafia?!)- The impacts of working from home to building and scaling experimentation (spoiler: it DOES make shit harder)- "Trust" and "Credibility" are two VERY important things in growing experimentation - how you actually GET those, well Lukas and Shiva have thoughtsTimestamps:00:00 Episode Start3:02 The Leadership at Booking.com (and how it WAS stable)8:57 Which Impacts Experimentation More? Stability or Trust?14:54 The Impact of Working From Home to Growing an Experimentation Program24:39 Making Experimentation Anti-Fragile (Along With A Fun Lukas Story About It)40:20 What CAN CRO Do When Leadership is Unstable47:29 How to be Credible Without Being Annoying51:03 “PREACH” : Manuel De CostaGo follow Lukas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukasvermeer/ And go follow Manuel on LinkedIn as well! https://www.linkedin.com/in/manueldacosta/ Also go follow Shiva on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/⁠If you like this content, go nominate us for a community award at: https://experimentationcultureawards.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too!

In this engaging discussion, Erika Sentz, a digital marketing manager at WP Engine and expert in solo Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), shares her unique insights. She emphasizes the importance of building relationships and effective communication while handling a solo CRO program. Erika introduces the 'first pancake theory,' illustrating that early mistakes can lead to growth. She also explores the art of delegation and strategies to manage stakeholder expectations, all while adding a humorous pancake twist to the journey of CRO management.

Do people have legitimate pushback to A/B testing? I mean, some don't. They just hate being proven wrong. But there are others who DO have legitimate pushback. How do we address this?Ton "The Don" Wesseling offered a ton of helpful thoughts on how we could actually push back on "logical" (but incorrect) reasons why people don't want to A/B test.We got into: - Pushing back on "not all tests win" without sounding like an asshole- Pick your battles wisely, and invest time in those who WANT to test (while don't prioritize those who DON'T want to test... for your own sanity)- Legitimize their concern. Don't talk down to them like they're wrong, because that doesn't help you, nor does it not help themTimestamps:00:00 Episode Start04:08 Pushing Back on "The Test May Not Win"09:50 Navigating Concerns on Testing Redesigns16:11 Addressing Pushback When It's One vs. Many People (to A/B testing)25:00 Someone Created Your CRO Role - Go Figure Out How To Be Helpful32:35 When "Winners" Don't Affect Your Bottom LineGo follow Ton on LinkedIn, and go nominate people who you think deserve Experimentation Culture awards run by Ton and others! (and feel free to nominate us there….)- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonwesseling/- https://experimentationcultureawards.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too!

Juliana Jackson, an expert in experimentation and CRO at MediaMonks, dives deep into the art of crafting effective hypotheses. She debunks common misconceptions and emphasizes that a good hypothesis isn't just a simple if/then statement. Juliana shares insights on aligning hypotheses with business goals and the importance of stakeholder feedback. She also introduces two essential information buckets for hypothesis presentation that many overlook. Tune in for valuable tips on turning your hypotheses from 'meh' to impactful!

Ryan Lucht, marketing lead at Eppo and expert in experimentation, dives into the concept of spaghetti testing, arguing its value in optimizing marketing strategies. He shares insights on the necessity of conducting more tests for meaningful data and the frustrations that come with roles in experimentation. The conversation highlights what can be learned from mature testing programs and emphasizes the importance of fostering a culture of experimentation within organizations to drive innovation.

What does it ACTUALLY mean to be "data driven", and are #CROs adequately data driven? Should we be MORE data driven? Are there some opportunities for us to actually leverage intuition more? Will Shiva keep asking Bhavik "The Sick" loaded questions?Short answer? Yes. Bhavik "The Sick" Patel and Shiva Manjunath discuss this pretty interesting topic, which may seem controversial, but there is actually a decent amount of truth to it. We got into: -What it ACTUALLY means to be data driven. Spoiler: the bar is pretty freaking high- Where are the legitimate (and not so legitimate) ways to utilize "intuition" in the CRO process- Your coworkers with domain expertise MAY have a point to override (some) data. As long as it's not entirely ego driven, we should hear them out!To be clear - we definitely aren't saying "throw away all data and never use it - trust intuition always forever for everything". There is some middle ground to be had, with some very legitimate reasons (some practical, some not) to introducing 'expertise' into the conversation IN ADDITION with data. There is always some middle ground 🙈 Timestamps:00:00 Episode Start02:39 Picking The Wrong Metrics = Not Data Driven6:25 Being "Data Driven" is a High Bar to Clear13:09 Do CROs NEED to be... TOO Data Driven?19:13 When the Results Don't Align With Basic Intuition (e.g. Twyman's law)24:22 Post-Production Shiva Clarifies what HARKing Really Means33:13 A Good CRO Has A Healthy Amount of Skepticism - Even When The Results Make Sense43:03 Shit You Need to Know: Nils StotzGo follow Bhavik LinkedIn.- https://www.linkedin.com/in/dodonerd/Make sure you go follow Nils Stotz and check out his post too! https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBNilsSubscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too!

Matt Green, a growth product owner at Form Assembly, and Moshe Mikanovsky, a product director and coach, dive deep into the distinctive yet overlapping worlds of product management and conversion rate optimization (CRO). They explore how effective communication can bolster team dynamics and foster trust. The duo humorously examines unexpected lessons from sociopaths and how they can enhance stakeholder management. Plus, they reveal the critical role of A/B testing in driving successful product strategies and the importance of collaboration in navigating uncertainties.

CROs are infallible. We believe data! We trust science over opinions! We are LITERALLY never wrong, right?Well, sometimes we may be right, but we can still be rude about it. 🫣 And no one wants to work with that one guy who, while they may be right, has to let everyone know how right they are EVERY. DAMN. TIME. I enlisted the help of Michael Aagaard, nicknamed "Shrek" (for very good reasons...) to explore how it is that some #CROs may actually be problematic. And how their own behavior may actually be the reason why CRO and experimentation isn't being adopted or used in an organization. We got into: - Messaging and tone matters. You may be right, but HOW you say it may be the difference between "let's run that test" and "I fucking hate that idea"- You're in the wrong industry if you are "testing to be right"- Balancing "confidence" without being "arrogant" as a CROTimestamps:00:00 Episode Start04:46 Soft Skills Which Indicate You May Be a Bad CRO13:05 Collaboration is Key - SEEKING Out That Collaboration Is King 18:26 It's Not What You Say - It's How You Say It26:05 Risk Tolerance IS Different for Everyone - Don't Project YOUR Risk Tolerance for Others33:25 Shit You Need to Know: Jason Haddock (How Layoffs Impact CRO)Go follow Michael Aagaard on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michalaagaard/)! And go check out Jason's post too! (https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBJason) Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too!

Guest Talia Wolf is the CEO of GetUplift.co and a renowned expert in conversion optimization, known for her emotional targeting techniques. In this discussion, she breaks down the distinction between tactical and strategic CRO, emphasizing the importance of research-led experimentation. Talia advocates starting with qualitative data to inform hypotheses and shift out of the 'tactical hamster wheel.' The conversation also dives into the effectiveness of website carousels and the role of UX in CRO, making a compelling case for data-driven decisions.

In this engaging conversation, Victoria Sakal, Head of Growth at Wonder and a UX research expert, sheds light on the intriguing overlap between UX and CRO. She reveals how UXers often misinterpret CRO roles and emphasizes the need for a collaborative mindset. Victoria advocates for integrating user motivations with conversion metrics, while also proposing a shared insights database to bridge the gap between teams. Discover her tips for overcoming biases and fostering a more data-driven, accessible approach to both UX and CRO.