By Ashok Sivanand
4.9
1919 ratings
The podcast currently has 26 episodes available.
In this episode, Ashok sits down with Josh Seiden, author and product management expert, to explore key insights from Josh's latest book, "Who Does What by How Much." The conversation centers around using OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to align teams and improve organizational outcomes. They examine the challenges many teams face when implementing frameworks like OKRs or Agile and emphasize the importance of understanding the "why" behind these systems. Josh also reflects on his early work, such as developing the Kensington Turbo Mouse and collaborating with Alan Cooper, widely known as the "Father of Visual Basic."
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Get key strategies for fostering a customer-centric culture, building effective product teams, and aligning leadership with team goals. Whether you’re new to OKRs or looking to refine your process, this episode provides actionable advice for team leaders, product managers, and executives alike.
Inside the Episode...
Mentioned in this Episode:
Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts, including video episodes on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast.
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Product Expert Christoph Steinlehner joins Ashok on the Convergence Podcast to explore the transformative power of visualization in product management. Christoph shares his journey from web design and development to product coaching, where he helps teams align through tools like service blueprints and his innovative "mapper method." This episode is packed with insights on using rough sketches to foster better team collaboration and elevate product success. Learn how to avoid common pitfalls in visualization and the value of simplicity when creating visual aids.
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Inside the episode...
Christoph’s career journey from design to product coaching
Why service blueprints are a game-changer for product teams
The "mapper method" and how it helps teams collaborate better
The importance of rough, unfinished sketches in the feedback process
Best practices for online collaboration using virtual whiteboards
Tools and methods for aligning product teams around a shared vision
How visualizations foster stronger, more productive team discussions
The role of service blueprints in connecting customer journeys to business processes
Mentioned in this episode:
Christoph Steinlehner's Substack Mapper Club
Virtual whiteboards (Miro, Mural)
Todoist app
Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts, including video episodes on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast.
Learn something? Give us a 5-star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.
In this episode of the Convergence podcast, host Ashok Sivanand sits down with Wes Beary from Anchor.dev. Wes shares his journey, from helping shape Heroku’s engineering culture to his work today in API design and encryption as a service. Discover how Wes' experience at Heroku and his open-source contributions have shaped his views on building delightful developer experiences and empowering engineering teams. He also talks about the importance of uniformity in API design, fostering a strong engineering culture, and scaling development teams while preserving their core strengths.
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Inside the episode:
Mentioned in this episode:
Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts including video episodes to get updated on the other crucial conversations that we'll post on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast
Learn something? Give us a 5 star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.
Follow the Pod
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X: https://twitter.com/podconvergence
Instagram: @podconvergence
Are you optimizing your product's architecture for certainty or flexibility? Discover why this distinction matters for your team's success.
In this episode of the Convergence podcast, host Ashok Sivanand reveals the fifth critical conversation that product teams often overlook: the technology landscape. Drawing from his extensive experience in product engineering and consulting, Ashok emphasizes the importance of aligning technical and business perspectives to minimize surprises and optimize product development.
Plus! Ashok answers a listener question about applying these conversations to established products.
Ashok explores key aspects of the technology landscape, including integrations and dependencies, architecture considerations, performance expectations, and testing principles. He discusses how to balance innovation with practicality, and how to make informed decisions about scalability, reliability, and security based on your product's specific needs and market position.
Download the 9 Critical Conversations for Healthy Product Teams E-Book: https://integral.io/conversations
Check out the episode with a summary of all 9 conversations here: https://youtu.be/Y3NpwoFFfOs?si=enhI_mGZyDTABg6Z
In this episode:
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts including video episodes to get updated on the other crucial conversations that we'll post on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast
Learn something? Give us a 5 star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.
Follow the Pod
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/convergence-podcast/
X: https://twitter.com/podconvergence
Instagram: @podconvergence
Is it even possible anymore for established companies to innovate like startups while leveraging their existing strengths? Today's guest certainly thinks so and he has the product story to back it up.
Ben Brown, CTO of Canopy, shares his journey of spinning out a hardware+software startup from Ford Motor Company and launching an innovative truck security product in just 18 months. Canopy helps secure precious cargo in pickup truck beds - a huge problem for tradespeople who carry expensive tools and equipment as they commute between jobs. Ben discusses balancing startup agility with automotive industry rigor, rapidly iterating on hardware prototypes, and using customer research to drive product decisions.
We explore how Canopy went from idea to launch in 18 months - particularly impressive for a product combining hardware, software, and AI/ML models, while complying with stringent automotive and FCC requirements.
In this episode:
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Products and Services mentioned in this episode:
Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts including video episodes to get updated on the other crucial conversations that we'll post on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast
Learn something? Give us a 5 star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.
Follow the Pod
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/convergence-podcast/
X: https://twitter.com/podconvergence
nstagram: @podconvergence
Samar Abbas, co-founder and CTO of Temporal, shares his journey from working on developer tools at tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Uber to co-founding a startup that raised $220 million. Abbas discusses how Temporal, born from the open-source project Cadence at Uber, solves critical reliability challenges for developers building distributed applications.
This episode explores the evolution from an internal tool to a thriving open-source project, and finally to a successful commercial product. Abbas offers valuable insights on finding the right co-founder, the benefits of open-source for infrastructure projects, and how to navigate the transition from engineering to entrepreneurship.
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Inside the episode: • The origins of Temporal and its predecessor, Cadence, at Uber • How Temporal enables durable execution of code and solves reliability challenges • The journey from open source project to founding a company • Insights on finding a complementary co-founder • Evolving roles between co-founders as the company scales • The benefits and considerations of open source for infrastructure projects • Temporal's product roadmap and vision for the future • The importance of iteration and solving real problems in product development
Mentioned in the episode:
Learn something? Give us a 5 star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.
Follow the Pod
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/convergence-podcast/
X: https://twitter.com/podconvergence
Instagram: @podconvergence
In this episode of the Convergence Podcast, host Ashok Sivanand and guest Bailey O'Shea dive deep into the critical role of timelines in product development. They explore how understanding the "why" behind timelines can lead to better stakeholder alignment, feature prioritization, and overall product success.
Bailey O'Shea, drawing from her experience as a former Head of Product at Integral, shares valuable insights on balancing specificity in timelines with transparent communication about uncertainties and risks. The conversation covers strategies for effective timeline management, stakeholder trust-building, and adapting to various organizational contexts.
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Inside the episode...
Mentioned in the episode...
In this episode of the Convergence podcast, host Ashok Sivanand talks with Janice Fraser, a strategic advisor and veteran in Lean Product Management and a facilitator of innovation in large organizations. Janice shares her journey from starting six companies to working at Pivotal and eventually moving towards helping large organizations, such as Procter & Gamble and Nike, embrace lean and agile processes to foster disruptive innovation. She discusses the complexities of driving that innovation in established industries, particularly in relation to sustainability efforts, like Procter & Gamble’s development of a waterless, plastic-free detergent. Janice emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior and collaboration in creating effective and innovative products.
Janice and Ashok explore the nuances of product management and leadership, focusing on the importance of outcomes over outputs. Janice introduces her book, “Farther, Faster and Far Less Drama,” co-authored with her husband Jason, which outlines four leadership motions to drive successful product outcomes: orienting honestly, valuing outcomes, leveraging team intelligence, and making durable decisions. These principles are essential for navigating the dynamic challenges of modern business environments. The episode is full of insights on how to create collaborative, outcome-driven teams that can adapt to the ever-changing landscape of innovation and business strategy.
Inside this episode...
Mentioned in this episode...
Janice’s book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61494019-farther-faster-and-far-less-drama
Tide evo: https://tide.com/en-us/our-commitment/tide-evo
SXSW announcement: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2024/events/OE44886
Hannah Jones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Jones_(business)
Barbara Minto’s SCQA framework: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Minto
Bain decision making model: https://www.bain.com/insights/rapid-decision-making/
OODA Loop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts including video episodes to get updated on the other crucial conversations that we'll post on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast
Learn something? Give us a 5 star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.
Follow the Pod
In this episode, we continue our series with special guest Bailey O’Shea, exploring the critical conversations often overlooked by product teams. Bailey shares her insights on establishing team norms and fostering effective collaboration. She emphasizes the importance of aligning on values, practices, and expectations to ensure everyone is working cohesively towards common goals. Bailey also discusses practical tools like DISC and Predictive Index for enhancing team self-awareness and improving interpersonal dynamics.
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Inside the episode…
+The importance of discussing team norms and collaboration strategies
+Aligning on values, practices, and expectations
+Utilizing DISC and Predictive Index for team self-awareness
+The role of mutual respect and understanding in team success
+Practical exercises for facilitating crucial team conversations
+Real-world examples of team challenges and solutions
Check out the episode with a summary of all 9 conversations here - https://youtu.be/Y3NpwoFFfOs?si=enhI_mGZyDTABg6Z
Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts including video episodes to get updated on the other crucial conversations that we'll post on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast
Learn something? Give us a 5 star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.
Follow the Pod
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/convergence-podcast/
X: https://twitter.com/podconvergence
Instagram: @podconvergence
Over the past 15 years, as smartphones became ubiquitous, gamification evolved from a tool for habit formation into a mechanism used by tech giants to create psychological dependencies, similar to slot machines, with features like pull-to-refresh and infinite scroll. I’ve always found it interesting that we refer to people as “users” both in the context of software and substance addiction. My guest today, Ramsay Brown, studied this phenomenon deeply at the University of Southern California, where he earned a master’s in neuroinformatics. His research focused on how the human brain develops habits, behaviors, and addictions. He later co-founded Dopamine Labs, aptly named for its focus on these psychological triggers.
Ramsay Brown is currently grappling with these issues as the CEO of Mission Control AI, a company dedicated to helping businesses adopt generative AI technologies. Recognizing that many employees are not yet familiar with using chat interfaces like ChatGPT intuitively, Mission Control AI addresses this challenge by enabling workforces to effectively leverage AI tools. By empowering teams with these advanced technologies, Ramsay and his team help companies gain a competitive edge in their respective industries.
In this episode, we explore how incentive structures in our society and economy can lead product managers and users in opposite directions regarding value creation. We discuss the responsibility of product developers to add genuine value for customers rather than merely extracting it. Ramsay’s perspective, grounded in his academic background and leadership at Boundless Mind (formerly Dopamine Labs), offers a thought-provoking take on responsible product development. I hope you enjoy the episode and gain new insights into approaching product development more ethically.
Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge.
Inside the episode...
Ramsay’s early interest in neuroscience and his educational journey at USC
How Ramsay Brown's purpose-driven mindset and passion for solving complex problems have guided his career in various fields.
Why Understanding human behavior and the brain is crucial for making meaningful interventions and driving positive change.
How the availability of smartphones and the ability to collect and analyze data have created a living laboratory for studying and influencing human behavior.
Why Product Managers and Designers have a responsibility to create products that respect users' attention spans and mental and emotional autonomy.
How coordination and incentives play a crucial role in decision-making, and designers should consider the impact of their choices on both investors and end users.
The role of behavioral engineering in creating impactful technologies
Mentioned in this episode...
STUDY: Social media copies gambling methods 'to create psychological cravings' - https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings
Kardashev scale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale
The Island by Aldous Huxley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_(Huxley_novel)
George Mack's Midwit Meme Guide to life: https://x.com/george__mack/status/1675251921551257601
Daylight computer: https://daylightcomputer.com/
Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts including video episodes to get updated on the other crucial conversations that we'll post on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast
Learn something? Give us a 5 star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.
Follow the Pod
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/convergence-podcast/
X: https://twitter.com/podconvergence
Instagram: @podconvergence
The podcast currently has 26 episodes available.
7,249 Listeners