Shows
NXC Podcast NetworkBreaking Into Product Management: John Fontenot’s Path2Product Revolution | Ready FireAim PodcastJoin host Thad Barnes on the Ready FireAim Podcast as he sits down with John Fontenot, co-founder and chief product officer of Path2Product.io. John shares his journey from struggling to break into product management to creating a platform that helps aspiring PMs gain hands-on experience and land their dream roles. Discover how Path2Product cuts through the noise with a practical curriculum, portfolio projects, and AI-driven tools to bridge the experience gap. Whether you’re pivoting careers or starting fresh, this episode is packed with insights to kickstart your product management journey! Connect with John on LinkedIn or...
2025-08-1131 min
Lessons In Product ManagementBecoming a T-Shaped Product ManagerSummary:In this episode of Lessons in Product Management, John discusses the importance of developing into a T-shaped product manager — someone who has deep expertise in one area but broad knowledge across many disciplines. He explains how the expectations of PMs are evolving, particularly with the rise of generative AI, and gives tactical advice on building a career growth roadmap.Timestamps:00:09 – Introduction to the episode and topic.00:23 – What is a T-shaped PM? (Depth and breadth explained)01:10 – Defining the core responsibility of a PM: creating customer value that dri...
2025-04-2813 minLessons In Product ManagementPost-Launch PM with Megan Shulby - Assoc. Director of Technical Product Management @ AT&TPodcast Summary: Megan Shulby on Post-Launch Product ManagementIntroduction & Megan’s Background01:24 - 02:01 – Megan Shulby is introduced; she and John connected via LinkedIn due to her content on underrated product management topics.02:01 - 04:39 – Megan shares her journey from Hollywood entertainment (e.g., The Biggest Loser) to digital marketing, leading to product management. She pursued graduate studies in Information Systems and Marketing to gain technical expertise.04:40 - 05:47 – She discusses how her media background, especially storytelling, plays a role in product management by aligning teams and ensuring a human-centered approach.05:48 - 08:59 – Megan emphasizes the importance of balancing technical and interpersonal skills in product...
2025-03-1226 minLessons In Product ManagementWill Gen AI Consolidate the PM and UX Roles?Episode Summary:In this episode, John Fontenot explores a thought-provoking topic: the potential consolidation of Product Management (PM) and User Experience (UX) roles due to advancements in Generative AI. He examines the overlap between these two disciplines, the evolving responsibilities of PMs and UX designers, and how organizations may react to increased efficiency through AI.Key Takeaways:1. Understanding the Unique Roles of PM and UX Designer (00:25 - 02:32) PMs focus on business objectives, prioritization, roadmaps, stakeholder management, and go-to-market strategies. UX designers specialize in information architecture, interaction...
2025-02-2515 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy the best Product Managers are NOT perfectionistsOn today's Lesson in Product Management, this one is for the perfectionists out there.
If you consider yourself a "creative" or an artist, you might be tempted to hide your work until you deem it "perfect" - but that could be hurting you more than you know. On this episode we break down why perfectionism hurts you and those around you and ultimately will set you back in your career and the progress you seek to make for customers.
If you're looking to get into product management but lack...
2025-01-2306 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy product marketers hate product managersIt's easy to get overly focused on "doing your job" as a product manager. Unfortunately, we risk taking too narrow of a view of what our job actually is.
When it comes to working with PMMs (product marketing managers), it's no different. And it's about time we start treating them like partners rather than someone we throw releases over the wall to and expect them to make our products sell.
If you're looking to get into product management and want the training and experience you need to get there...
2025-01-1311 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy "leaning into your strengths as a PM" is a trapSome of the greatest leaders and leadership authors have given the advice to "Lean into your strengths."
This idea makes sense in some instances. In other cases, it can handicap your career and growth trajectory.
If you want to get into product management and challenge yourself to gain much needed PM experience, join a growing community of 1,000+ aspiring product managers on Path2Product where we bridge the gap of product management experience for aspiring PMs.
2025-01-0309 minLessons In Product ManagementCreating win/win relationships with your stakeholdersWhat is your relationship like with your stakeholders? If you're not treating them like partners, I can promise you it's not great.
In this episode, we share how to build great relationships with your "stakeholders" and create win/win relationships that stop making stakeholders feel like blockers to your desired progress.
If you're looking to get into product management, join us at Path2Product to get the knowledge, experience, and coaching you need to make that transition and accelerate your path to product management!
2024-11-2910 minLessons In Product ManagementWhen process kills progress - a story about ScrumOn today's lesson in product management, John Fontenot shares a recent story about his experience working in a Scrum shop and how the rigid interpretation of Scrum almost killed his ability to ship a critical integration on time.
If you're interested in entering product management and want to gain the hands-on experience you need to make that leap, join us at Path2Product and start earning much-needed experience today.
2024-11-1808 minLessons In Product ManagementBring me problems. Don't bring me solutions.The difference between regular managers and product managers...
Regular manager: "Don't bring me problems. Bring me solutions!"
Product Manager: "Don't bring me solutions. Bring me problems"
It's our job to care more about the problem driving the request for a solution than the solution itself. But it can be hard navigating those conversations with large customers or senior stakeholders. On this lesson in product management, we discuss this reality and practical tips for dealing with it.
If you enjoy...
2024-11-0809 minLessons In Product ManagementThe tension between research and shipping productsHello and welcome in to another episode of Lessons in Product Management, I’m your host, John Fontenot, and on today’s episode I have Paul Turaew on to talk about his journey into product management and we riff on a number of topics in research. Paul’s a long-time PM, having held a variety of Sr. IC and Director of Product Management roles in Healthcare. Some of the topics we cover on today’s episode include the tension between research and shipping products, what’s the “MVP” of research, changing the culture and perception of research inside of organizations...
2024-10-0838 minLessons In Product ManagementHow to conduct research for internal products with Stephanie Jerome - Product Manager at OkoyaOn today’s episode, I got to speak with Stephanie Jerome, Product Manager at Akoya. Stephanie has a ton of experience managing internal products, and that was the focus of our conversation today. Stephanie also shared how she got her start in product management and lessons she’s learned along the way.
If you’re managing or considering managing internal products or looking to get your first shot at a PM job, this is a great episode to check out!
If you're looking to get into product management, you can get...
2024-09-2424 minLessons In Product ManagementSLG better than PLG?! What research says with Emilia Korczynska, Head of Marketing at UserpilotOn today’s episode, we have Emilia Kortrynska, Head of Marketing at UserPilot. In the discussion with Emilia, we talk about some incredibly interesting research that came out of UserPilot recently about how Sales Led Growth appears to beat Product Led Growth in many categories. Which to PLG evangelists like myself, really caught me off guard. But we discuss why quant data is only one piece of the story and why you need to balance quant with qual research and the benefits of research in general.
PLG vs SLG research data
...
2024-09-1030 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy you should never pay for customer interviewsIt's a hotly debated topic, whether you should always pay customers for their time when sourcing and conducting interviews.
Spoiler alert! I think you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you make it a habit of paying customers for feedback.
In this episode, we unpack all the reasons why you should never pay customers for interviews and the benefits you'll see as a result.
If you're looking to get into product management or interested in up-leveling your product sense through a portfolio project, check us out at Path2Product
For the...
2024-08-2920 minLessons In Product ManagementThe Catch 22 of User Interview PrepThere are pros and cons to preparing for user research. As they say, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. And the same is true with prepping for research.
On this episode, we break down the benefits of user interview preparation and the potential drawbacks if you let perfection become the enemy of progress.
If you're looking to get into product management but lack hands on experience, check out Path2Product where you get high-quality PM training AND the ability to put your learning into practice to get...
2024-08-2114 minLessons In Product ManagementWe're back! Thanks for sticking with us.After taking a year off to focus on work and life, we're back and excited to be back!
We've been building ResearchRepo for Product teams to collaborate, consolidate, and communicate research that ties back to company goals and objectives.
I've started a new role as VP of Product at Terlumina
But we're doubling down on Path2Product to help aspiring and junior product managers get the experience and practice they need to land their first job or uplevel their product sense
2024-08-0705 minLessons In Product ManagementWhat's Missing In Prioritization Frameworks?There are great frameworks for prioritizing features, but what if prioritizing features isn't the right approach? We dig into why opportunity costs are the most underrated variables in prioritizing Product decisions.
If you're looking to get into product management, come join us at Path2Product to gain the hands-on PM experience you need to land your first product role.
0:00-4:20 - Episode Intro
4:20-6:54 Opportunity Cost in Action
6:54-8:50 - Economics in Product Management?
8:50-17:52 - NFL Draft Example
2023-03-1417 minLessons In Product Management5 Key Elements of Successful Product Launches with Derek Osgood - Founder and CEO of IgnitionThis week's lesson in product management is brought to you by Derek Osgood, Founder and CEO of Ignition. If your product launches are less than ideal, you should listen to what Derek has to say. Even if you're launches go well, there are great tips on how to optimization the success of your launches.
0:00-0:32 - Podcast intro
0:32-2:30 - Derek’s Intro
2:30-4:15 - Who is Ignition for?
4:15-4:40 - Where to find Ignition
4:40-8:40 - The PM/PMM Disconnect
8:40-10:23 - Aligning PM/PMM Teams
...
2023-02-2224 min
Lessons In Product ManagementProduct Management Essentials - Part 3 - Drafting Product StrategyAs you wrap up the last 30 days of your 30, 60, 90-day onboarding, it's time to start drafting strategy. In this episode I break down how to do that with a simple framework and how to shrink the timeline if you don't have 90 days to get it done in a new position.
Here's the episode with Randal Whitmore
Here's the link to the product strategy development course on YouTube
Join us on Path2Product if you're looking for the Product Management experience you need to land a PM job
2023-02-0207 minLessons In Product ManagementWhen ideation is a waste of timeMany answers to the question of "why do you want to be a product manager" have some variation of "ideation." While ideation and solutioning are definitely part of product management, it's by far NOT the most important thing to get right.
If you're looking to get into product management, join us at Path2Product to streamline your path to product management
2023-01-1608 minLessons In Product ManagementProduct Manager Anti-Patterns (Ego) w/ Eva Beasley, Product Manager at UIPathOn today's episode, Eva Beasley shares her experience before and after getting into Product Management. One of the things she noticed about some of the PMs she interacted with was an anti-pattern that needed to be addressed, so we did so here.
If you're looking to get into Product Management, join us on Path2Product where we're bridging the gap in product management experience for aspiring PMs.
Episode Notes:
0:00-1:30 - Eva Beasley Intro
1:30-2:36 - Eva’s Role at UI Path
2:36-6:15 - Eva’s Path to Product
6:15-12:28 - Anti-Pat...
2022-10-1818 minLessons In Product ManagementPath to Product Leadership w/ Eric Perkins - Director of Product @ EntrataEric Perkins is the Director of Product at Entrata. And as Eric describes his career, it feels like he has a rocket attached to his back. In this discussion, Eric and I talk through how he got into product management, how he quickly rose into a leadership role, and what he's learned along the way.
Connect with Eric and follow him on Medium: https://medium.com/@ericsperkins
Join us at @Path 2 Product on Path2Product to accelerate your own path to product, mentor aspiring PMs, or find highly talented, Jr. Product Talent
0:00-1:35 - Epis...
2022-10-0430 minLessons In Product Management5 Immutable Truths of Great Product ManagementOn today's episode, we have JJ Rorie, CEO of Great Product Management and Author of 5 Immutable Truths of Great Product Management, and you're in for a treat! Don't miss out on this great episode as we dive deep into building high customer intelligence, the first Immutable Truth of Great Product Management
If you're looking to land your first job as a product manager, join us at Path2Product to streamline your path to product management
2022-08-2322 minLessons In Product ManagementBuilding Strong Product Team Dynamics w/ NicoNico joined the show to share his advice and experience on building strong product team relationships.
If you're looking to get into product management, you'll need experience. Start gaining tangible product manager experience today on your Path2Product
0:00-0:52 - Episode Intro
0:52-2:08 - Introducing Nico
2:08-4:20 - Defining Team Building
4:20-11:08 - Gaining Team Alignment
11:08-15:55 - Diversity of Thought
15:55-18:20 - Small Steps To Building Relationships
18:20-19:04 - Outro
2022-07-2719 minLessons In Product ManagementTransitioning Intro Product Management w/ Larry Imgrund - Product Manager at KhorosMaking the transition into product management can be hard. Larry Imgrund shares how he did it, and he offers advice for anyone looking to get into Product or anyone who has recently made that transition.
If you're looking to get into product management, join us at Path2Product to start gaining the experience you need to land your first PM job: Path2Product
2022-07-0522 minLessons In Product ManagementUser-Driven Roadmaps w/ Matt Young - CEO of UserVoiceShould users or customers drive your roadmap decisions? The answer is yes AND no. Like everything in product management, it depends... and Matt and I dive deep into the topic.
If you want to get into product management, join us at Path2Product to get the experience and visibility you need to land your first product job.
Check out UserVoice and start collecting more robust and actionable customer feedback today
2022-06-2121 minLessons In Product ManagementEssentials of Product Management Part 2 - Customer and Market ResearchOn this episode, we get "out of the building" to start learning about our customers and the markets we serve and want to serve. After understanding your business, objectives, and strategy, this is the next step before being ready enough to start mapping out a strategic direction for your team or organization.
If you're looking to get into product management, join us at Path2Product where you'll get the training and hands-on experience you need to streamline your path into product management.
2022-06-0707 minLessons In Product ManagementProduct Management Essentials - Part 1 - Business AcumenGetting back to the basics of product management, my goal in this multi-part series is to demystify product management for new and aspiring product managers.
If you're looking to break into product management, join us at Path2Product where you'll gain the experience you need to land your first product management job.
2022-05-3109 minLessons In Product ManagementNever Assume - Cross Over Episode w/ JJ Rorie CEO of Great Product Management and Host of the Product Voices Podcast - Part 2On this cross-over episode, I joined JJ Rorie's Product Voices Podcast to share the last 5 chapters of my book, Never Assume - Ten Fatal Assumptions Great PMs Never Make
Be sure to subscribe to the Product Voices Podcast and follow JJ on Twitter at her handle above.
If you're looking to get into product management, come join us at Path2Product
If you're an experienced PM interested in helping provide feedback on the portfolio projects of aspiring PMs, please join us at Path2Product
2022-05-2422 minLessons In Product ManagementNever Assume Crossover Episode w/ JJ Rorie, CEO of Great Product Management and Host of the Product Voices Podcast - Part 1On this cross-over episode, I joined JJ Rorie's Product Voices Podcast to share the first 5 chapters of my book, Never Assume - Ten Fatal Assumptions Great PMs Never Make
Be sure to subscribe to the Product Voices Podcast and follow JJ on Twitter at her handle above.
If you're looking to get into product management, come join us at Path2Product
If you're an experienced PM interested in helping provide feedback on the portfolio projects of aspiring PMs, please join us at Path2Product
2022-05-1725 minLessons In Product ManagementProduct Manager Symptoms and Effects of Ego with Tony Poon - Chief Product Officer at R-ZeroOn today's episode, we have the pleasure of learning from Tony Poon, Chief Product Officer at R-Zero. We tackle the difficult topic of ego, where it comes from, what the symptoms are, and what the effects of ego come to be.
To connect with Tony, request to connect on LinkedIn
If you're an aspiring PM, check out Path2Product to help you on your journey by building product management experience and a product portfolio to prove it
2022-04-2724 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy Great Product Managers Never Argue
Great PMs are like sponges, they soak in info from anywhere
We can’t assume we’re always right, we don’t have all information, and the info we have is not always perfect or correct
We need allies - we can’t ship successful products on our own
However:
We should have an opinion - we just don’t always have to express it in an argumentative fashion
This doesn’t mean we say yes to everything - we can’t be order takers
So, if we can’t say yes, then how do we say no… we don’t - the bes...
2022-04-1910 minLessons In Product ManagementGetting Into Product Management Part 2 - PracticeYou need experience to land a product job, but how do you get it? In this episode, I unpack two feasible ways of gaining and documenting tangible experience to help create your own path to product.
Check out our blog series on Path2Product:
2022-03-2909 minLessons In Product ManagementPowerful Ideation for Better Decision-Making Part 2 - Group IdeationIn this episode, I share 3 tactics for making better decisions in a group setting. Help your team and your organization take your decision-making capabilities to the next level. Your company and your customers will thank you.
Subscribe to the Path2Product YouTube channel for free product management courses and exclusive video content
2022-03-0809 minLessons In Product ManagementPowerful Ideation for Better Decision-Making - Part 1 - Individual DecisionsThere's no shortage of debate as to whether individual or group ideation yields better results. We're not going to take sides. What we're going to do is explore how to make better decisions by generating better ideas, regardless of the setting you're in. In Part 1, we examine a few ways you can increase your decision success rate by generating better ideas.
For more and exclusive video content, subscribe to the Path2Product YouTube channel
2022-02-2806 minLessons In Product Management3 Tips for Greater Feature AdoptionMost features never get adopted, and I'm betting these three tips will help shift your success ratio upward.
Be sure to rate and review the podcast!
Subscribe to the Path2Product YouTube Channel for exclusive video content.
2022-02-2307 minLessons In Product ManagementMVP vs MTP - Change The Narrative!It’s funny how first releases have become synonymous with MVPs, but how many first releases have you seen that are able to stand on their own and sustain a business? In the early days it’s about testing and learning. You want Minimum TESTABLE Products
If you wait until you have something you think is a fully coded up MVP with what you believe to be the features that make the product minimally viable, you’re almost guaranteed to be wrong.
You can support the podcast for .99 a month by clicking the link below, and fo...
2022-01-2709 minLessons In Product ManagementMeasuring Customer Sentiment feat. Pranav Desai - Chief Product Officer at ReputationOn today’s episode you’ll hear from Pranav Desai, Chief Product Officer at Reputation. We covered a ton of ground in the thirty minutes or so we talked, so don’t feel bad if you have to listen twice to take it all in. You’ll hear us talk about:
Why one customer’s feedback isn’t the end all be all for decision making
Why Product should own voice of the customer
How to balance quantitative data with qualitative.
How to distinguish between signals and noise
And so much more.
Be sure to subscribe to...
2022-01-1925 minLessons In Product ManagementShipping Viable Products? What Does That Even Mean?!You hear product people talk about feasibility, usability, and viability all the time as the three core variables product managers should care about. The typical definition of viability looks a lot like ROI, but today we challenge that narrow view of viability and expand the definition.
Follow us on the Path2Product YouTube Channel for more content and access to the slides!
2021-12-2808 minLessons In Product ManagementThere's A Problem With OKRsOKRs are great, but they are NOT a replacement for strategy. To find the slides and subscribe, go to the Path2Product YouTube Channel
2021-12-2022 minLessons In Product ManagementHow Product Strategy Works With Product Discovery, featuring Henry Latham - Founder and CEO of ProdMBAAs we wrap up season 4 of Lessons in Product Management, we’re going to hear from Henry Latham, Founder and CEO of ProdMBA. Before starting ProdMBA, Henry served in UX and Product leadership roles for a variety of companies and has taken his experience and used it to produce a great book, “Product Leadership Starts With You,” as well as launch ProdMBA to fast track your career from PM to head of product. On this episode Henry and I break down product strategy and how it works in conjunction with product discovery. We’ve looked at product discovery from so many...
2021-11-2928 minLessons In Product ManagementStartup vs Enterprise - Lessons in Product Discovery featuring Taylor Heyman - PM @ LendioWelcome back to Lessons in Product Management. it is November 22nd, 2021, and today we are chatting with Taylor Heyman, Product Manager at Lendio. Yes, we are co-workers, but I learned a lot about Taylor and his career in product that I didn’t know before this discussion. You see, Taylor’s PM career started in startups but how he get his start might surprise you.
Taylor’s shares his unique experience running discovery in startups and what he learned from those experiences and how to balance the need for discovery with the need to deliver value, while keepin...
2021-11-2229 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy Great Product Leaders Create Space For Product Discovery featuring Elena Leonova - VP of Product @ BigCommerceOn today’s episode, I sat down with Elena Leonova, VP of Product at BigCommerce. With a decade of product management experience, I really wanted to get Elena’s take on Product Discovery and how it’s perceived from a product leadership point of view
We discussed how Elena got into Product by accidentally taking a Business Analyst role. And after reading Marty Cagan and getting inspired, Elena decided she’d make a pivot from BA to PM. Now as a product leader, Elena works to create space for her PMs to focus on the important work of produ...
2021-11-1525 minLessons In Product ManagementCreating Organizational Alignment Through Discovery - Featuring Duy "Duhwee" Pham - Product Manager @ HREasilyOn today’s episode we get to hear from Duy Pham, Product Manager at HREasily. We’ll hear about Duy’s really interesting path into product, how to create organizational alignment through discovery, and the 4 quadrants of discovery that need to be considered to get a holistic picture of your customer and the market at large.
Join our Path2Product community for free courses, exclusive content, and great product people to network with
2021-11-0833 minLessons In Product ManagementA Growth PM's Perspective On Discovery w/ Austin Yang - Sr. Product Manager @ LandbotOn today's episode, we get to learn from Austin Yang, Sr. PM at Landbot. Austin shared his journey from SDR to Sr. PM, his perspective on discovery, and the differences he's seen in Discovery between being a Core PM vs a Growth PM.
Join our Product Management community at Path2Product where you get access to free resources, courses, and exclusive content and AMAs. If you're an Aspiring PM, the courses will give you the hands on experience you need to land your first PM role.
2021-11-0124 minLessons In Product ManagementUsing Customer Discovery for Market Validation featuring Jaudat Ali - Product Manager @ Toggl TrackFor free Product Management training, join us at Path2Product
On today's episode, we get to hear from Jaudat Ali. Jaudat started as a startup founder before turning to PM, and now he works at Toggl Track as a Product Manager
One of my favorite quotes from this conversation is: “You can’t understand customer problems unless you talk to them.”
And we talk a little bit about how to get product management experience before you have the job.
2021-10-2534 minLessons In Product ManagementBalancing customer discovery and market discovery w/ Jon Gatrell - Chief Product Officer @ Loren Data CorpJon shared a ton of great insights about discovery. Here are just a few of the points covered in this episode:
The core skill to develop for discovery
Using discovery to identify and enter new markets
Balancing customer discovery w/ market discovery
Build for markets, not for customers
You’re not following the scientific method if you start with a hypothesis. You have to start with an observation. Hypotheses are only legit if they’re driven from an observation
You can’t be emotionally attached to ideas. Invalidating hypotheses early is just as valuable as building good ideas
...
2021-10-1831 minLessons In Product ManagementCommunicating Product StrategyHow often do I need to remind stakeholders about the product strategy? Can my product strategy be changed or tweaked based on market and customers needs? These are great questions I was asked recently in the Path2Product Community after one of our members finished the Product Strategy Development Course so I figured I'd share my answer with the entire Lessons in Product Management audience.
2021-09-2810 minLessons In Product Management30, 60, 90 Day PM Onboarding Best PracticesStarting fast in your career or at a new company require you to know where to start. Join me in this episode to learn best practices on how to approach your first 30, 60, and 90 days as a PM at a new company.
For free courses on Product Management, and the Product Strategy Development course I mentioned in the episode, join us at Path2Product for free!
You can also find more content on our Path2Product YouTube Channel
2021-09-2012 minLessons In Product ManagementDeveloping Your Product Mindset w/ Matt and Moshe - PMs and Hosts of the Product for Product PodcastCheck out Moshe's book: The Resurrector
Subscribe to the Path2Product YouTube Channel
Join us at path2product.io for free courses, a growing community, and exclusive content
2021-08-1745 minLessons In Product ManagementBuilding Your Product Sense w/ Peter Knudson - Product Strategy @ EA Sports and Braxton Bragg - Product Director @ LaikaGrab a copy of Product Sense on Amazon
Check out the Path2Product YouTube Channel
Leave us a voice message with feedback or donate to help support the podcast
2021-08-1053 minLessons In Product ManagementCrafting Better Solutions to Customer ProblemsTo craft better solutions to customer problems, we have to precisely define the problems first. We discuss how to do this and why you need to tie the problems you choose to solve to the business objective you need to achieve.
Join our product community on Path2Product and explore our various paid and free courses
Subscribe to the Path2Product YouTube Channel for exclusive video content
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2021-08-0314 minLessons In Product ManagementStakeholder Management is really Information ManagementYou don't manage stakeholders, but you NEED to management information and expectations. Period.
Join our product community at Path2Product
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2021-07-2904 minLessons In Product ManagementCommunicating Product Requirements More Effectively with DevelopersIs the dev team confused about the PRD you just handed them? Is what gets built different than what you intended? Either way... it's YOUR fault. It's our responsibility to ensure what we intend to communicate is received as intended. In this episode, I talk through some of the reasons why developers don't interpret requirements as you intended and what you can do about it.
Join us on Path2Product for a great community, free courses, and an opportunity to gain the experience you need to land your first PM job
Subscribe to the YouTube c...
2021-07-2610 minLessons In Product ManagementHow great Product Managers are able to say “no”Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
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2021-07-1915 minLessons In Product ManagementDark Launching - What is it and why do it?After the last two Monday episodes, I saw a gap in the discussion on "Testing in Production." This episode should close the loop by giving another view into productive ways to ship and test in a production environment.
Join our community for free and paid courses, mentorship, and AMAs on Path2Product
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for exclusive content!
You can donate as little as .99 a month to help support the podcast!
2021-07-1209 minLessons In Product ManagementTransitioning from Design to Product w/ UKP - Global Strategic Design Director @ DesignitJoin our growing community of aspiring and seasoned PMs on Path2Product
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2021-07-0128 minLessons In Product ManagementWhen to test for desirabilityJoin our community on Path2Product
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If you're in the habit of simply prioritizing problems, coming up with solutions, and shipping those features, then you're missing a huge part of your job and putting your launches at greater risk of failure. Testing for desirability is key and knowing when to do it is vital!
Follow, share, and rate and review the podcast to help others find us as we continue to bring you great content every week!
2021-06-2807 minLessons In Product ManagementNo Straight Path In Product Management Careers w/ Deepti Tadala - Sr. PM @ PayPalDeepti and I chat through our paths to product and how there's not one singular path to breaking into the field and how varied the role of product management can be.
Join our community on Path2Product
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2021-06-2423 minLessons In Product ManagementManaging Stakeholders and Roadmap PrioritiesEver feel like your roadmap prioritization keeps getting upended due to feedback from customers and stakeholders? Don't let it.
Join the path2product community here
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2021-06-2110 minLessons In Product ManagementSeason 3 Kickoff - Ask me anything!This is the announcement of Season 3 of Lessons in Product Management!
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2021-06-1401 minLessons In Product ManagementIntro to Product Strategy Development - From My Upcoming Course Release!This episode is an excerpt from the Product Strategy Development course I built and published inside of the Path2Product platform. Enjoy!
Download the Product Strategy Template
Join us at Path2Product to see the rest of the course
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2021-06-0105 minLessons In Product ManagementBig Announcement!To stay updated and see early drafts of the upcoming book, join us at Path2Product!
And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!
2021-05-1803 minLessons In Product ManagementAligning your company around JTBD w/ Bob Moesta - President and CEO of the ReWired GroupDon't forget to subscribe on YouTube for exclusive content
If you're looking to break into Product Management, join us at Path2Product to accelerate your career into Product
To help support the podcast, you can donate here
On today's episode, I welcome the one and only Bob Moesta to share how we can effectively align our organizations around the progress our customers are trying to make, that job to be done they hire our products for. Bob is a long-time builder and is famous for the work he did with Clay Christensen in...
2021-05-1036 minLessons In Product ManagementThe Downfall of Success Metrics featuring Lance Douglas - Product Manager @ VitruviIf you're trying to get into Product Management, sign up for a free trial of our PM Certification for hands-on, practical PM experience at Path2Product
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Help support the podcast by donating here
Here's what we discussed:
Lance is a PM at Vitruvi in B2B SaaS focused on the Construction Market
If you're not following through on success, you've really lost sight on why you build product to begin with
The problem with trying to call something successful if you didn't establish a baseline
...
2021-05-0324 minLessons In Product ManagementFrom PM to CEO with Rich Sanchez - Co-Founder of Pierson Equity and CEO of Product FitLand your first PM role with Path2Product
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Here's what we discussed:
Rich's journey from Product Management at places like Disney, Johnson&Johnson, and startups to running his own Private Equity firm
The value of communication skills and how leadership requires the ability to learn different languages. Not Spanish or French, but Finance, Marketing, etc.
How Product demoing skills helps sell ideas to investors or Boards of Directors
Why it's important to embrace failure and learning when taking educated...
2021-04-2932 minLessons In Product ManagementWhat Makes A Product Great, Featuring Jorge Rodriguez Ramos - Head of Product @ FemtasyJoin us for the live podcast and AMA sessions at path2product.io
On today's episode, I had the pleasure of having Jorge Rodriguez Ramos, Head of Product at Femtasy, on the pod. We had a great chat about the characteristics of what makes a product great. This conversation stemmed from a fantastic article he wrote on the Mind the Product blog back in May of 2020, and I reached out to see if Jorge would be willing to connect and go deeper.
Here's what we discussed:
Jorge took his love for art into Graphic D...
2021-04-1927 minLessons In Product ManagementCrucial Career Conversations for Product Managers featuring Ryan Seamons - Founder at Groove and former Director of Product @DegreedGrab your copy of the Career Clarity Cards from Groove to step up your career conversations game
On today's episode, we decided to switch it up a bit. With the rise in popularity of platforms like Clubhouse and the popularity of AMA (ask me anything) sessions, I decided to start periodically running live podcast episodes with audience involvement. This was the first one, and I call these AMAA sessions (ask me almost) sessions, because we're going to focus on a particular topic. If you want to get involved in the live sessions, head over to Path2Product...
2021-03-2228 minLessons In Product ManagementStakeholder Empathy - Never ASSUME Stakeholder PrioritiesBe sure to join the free community at MentorMesh.io and check out the PM Career Accelerator from MentorMesh.
On this episode, I dive into the topic of stakeholder empathy. Assuming stakeholder priorities is the antithesis to empathy. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to start building trust with stakeholders and creating alignment for your organization as a PM.
In this conversation I cover:
Internal Stakeholders - the Product Team
Internal Stakeholders - your Cross-Functional Partners
External Stakeholders - your customers or users
And I give a few questions to be asking to ea...
2021-02-2516 minLessons In Product ManagementGood PMs Never Assume Development EffortAccelerate your path to product by joining us at Path2Product to get the hands-on experience you need to land your first Product job.
On this episode, I break down why you should never assume development effort. Save yourself some headache and heartache. Save your developers some stress. And save your cross-functional partners the disappointment.
2021-02-1911 minLessons In Product ManagementGood Product Managers Never Assume Competitors Are CorrectOn part 1 of "Never Assume Competitors Are Correct", I'll discuss the pitfalls of copying competitors and why it's never a good idea.
If you're looking to get into Product Management, be sure to check us out at path2product.io where you'll have the opportunity to gain the hands-on experience you need to break into your first role as a Product Manager
2021-02-0404 minLessons In Product ManagementHow to be successful when entering crowded markets with Max and Patrick, Co-Owners of America One Luxury Real EstateThis is episode two of the Why Products Fail series and on this episode, I sat down with Max de Melo and Patrick Niederdrenk, Co-Owners of America One Luxury Real Estate, to talk about how to successfully break into crowded markets and why so many fail trying. Whether you're launching a startup or in a product team trying to introduce a new product into an existing and crowded market, you'll be glad you took the time to listen.
Here's what we talked about:
Both originally from Germany, Max and Patrick knew they wanted to work together a...
2020-09-1427 minLessons In Product ManagementNew Series! Why Products Fail - Episode One with Kevin Garrett - Co-Founder of Food4All GlobalOn today's episode, I sat down with Kevin Garret, Founder and CEO of Food4All. What started out as volunteer work in urban farming turned into a passion-based business to help lower-income families develop a livelihood around the world. Kevin learned many lessons on his startup journey, and what he learned from key, early failures helped to shape his startup's success today.
Here's what we talked about:
The origin story of how urban farming in the Bay Area turned into an ag-tech startup for the developing world
After realizing this could be a business, Kevin and h...
2020-09-0734 minLessons In Product ManagementNew Series Kickoff - Why Products FailThis is the announcement of our new series kicking off on September 6th called "Why Products Fail"
Also announcing a new platform to democratize product management experience for aspiring product managers that will be launching at the end of September! Stay tuned for more details and updates and the platform progresses toward release!
2020-08-3107 minLessons In Product ManagementEarning company-wide buy-in through corporate storytelling with Kristy Olinger - SVP Product ManagementOn today's episode, I sat down with Kristy Olinger, Portfolio Optimization Manager at Citizens Bank, and former SVP of Product at Bank of America. In Kristy's experience, with or without direct authority, it's vital for Product Managers and Product Leaders to gain buyin through influence, and Kristy has found storytelling to be the #1 tool for earning company-wide buyin. That's what we're going to dig into today, so let's get started.
Here's what we talked about:
The underappreciated skill of corporate story-telling
Kristy's podcast "the opposite of small talk"
How different companies function in terms of how m...
2020-08-2419 minLessons In Product ManagementThe Partnership Between User Research and Product Management with Nikki Anderson - User Research Lead @ Zalando and Founder of User Research AcademyOn today's episode, I sat down with Nikki Anderson, User Research Lead at Zalando and Founder of User Research Academy. Nikki started her user research career about 7 years ago, with a foundation in quantitative research but has since shifted focus to specialize in qualitative user research where Nikki has worked in B2B, B2C, B2B2C and has both worked as a freelancer and worked in corporate settings. After having started her career in New York, Nikki has since moved to Germany where Zalando is based. With such a robust and diverse background in user research Nikki...
2020-08-1730 minLessons In Product ManagementThe biggest mistakes that inhibit product growth w/ Dan Griffith - President and Griffith Growth ConsultingOn today's episode, I sat down with Dan Griffith, President of Griffith Growth Consulting, where Dan helps early stage B2B software and services companies by helping them find and engage their target market, and sell their product. In Dan's experience, there are key mistakes that early stage startups make that inhibit their ability to grow, and he was kind enough to jump on the podcast to share. And I'll note, this advice is absolutely applicable to established organizations who are launches new products.
Here's what we discussed:
Why not knowing your customer or who your t...
2020-08-1019 minLessons In Product ManagementThe Good and Bad of Emotional Decision Making w/ Nick Sonnenberg - CEO of LeverageOn today's episode, I sat down with Nick Sonnenberg, CEO of Leverage. getleverage.com Before Leverage, Nick was a high frequency trader on Wall Street, building algorithms to programmatically trade stock at micro-second speed. Back in May, Nick published an article on Inc. called "How to remove emotion from your decision making". I loved the article and thought of how relevant it was to product management so, I had to have Nick on to dive a bit deeper into the topic.
Here's what we discussed:
Why emotional decisions can be more informed than you think
How y...
2020-08-0316 minLessons In Product ManagementHow PMs Can More Effectively Manage Stress w/ Lolita Guarin - Author, Speaker, and Certified Stress Management CoachOn today's episode, I sat down with Lolita Guarin, Author, Speaker, and Stress Management Coach. Originally from Lithuania, Lolita moved to the States to pursue her American dream. She landed in Texas and quickly began climbing up the corporate ladder. Afraid to say no, Lolita quickly saw her health decline and work/life balance come undone. After learning some natural ways to reduce and overcome stress, Lolita started giving advice to friends and colleagues until eventually seeing stress management coaching as her calling and getting certified. Today, Lolita is going to share how we can more effectively manage stress...
2020-07-2728 minLessons In Product ManagementProduct Management in a startup vs a mature organization with Nicholas Hinrichsen & Chris Coleman, former Directors of Product at Carvana and Co-Founders of WithClutchOn today's episode, I sat down with Nicholas Hinrichsen & Chris Coleman, former Directors of Product at Carvana and Co-Founders of WithClutch.
If you need to refinance your car or want to check out what thy're working on, head over to withclutch.com
Here's what we discussed:
Who the product manager is in a startup versus a mature company
What differs in product priority at these different stages
How communication goes from informal to more formal the more your company matures
Why innovation seems to slow down as companies grow
One of the reasons breaking...
2020-07-2025 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy Product Managers Should Care About Empathic Design with John Garratt - Product Manager @ PerspectumOn today's episode, I sat down with John Garratt, Product Manager at Perspectum Diagnostics.
Here's what we talked about:
How John first discovered the need for combining empthic design into the product discovery and delivery process
Why it's so important to take an empathetic approach to product and ux design
How in many industries, the experience of the user is still an afterthought
How empathy starts with connecting and engaging with your users
The trends in experience personalization
Why everyone who touches the customer in an organization should be collecting and sharing customer needs and insights
...
2020-07-1322 minLessons In Product ManagementHow Salesforce develops personas and does customer validation w/ Dinesh Rajasekharan - Director of Product @ SalesforceFor today's episode, i sat down with Dinesh Rajasekharan, Director of Product at Salesforce. Dinesh shared how he develops personas, performs validation with customers, and prioritizes around his primary personas.
Here's what we've discussed:
The first law of product management
How to expand your view of who your customer is and the range of personas you serve
Why personas are even more critical in highly technical products
How to prioritize the personas you build for
What core aspects of product management that don't change, regardless of your product or industry
How to prioritize your core focus a...
2020-07-0622 minLessons In Product ManagementHow IBM Does Product Management w/ Zia Mohammad, Senior Product Manager at IBMOn today's episode, I sat down with Zia Mohammad, Senior Product Manager at IBM,
Zia has had amazing career growth while at IBM and after speaking with him, you can tell why. Zia is incredibly passionate about product management and has a wealth of insight to share.
Here are some of the things we discussed:
What Zia does at IBM and the products he focuses on.
What a day in the life looks like at IBM as a PM and the scope of the role.
We recorded on a Friday, so Zia played back what...
2020-06-2924 minLessons In Product ManagementThe Truth About Customer Feedback w/ Raoul Friedrich Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer at Building RadarOn today's episode, I sat down with Raoul Friedrich Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer at Building Radar
Here's what we discussed:
How Raoul pivoted from engineering to product and founded Building Radar
Why feature requests should never be taken at face value
How you can train other departments such as sales and customer support to deliver more valuable feedback
Why you should throw out your feature backlog and substitute it for a problem backlog
Focusing on outcomes versus outputs
How features get outdated but problems never do and how to prioritize which problems you focus on solving
...
2020-06-2215 minLessons In Product ManagementWhat You Wish You Knew About Working With UX Leads w/Zach Daley - UX Product Design Lead @ Overstock.comOn today's episode, I sat down with Zach Daley, UX Product Design Lead at Overstock.com to chat about what a day in the life of a UX Design Lead looks like and how PMs can work more effective with their UX Leads.
Here's some of the things we discussed:
What a day in the life of a UX Design Lead looks like, from leadership to individual contributions
The biggest challenges UX Design Leads face and how much it intersects with the same core challenges Product Managers face
Some of the biggest misconceptions about UX Design a...
2020-06-1518 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy You Should Include Devs Early in Design w/Jeff Pease - Sr. Product Designer @SwipeClockOn today's episode, I sat down with Jeff Pease, Sr. Product Designer @ SwipeClock. Jeff has been in design his whole career, but he's had to evolve as industry trends led him into new territories. But even with the digital disruption of the 21st Century, one thing has remained constant for Jeff, the need to include developers early on in the design process.
Here's what we discussed:
Jeff shares how he's in daily discussions with developers, regardless of what stage of the product development lifecycle his team may be in.
Daily discussions are essential in a true ag...
2020-06-0822 minLessons In Product ManagementHow To Effectively Develop and Cascade Product Strategy In Your Org w/Chris Bee - Sr. Director of Product Development at ZillowOn today's episode, I sat down with Chris Bee, Senior Director of Product Development at Zillow.
Before going to Zillow, Chris spent time as a PM and Product Leader at Microsoft, Amazon, and Uber. Now, Chris leads the core product team and product strategy for Zillow's core consumer experience on Zillow.com
On today's episode, Chris and I had a great chat around product strategy, and cascading product strategy throughout the organization.
Here's some of what we discussed:
What strategy actually is and what product strategy is specifically
How to develop product...
2020-06-0123 minLessons In Product ManagementHow PMs Can Be Effective Working With Executives w/George Dita - CEO of WiseUpDon't forget to sign up for the Product-Led Festival! https://festival.productledalliance.com/?sc=youEcs1n&ac=M1F29xXu
Use promo code Prodcast20 for 20% off of individual and team passes!
On today's episode, I sat down with George Dita, CEO of WiseUp, a product innovation company focused on helping established companies build and launch cutting edge products
Here's what we discussed:
George's background and what his company, WiseUp is all about
His experience in working with a broad and diverse set of executives from numerous companies
What you...
2020-05-2726 minLessons In Product ManagementHow To Combine Product Development Frameworks To Maximize OutcomesDon't forget to register for the Product-Led Festival! Click the link below and use the promo code: Prodcast20
https://festival.productledalliance.com/?sc=youEcs1n&ac=M1F29xXu
Today's episode is inspired by the frequently asked question of "what frameworks should I use in product management; what's the best practice?"
First off, I hate the term best practice.
Secondly, this episode explores two highly popular frameworks for product development and innovation with Jobs Theory and Design Thinking. Often times, we can look at these frameworks as competing processes, but there is so much to be gained by combining these t...
2020-05-2511 minLessons In Product ManagementGoing from Product Manager to Product Leader w/ Carlos González de Villaumbrosia - Founder and CEO of Product SchoolSign up for the Product-Led Festival here: https://festival.productledalliance.com/?sc=youEcs1n&ac=M1F29xXu
Don't forget to use the promo code Prodcast20 for 20% off individual and team passes!
On today's episode, I sat down with the CEO and Founder of Product School, Carlos Gonzales de Villaumbrosia
Carlos founded Product School with the passion to help train the next generation of Product Managers. Product School provides certifications in Product Management to professionals across 20 campuses worldwide, and they offer the same courses live online. All Product School instructors...
2020-05-2021 minLessons In Product ManagementLeading Through Peace Time Versus War Time w/Bill Masur - Group Product Manager @ SwipeClock and Founder of ProductMasteryRegister for the Product-Led Festival here: https://festival.productledalliance.com/?sc=youEcs1n&ac=M1F29xXu
Use my promo code Prodcast20 for 20% off individual and team passes!
On this episode, I sat down with Bill Masur, Group Product Manager at SwipeClock.
Bill has experience working for large brands and startups, working in multiple types of business models, and now finds himself leading a product team for a highly profitable and growing software company in Utah.
The topic of today's episode is Product Leadership Through Peace Time Versus War Time. Even wi...
2020-05-1323 minLessons In Product ManagementWhat You Wish You Knew About Usability Testing with Frank Spillers - Chief Experience Officer @ Experience DynamicsOn today's episode, I sat down with Frank Spillers, Chief Experience Officer and Founder of Experience Dynamics, a consulting firm in Portland Oregon, focused on User Experience and User Research. Frank is a subject matter expert in the field of UX, and he joined the podcast to share with us what we wish we knew about usability testing. This is an absolute treat, and I guarantee that listening to this episode will give you a competitive advantage against most other organizations out there.
Frank got his start in UX back in the mid-90s working with VR. H...
2020-05-0638 minLessons In Product ManagementMindset Upgrades To Spark New Opportunities with Rich Sanchez - PM at InStrideOn today's episode, I sat down with Rich Sanchez, Product Manager at InStride.
Rich has a background in IT but soon found himself transitioning into Product Management for companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Disney, and now InStride.
This episode is all about how to find new opportunities as a PM by up-leveling how you think
On this episode we discussed:
How Rich fell in love with Product while at Johnson and Johnson
It was after Johnson and Johnson that Rich found out how to stand out from others to get where you...
2020-04-2935 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy PMs Should Be More Involved In Architecture w/ Greg Prickril - Founder of Career.PM and former Sr. PM at IBM, Microsoft, and SAPOn today's episode, I sat down with Greg Prickril, Founder of Career.PM and Prickril Consulting and former Senior PM at IBM, Microsoft and SAP.
In this discussion, Greg shares why PMs should be much more involved with architecture than we probably think we should. Here's some of the points we discussed:
Architecture impacts the business in ways we won't know until it happens
We can miss out on doing the things we should be doing in our products if we haven't given architecture the consideration upfront that we should have
How to get involved in a...
2020-04-2216 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy The Best PMs Have Side Hustles w/ Clement Kao - Product Manager @Blend and Co-Founder of PMHQOn today's episode, I sat down with Clement Kao to discuss how the best PMs have side hustles
Here's what we discussed:
Clement shared how he accidentally fell into product management with no experience, and his steep learning curve created the empathy for what he does now in his side projects
Clement has published over 60 articles, read by over 200K PMs across the world, on PMHQ, the product manager community he helped co-found on Slack.
There's a lot of passion behind Clement's drive to share knowledge and see other PMs and aspiring PMs benefit from his s...
2020-04-1529 minLessons In Product ManagementStop Avoiding Sales and Start Engaging Deeper With Them! w/ Tommi Forsstrom - VP of Product @ TeachableOn today's episode, I sat down with Tommi Forsstrom, VP of Product @ Teachable. While working in Venture Capital with growth-stage companies, Tommi discovered the power of having a strong sales organization and the need for product management to collaborate closer with sales
Some of the topics we cover include:
Why PMs need to take ownership and proactive steps toward deeper engagements with sales
In B2B, it's hard to be good at your product role, unless you have a deep understanding of your customer.
As PMs, we stress the need for empathy with our customers, but w...
2020-04-0822 minLessons In Product ManagementHow To Be A Great Remote Product Manager with Alex Mitchell - Chief Product Officer at ICX MediaOn today's episode, I sit down with Alex Mitchell, Chief Product Officer at ICX Media
Alex is an avid blogger on Medium and over the last year, Alex's posts have gotten over
one million views.
Before COVID-19, Alex had worked in several companies that had a heavy remote component, but
this is the first time Alex would be working from home full-time.
To help others who might be going through the unknowns of working from home for the first
t...
2020-04-0120 minLessons In Product ManagementWhy Your Product Expertise May Be Hurting You with Tanay Agrawal, former PM @ AtlanOn today's episode, I sat down with Tanay Agrawal, former PM @ Atlan and Graduate Student at Carnegie Mellon University
Tanay had spent the first two years of his career as a software developer but quickly made the transition to product management. After two years as a PM, Tanay decided to pursue his Master's in Product Management at Carnegie Mellon University.
While studying to become a better PM, Tanay started blogging. His blog is a mental download of all the things he learned in his two years as a PM and the things he...
2020-03-2521 minLessons In Product ManagementAligning With Product Marketing For Better Product Launches with Susan Stavitzski - Director of Product at HatchOn this episode of Prodcast, I sat down with Susan Stavitzski, Director of Product @ Hatch!
Susan shared how and why she made the transition from Product Marketing to Product Management and how her background as a product marketer has not only helped in her roles in product, but it's also given her a unique perspective on the relationship between the two roles.
She also explained the three different types of product managers:
- Technical PM
- User-Focused PM
- Business-Minded PM
2020-03-1617 minLessons In Product ManagementCareer advice and when to say no with Shawn Kumar - Senior Product ManagerShawn shares how to create opportunities in your career and take advantage of the ones in front of you. We also discuss what type of opportunities you should pursue and when to say no.
2020-03-0227 min