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Product Chats

Canny

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Listen in as we have conversations with software product leaders. Brought to you by canny.io.

Product Chats

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Embracing a Testing and Experimentation Mindset with Rachel Schiff of Intelycare

Rachel Schiff is a big believer in the power of mindset. And that’s exactly what she teaches her team at IntelyCare. She’s Senior Vice President of Product which means that she manages the product and design teams. In this episode, she talks about experimentation, collaboration between product and data science, and much more. Listen in! Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product [00:52] Data science [02:17] Testing and experimenting [03:56] Hiring [10:51] Prioritizing [15:30] Advice for aspiring product leaders [18:22] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Building and Scaling Products From Scratch with Dave St. Geme of OpenMind

Have you ever wanted to unlock the knowledge of the world and bring it to the masses? Dave St. Geme has, and that’s exactly what he’s working on right now. He’s sharing his learnings along the way. He’s also talking about his journey in product management. Listen in! Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product [01:43] Building products – best practices [02:48] Prioritizing [05:04] User interviews [06:49] Collaborating effectively [17:13] Advice for aspiring product leaders [18:54] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Enabling Product Teams to Succeed with Eric Xiao of Fountain

Eric Xiao is the VP of Product at Fountain. In this episode, he talks about his transition from an individual contributor to a team leader and his learnings and struggles along the way. He also shares how he supports his team and prioritizes projects. Finally, there are some awesome book recommendations, so listen to the very end! Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product [00:41] Transitioning from IC to a leader [01:50] Supporting the team [03:02] Balancing research and company priorities [09:59] Advice for aspiring product leaders [15:27] Book recommendations [16:41] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Stakeholder Management for Product Managers with Adam Kropf of Texada Software

Adam Kropf truly leads by example. He’s a Head of Product and Development at Texada Software. But he’s also so much more than that. He leads a local product management group – a community for likeminded product fans to chat and share ideas. In this episode, he talks all about that, as well as stakeholder management, user interviews, empowering the team, and more! Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product [00:53] Leading a product management group [01:34] Stakeholder management [03:29] Conducting user interviews [04:53] Balancing feature requests [08:04] Product 101 [11:17] Empowering the team [13:45] External stakeholder management [16:43] Advice for aspiring product leaders [19:18] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Neurodiversity and Mental Health at Work with Gavin Wade of Unmind

Mental health follows you throughout your life. In this episode of Product Chats, Gavin Wade, VP Product at Unmind, opens up about his mental health journey. He talks honestly and openly about dyslexia, his childhood, and how all that brought him to product management at a startup. Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product [00:43] Building products in small teams vs big teams [04:26] Neurodiversity [05:21] Supporting your teams’ superpowers [11:15]* Developing career growth plans [14:50] Mental health and product [19:05] Advice for aspiring product leaders [23:32] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

People Enabled by Products with Matt Peters of Expel

People are good at two things – judgement and relationships. Everything else is largely automatable. When it comes to building software, product managers should really focus on giving people the opportunity to utilize those skills. That’s what Matt Peters really believes in and shares in this podcast with us. Through creative customer interviews, experimentation, team empowerment and good UX, Matt has transformed many organizations in 25 years, including FireEye and Expel. Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product [01:00] Operational metrics [05:00] Making your team feel safe to experiment [08:04] Hiring for product teams [12:43] Identifying your team’s superpowers and super weaknesses [14:55] Supporting your team’s career growth [16:54] People enabled by products [22:45] Understanding your customers’ workflows [25:39] Investing in good UX [27:03] Unboxing your own product [27:44] Advice for aspiring product leaders [29:30] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Getting to "Why?" with Leo Gong of Apartment List

The core aspect of product management is the “why”. That’s what Leo Gong, VP of Product at Apartment List, truly believes in. In this episode of the Product Chats, we dive deep into his journey in product management and his tips on really understanding your customers and team members. We also discuss the importance of the product vision and, of course, the “why” behind all of it. Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product management [01:41] Connecting with your customers [03:35] Being explicit about user problems and personas [06:49] Truly understanding your users [08:37] The importance of product visions [10:24] Launching a new product from scratch [12:58] What not to do when launching a new product [14:28] Communicating your product vision [17:10] Putting your people first [19:05] Advice for aspiring product managers [25:00] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Prioritization and Strategy in Product Management With John Slocum of 3Play Media

Prioritization is critical to successful product management. In this episode of Product Chats, John Slocum, Senior Vice President of Product at 3Play Media, dives into his prioritization approach. We discuss how to leverage data and feature scoring models to make effective product decisions. With over 15 years of product experience, John has a wealth of knowledge to share. Time Stamped Show Notes Transitioning from engineering to product [01:19] Leveraging data to make product decisions [03:01] Prioritizing what to build [05:01] Making fast decisions [07:41] Partnering with other departments [09:38] Focusing on the customer’s problem [11:59] Strategy vs solutioning [13:24] Ensuring you’re doing the right things for the customer [16:00] The value of open-ended questions [20:35] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Exploring Product Momentum With Erik Dawson of LeafLink

How does momentum factor into product management? In this episode of Product Chats, Erik Dawson, Senior Director of Product Management at LeafLink, answers that question. We dive into how product teams can build internal momentum to support product growth, as well as external momentum, which helps customers move through the customer journey. Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product [01:19] Building products for enterprise vs startups [02:59] How to structure product teams [06:58] Building customer experience focused products [08:44] Product momentum [11:24] Getting quick wins and setting OKRs [13:41] Product strategy and the three Cs [14:37] Leading gracefully at a product led organization [16:41] Measurement and attribution [18:52] Advice for aspiring product leaders [23:14] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Innovating in an Established Industry With Harish Pandian of Alcumus

Products in established industries often stick to the status quo. That leaves room for emerging competitors to innovate and take market share. How can you avoid that? In this episode of Product Chats, Harish Pandian, Vice President of Product at Alcumus, explains how product managers can overcome the status quo and innovate in even the most established industries. Time Stamped Show Notes Exploring product market fit [01:15] Prioritizing what features to work on [02:05] Identifying what challenges customers are facing [03:42] Conducting generative research with users [04:52] Advice for aspiring product managers [08:32] Communicating effectively with your end user [11:13] Prioritizing problems, not ideas [12:30] Innovating in an established industry [13:39] Leveraging data when building your product [16:05] Creating a safe space to experiment [18:10] Learning vs failing [19:53] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Customer Centricity in Product Management With Mike Marriage of Bloomerang

Getting input from customers is critical to building features and solutions that solve their problems. In this episode of Product Chats, we explore how product leaders can foster customer centricity with Mike Marriage, Senior Director of Product Management at Bloomerang. With over a decade of product leadership experience, Mike is able to share his unique perspective and actionable advice on customer centricity. Time Stamped Show Notes What to focus on first when joining a company [01:45] Prioritizing what features to work on [03:12] Saying no to requests constructively [05:07] Getting alignment with other teams with product councils [06:04] Customer Centricity [08:29] Ways to connect with customers [11:30] How to level set on popular requests [16:23] Prioritization models [17:43] - [21:05] Advice for aspiring product managers [21:05] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze prod…

How Product Managers Can Stay Connected to Their Customers With Harpreet Ahluwalia of Altruist

Customer feedback informs the product development process. But, how do you ensure you’re connected to your customers and getting their feedback? In this episode of Product Chats, Harpreet Ahluwalia, Chief Product Officer at Altruist, explores this topic with us. Time Stamped Show Notes Getting into product [01:06] Staying connected to your customers [03:04] How feedback informs the product development process [05:20] Tying product satisfaction to customer retention [06:07] Balancing customer wants with strategic priorities [07:56] Showing you value feedback even when you don’t act on it [09:29] Measuring customer success [11:27] Failing quickly and pivoting [13:48] Using feature flags [14:24] Organizing a product team [16:10] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Conn…

Succeeding as a New Product Manager With Erin Gray of Doximity

Getting started in product management can be challenging. Fortunately, in this episode of Product Chats, Erin Gray, Director of Product at Doximity, shares her advice on how new product managers can ensure they succeed. We cover everything from getting into product, managing a team, collaborating with other teams, and overcoming imposter syndrome. Time Stamped Show Notes Succeeding as a new product leader [02:21] Getting product experience without the title [03:08] Leveraging mentorship to develop your product career [04:54] Managing a product team [06:07] Being an effective manager [08:07] Different roles you need to fill as a manager [12:34] Working collaboratively with other teams [13:56] Overcoming imposter syndrome [16:00] Becoming a better product leader [18:46] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get you…

How to Launch New Products With Sara Rossio of G2

How do product leaders launch new products? That’s a big question, but fortunately we have a product leader with over 20 years of experience to help us answer it. Sara Rossio, Chief Product Officer at G2, has built and managed software for companies including Here, Gogo, and PowerReviews during her career. In this episode of Product Chats, Sara shares what she's learned about launching new products. Be sure to check it out. Time Stamped Show Notes Becoming a chief product officer [01:13] How to be a good mentor to aspiring product managers [02:47] How data can help you say no to ideas [05:24] Staying focused on problem solving [07:22] The different character archetypes of product [08:06] - [09:50] Hiring the right archetype for your product needs [09:50] Launching a new line of business [13:31] Flawless execution is just table stakes [14:51] Using discovery to get data to start building new product lines [16:23] Longitudinal Interviews [17:02] The Value of Observing User…

Succeeding as the First Product Hire With Francisco Alberini of Monte Carlo

This episode of Product Chats explores how you can succeed as a company’s first product hire. We chat with Francisco Alberini of Monte Carlo who shares his experience taking over product from his company’s founders. It’s a great discussion with actionable insights, so be sure to check it out. Time Stamped Show Notes Engineering bootcamps + getting into product [01:34] Being a company’s first product hire [02:40] Understanding customer problems vs feature building [04:55] Balancing customer problems by impact [06:31] Getting to “why” [09:00] Aligning with the C-suite [10:56] Building a culture of customer obsessions[14:15] Leveraging data to drive your product strategy [17:52] Understanding when data can’t answer your question [21:13] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account…

Building an AI-Driven Product With Gagan Gulati of Behavox

On this episode of Product Chats we dive into building AI-driven products with Gagan Gulati, Chief Product Officer at Behavox. He’s built a wealth of product knowledge during his decades-long career that features product leadership roles at Microsoft, BEA Systems, and Oracle. Gagan shares his deep knowledge of AI-driven and AI-infused products in this episode, so be sure to check it out. Time Stamped Show Notes The importance of storytelling in your career [02:33] Advice for transitioning from engineering to product management [04:15] Ensuring you understand users’ challenges [05:49] Avoiding “what” and focusing on “why [06:41] Building AI-driven products [09:00] AI-Driven products vs AI-infused products [10:54] Researching to build an AI-driven product [13:55] Difference being a PM in a large vs small company [15:15] How wide a span PMs at startups have [19:36] Importance of aligning with company goals [22:21] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000…

Leading Product Teams and Knowing Yourself With Sneha Narahalli of Sephora

With a career featuring time leading product at Sears, Walmart eCommerce, and Sephora, Sneha Narahalli knows how to effectively lead product teams. Check out this episode of Product Chats to hear Sneha’s advice for effectively leading your team in a way that builds trust, celebrates progress, and leverages members’ strengths. Time Stamped Show Notes The fundamental nature of product management [03:40] Avoiding boxing yourself into solution-based thinking [05:14] Building trust through communication [07:45] Ensuring your work is measurable [09:13] Celebrating progress and not success [10:48]* Introvertism and leadership [13:12] Identifying your teams’ individual strengths [17:20] Taking time to understand who you’re speaking to [21:03] Focusing on your strengths [22:07] Understanding yourself before you understand your customers [23:45] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and an…

Challenges of Getting Alignment in Product With Jonathan Cordeau of Peek

Product management needs to be aligned with its organization to succeed. But, sometimes that's a challenge. In this episode of Product Chats, Jonathan Cordeau of Peek explains how to tackle that challenge. We chat about product's role, building alignment between teams, earning permission to lead other teams, and more. Time Stamped Show Notes Taking your product to international markets [03:18] Building relationships in new markets [05:06] Hiring with internationalization in mind [06:57] Outcome-driven innovation [09:53] Finding unmet needs in a market [10:55] The importance of understanding “why” [13:47] Avoiding the feature delivery treadmill [14:26] Aligning customer feedback with company goals [15:06] Working collaboratively with sales teams [18:48] Product management’s role in organizations [20:59] Getting alignment between teams [22:23] Earning permission to lead other teams [24:12] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help…

Experimental Frameworks and Storytelling in Product Management With Geoffrey Byers of ParkHub

With over 10 years of experience delivering enterprise SaaS products with organizations including Siemens, IBM, Intuit, Capital One, and now at ParkHub, Geoffrey Byers knows what it takes to get products built. In this episode of Product Chats, Geoffrey explores how he employs storytelling in product management to get organizational buy-in and create emotional responses with all stakeholders. Time Stamped Show Notes Differences in managing products at Fortune 100 companies and startups [02:33] Encouraging product teams to fail quickly [03:58] Experimental frameworks [05:56] Opportunity overload [10:14] Honing in on opportunity value [11:37] Creating magical user experiences [14:03] Storytelling in product [15:25] Tailoring stories for different audiences [17:42] The emotional vector or product [18:19] Getting buy-in from different teams [20:37] Advice for aspiring product managers [22:03] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them b…

Exploring Human-Centered Design With Mariah Hay of Help Scout

As the Chief Experience Officer at Help Scout, Mariah Hay is very focused on delivering amazing product experiences. In this episode of Product Chats, Mariah dives into how to leverage human-centric design to better serve your users. We also explore how to foster cross-functional team collaboration, build product teams, and practice tech ethics. Time Stamped Show Notes Important skills that help you succeed in product [02:14] Building product teams [04:38] How cross-functional teams support human-centric design [06:36] Human-centric design [08:03] Fostering cross-functional team collaboration [10:47] All about tech ethics [13:24] Advice on practicing tech ethics [16:10] Tips for aspiring product managers [20:26] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected! Twitter Fac…

Building Tiny Products and Finding Your Product Soulmate With Kelsey Ruger of Hello Alice

In this episode of Product Chats we explore how Kelsey Ruger, Vice President of Product at Hello Alice, builds tiny products. Using this approach, Kelsey is able to quickly test ideas to see which are worth pursuing. We also discuss finding your product soulmate, building minimum lovable products, and building products for specific personas. Time Stamped Show Notes Listening to your customers and not making assumptions [02:18] Building tiny products [04:47] How tiny products can lead buyers to buying bigger products [06:29] Kelsey’s framework for building tiny products [07:37] Identifying what tiny product to build [09:33] Validating that your tiny products are relevant [10:08] Tools for tracking tiny products’ performance [11:17] Finding your product soulmate [12:59] Minimum lovable products [14:02] Do people really buy on need? [15:36] Designing products desirable to your personas [18:20] Creating positive emotions for users [19:36] The importance of trust in produc…

Maintaining Work-Life Balance as a Product Manager With Megan Berry of Octane AI

In this episode of Product Chats we chat with Megan Berry, VP of Product at Octane AI. Megan has been working in product remotely for many years and has some great insights that can help product teams boost their remote work performance. We also dive into how remote work can actually challenge work-life balance and how you can overcome that. Time Stamped Show Notes Importance of customer success and product teams having an amazing relationship [03:14] Communicating about tough product decisions [04:59] Remote work tips for product managers [9:16] Avoiding being a jerk in written communication [10:57] Best practices for onboarding remote team members [13:34] Maintaining work-life balance as a product manager [16:11] Parental leave [19:14] The importance of empathy [21:30] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions. Get y…

The Lazy Product Manager Approach With Anu Kirk of Osso VR

Check out this episode of Product Chats where we chat with Anu Kirk of Osso VR about his Lazy Product Manager Approach. Anu explains how this approach helps you ensure you’re focused on building the most important and valuable features. We also chat about the differences between building hardware and software products, effectively listening to your customers, and punk rock user testing. Anu’s been working in product management since the 1990s at companies including Osso VR, Sony, MOG, Rhapsody, and RealNetworks. He shares some great insight and perspective on product management in this episode so be sure the give it a listen. Time Stamped Show Notes How making a music album can be product managed [1:57] Evolution of product management tools [04:35] How Anu got into product in the 1990s [06:20] Differences between building hardware and software products [09:33] The lazy product manager concept [11:41] How adding new features makes products more difficult to use [13:54] Unde…

Exploring Product Principles With Scott Williamson of GitLab

In this episode of Product Chats we explore Scott Williamson's Product Principles that he's developed over his long career in product management. Scott has led product at companies including GitLab, Twilio, SendGrid, and several others. His 9 Product Principles are the foundation he lays to build successful product management teams, so be sure to check out this episode to learn how he does it. Time Stamped Show Notes Transitioning your career into product [03:04 ] How sales experience is a plus for product managers [04:09] GitLab’s career development framework for product managers [05:02] Tactics for collecting customer feedback [07:06] Qualitative vs quantitative feedback [07:58] The solution validation process [08:50 ] How to prioritize what to build [09:45] Traits of high-performing product managers [17:22] Scott’s 9 Product Principles [19:23] Caring Personally and Challenging Directly [22:33] Developing a learning growth mindset for your organization [23:13] You ar…

Listening to Your Customers to Build Better Products With Sasha Freese

Listening to your customers is critical to successful product management. Sasha Freese, Head of Product at Indico Data, joins us for this episode of Product Chats to discuss how to listen. Sasha is an expert at driving product-led growth through customer feedback, and is here to show you exactly how it's done. Time Stamped Show Notes * What a product manager's average day looks like [03:35] * Different ways of listening to your customers [04:58] * How to transition your career into product [07:06] * The top 5 skills to look for when hiring for product roles [08:56] * How to succeed as a company's first product manager [12:46] * Finding a great product mentor [15:30] * Building new products vs managing existing products [20:18] * How to prioritize what you should build [25:05] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product dec…

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