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...

• Importance of Lean and Agile methodologies in large organizations.
• Janice’s contributions to developing collaborative and customer-centric product management techniques.
• Challenges and strategies for driving innovation in traditional industries
• Forces of Friction in Innovation: identifying and navigating internal and external forces that impede or promote innovation.
• Differentiating between productive and unproductive friction.
• Importance of focusing on outcomes rather than just outputs in product management.
• Four Leadership Motions from Janice’s Book:
  • “Orient Honestly” - Understanding current realities and complications.
  • “Value Outcomes” - Focusing on results rather than specific actions.
  • “Leverage the Brains” - Engaging cross-functional teams to solve problems.
  • “Make Durable Decisions” - Creating decisions that are resilient and effective.

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.

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