Product Agility

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Live from Productized Lisbon: The Productized conference in Lisbon, Portugal is one of the most energising gatherings for product leaders — insightful, practical and human. We’re honoured to partner with Productized for this series and grateful to Bobcats Coding for making our Lisbon episodes possible.

Welcome to a concentrated Talking 10 from Lisbon: we sit in the Cloudflare offices with Jason Knight and Barbara (co‑host and CEO of Bobcats) to unpack why product management rarely matches the tidy frameworks in books — and why that’s not a failure, it’s the reality of making change in real organisations.

Key topics discussed:

• Why product books are useful but often idealised
• How to make peace with imperfect organisations and still deliver
• Translating product thinking into language that stakeholders care about
• Practical advice for startups deciding how (or whether) to use AI
• Ethics of experimentation and not treating users as test subjects

Guest bio:

Jason Knight is a product coach, consultant and host of the One Night in Product podcast. He helps teams translate product theory into practical change while navigating real organisational constraints. Co‑host Barbara is co‑founder and CEO of Bobcats Coding, a Lisbon and Budapest-based digital product studio specialising in AI engineering and end‑to‑end product development.

Thank you to our sponsor Bobcats Coding — download their new AI economics guidebook at bobcatscoding.com and learn more about their work. We’re proud to partner with Productized Lisbon for another exceptional year.

Thanks to Bobcats Coding for supporting this Lisbon series.

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

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• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

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Product Agility Podcast — Live from Productized, Lisbon

We're delighted to be back at the outstanding Productized conference in Lisbon — a world-class event that brings together product leaders, designers and builders to share the latest thinking in product strategy and org design. We're honoured to partner with Productized and grateful to Bobcats Coding for making this Lisbon mini-series possible.

This short episode features a rapid-fire conversation about token economics, AI billing and the product design choices that change unit economics and route-to-market decisions.

Key topics discussed

• What token economics means for AI products and pricing.
• Agentic AI vs chat interfaces: complexity, cost and design trade-offs.
• When to optimise for cost vs when to prioritise learning and speed-to-market.
• Splitting problems into deterministic subproblems to reduce AI calls and cost.
• Essential skills: strategy, experimentation and logical problem decomposition.

[00:00:00] - Opening from Lisbon: Quick intro and why Productized is a must-attend conference for product leaders.
[00:01:30] - Why token economics matters: What founders and PMs should expect on their AI bill and its impact on pricing strategies.
[00:04:20] - Agentic workflows vs simple chat: How multi-agent or generative workflows multiply requests and costs.
[00:09:10] - Practical optimisation: Split problems, remove deterministic work, and avoid premature over-optimisation.
[00:13:55] - Skills to invest in: Strategy, experimentation, logical decomposition and cheap experiments.

Guest bio:

Tamas Kokeny — Co-founder, Bobcats Coding. Tamas leads Bobcats, a Budapest and Lisbon-based digital product studio specialising in AI engineering and end-to-end product development. He runs workshops on token economics and builds practical guidance to help teams design cost-effective AI products.

Thanks to Bobcats Coding for sponsoring our Lisbon sessions — check their AI Economics guidebook and resources at bobcatscoding.com.

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80 

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We’re honoured to partner with the outstanding Productized conference in Lisbon, Portugal — a world-class event that brings together curious, practical product leaders. It’s a privilege to return for our third year and capture quick, sharp conversations with the people shaping product today.

In this Talk in Ten we sit down with Arne Kittler (Product At Heart) and Tamas (co‑founder, Bobcats Coding) to explore how product leaders should intentionally shape AI in their teams — and resist the slide into autopilot.

Key topics discussed

• Intentional leadership in the AI era: shaping use, not surrendering to it
• Where AI can amplify product work (research synthesis, ideation)
• Where human skills still matter: alignment, agency, empathy
• Practical tactics to avoid 'work slop' and keep teams curious
• How diverse perspectives prevent homogenised products

Guest bio:

Arne Kittler — Co‑founder of Product At Heart and Hey Clarity. Arne speaks and advises on product leadership, team alignment, and human-centred product work in a world shaped by AI.

Tamas — Co‑founder of Bobcats Coding, a Budapest-based digital product studio specialising in AI engineering and end-to-end product development. Bobcats produce practical market education — their AI economics guidebook is available at bobcatscoding.com.

Thanks to our partners and sponsors: a big thank you to Productized for hosting an exceptional conference, and to Bobcats Coding for making this Lisbon series possible. Download Bobcats’ AI economics guidebook for free at bobcatscoding.com.

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80 

Send us Fan Mail

Live from Productized Lisbon - a world-class conference for product people.

Productized is one of the best product conferences in Europe: thoughtfully run, intensely practical and full of senior product leaders sharing real-world tactics. We're honoured to partner with Productized in Lisbon, it's an exceptional event for learning, connecting and rethinking how product leaders shape outcomes.

This short episode features a live conversation about the strategic role of product leadership, how CPOs should connect functions across the company, and practical steps to manage uncertainty and align stakeholders.

Key topics discussed

• Why the CPO is the organisation's connector and strategic coach
• How to translate vision into coherent strategy and staged bets
• Practical tactics to align product, sales, marketing and engineering
• Using tailored tools to improve internal communication and stakeholder prep
• Lessons learned from product failure and the importance of early, frequent communication

Chapters
[00:01:03] - Co-hosted firsts: What it means to run a co-hosted Talking 10 and set the tone for candid chats.
[00:01:37] - CPO as connector: Why the Chief Product Officer must connect functions, strategy and customer outcomes.
[00:07:53] - AI & internal comms: Practical ways to prepare stakeholder conversations and tailor messaging for impact.
[00:09:41] - Scary lessons and recovery: Real stories of product failure, alignment mistakes, and how to communicate earlier.

Guest bios:

Bruce McCarthy — Product leader, speaker and workshop facilitator focused on product leadership, strategy and cross-functional alignment. Bruce helps executives turn vision into staged strategic bets and coaches product teams to lead across organisations.

Tamas — Co-founder of Bobcats Coding, a Lisbon and Budapest-based digital product studio that specialises in AI engineering and end-to-end product development. Bobcats builds practical tools and publishes educational guides to help product teams adopt new tech responsibly.

Thanks to our sponsor: Bobcats Coding — visit bobcatscoding.com to download their AI economics guidebook and learn more about their work in digital product development.

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80 

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Ben Maynard is joined by Barbara Varga Baráth CEO and Barbara Fazekas Chief Delivery Officer of Bobcats Coding, the AI-first product studio born from a coding bootcamp network and market testing. From Taekwondo mats and finance spreadsheets to context engineering pipelines and lightning-fast MVPs, the Barbaras share how they have navigated the AI wave without the hype goggles.

Together, they explore the difference between AI features and AI-enabled delivery, why context engineering is the new craft, and how an AI native culture can compress time to value from months to weeks. Expect candid takes on investor pressure, LinkedIn-level myths, multi-agent workflows with humans in the loop, and what it takes to ship responsibly at speed. No buzzword bingo. Just hard-won lessons for product and engineering leaders.

What You'll Learn:

• AI first, not AI only. When to build AI into the product vs using it to accelerate delivery, discovery, and ops
• Context engineering 101. How slicing information, model selection, and orchestration beat just prompting it
• Speed with judgement. 48-hour micro sprints, feature-first demos, and hitting conference-ready MVPs in weeks
• Expectation management. Educating clients beyond LinkedIn headlines and anchoring on business outcomes
• Culture over tooling. Why AI native mindsets, especially from Gen Z talent, change throughput and decision-making
• Policy in practice. Navigating compliance realities without stalling innovation

Key Takeaways:

• AI won't replace engineers. It superpowers the ones who design context and systems
• The biggest ROI today is often operational. Faster proposals, sharper research, leaner delivery
• Feature first, human in the loop beats big bang roadmaps in a fast-moving AI landscape
• Organisations that embed AI native habits like experimentation, automation, and knowledge sharing will outpace those that don't
• Hype is loud. Usefulness is quiet. Ship small, learn fast, scale what works

Who Is This For:

• Product leaders under pressure to add AI who'd rather ship value
• Engineering managers exploring multi-agent and human-in-the-loop workflows
• Founders and execs building an AI native culture that actually moves the needle
• Anyone tired of AI theatre and ready for practical playbooks

This one is a field guide for building smarter and faster, while keeping your curiosity intact. 🚀

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80 

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Ben Maynard is joined by Jag Johal, Director of Agile Transformation at Jaguar Land Rover, for a refreshingly candid conversation on what it really takes to move the needle in a complex, scaled business—and why it’s time to focus on agility, not just Agile.

With a background in HR and deep experience navigating change in global environments, Jag brings a grounded, human-centric view to transformation. Together, they explore how humility, curiosity, and systems thinking trump frameworks, certifications, and buzzwords.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in the noise of agile theatre or questioned whether the industry’s obsession with methods is missing the point, this episode is a powerful reminder that sustainable change comes from purposeful connection, not flashy labels.

Jag shares insights from the automotive frontline—where software and hardware must dance in sync—and how JLR is tackling the real-world challenges of integrating agility across disciplines, mindsets, and legacy systems. No smoke and mirrors, just honest lessons in leading with learning.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• Why "agility" is proving more valuable than capital-A Agile in large enterprises
• How a humanistic, data-informed approach drives meaningful change
• The role of courageous conversations in surfacing what really matters
• Why learning from failure can be the most reliable transformation data point
• How quiet, steady cultural shifts often win over grand transformations

💥 Key Takeaways

• Agility belongs to everyone, not just Agile roles
• Great transformation isn’t loud—it’s embedded, systemic, and human
• Connecting what works across an enterprise is more powerful than starting from scratch
• Passion, humility, and data make the best transformation toolkit

🎯 Who This Is For

• Change-makers looking beyond frameworks to real impact
• Agile practitioners craving a more authentic path forward
• Leaders of complex orgs seeking subtle but scalable transformation
• Anyone tired of the agile show and ready for meaningful progress

This isn’t Agile 2.0—it’s a call to come back to what matters. Tune in!

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80 

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, host Ben Maynard is joined by Adam Josephs, the co-author of Risk Up Front, to explore the gritty truth behind high-performance teams and why rigour, not ruthlessness, is the key ingredient in complex, high-stakes environments.

If you’ve ever wondered why your team’s best intentions still lead to delays, late changes, or misaligned delivery, this conversation offers a refreshing and practical dive into the principles of execution discipline. Adam shares his “Sriracha Sauce” approach to teamwork—spicy, precise, and exactly what’s missing from your current playbook.

Drawing from decades of experience consulting for companies like Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, Adam discusses how upgraded conversations about commitment, integrity, and risk can transform how we lead, plan, and deliver. Plus, we get a sneak peek into Ruffy, the risk coaching AI that sounds a lot like your favourite comedian.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• Why late changes—not bad intentions—derail most projects
• How to uncover “don’t know you don’t know” risks through structured conversations
• What it takes to bring clarity and ownership to team commitments
• The power of specificity in turning worries into action
• How engineering integrity into the small moments transforms culture

💥 Key Takeaways

•  “Without rigour, you don’t get performance—you get chaos dressed as collaboration.”
•  Accountability is a structure, not a personality trait
•  Integrity starts with turning up on time and knowing what you’ve committed to
•  Small acts of discipline create big shifts in team behaviour

🎯 Who This Is For

•  Agile and product coaches working in complex, fast-moving environments
•  Leaders looking to drive performance without micromanagement
•  Product professionals who want fewer surprises and stronger delivery
•  Transformation agents seeking practical tools to surface and address execution risks

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80 

Send us Fan Mail

In this solo episode, host Ben Maynard explores a shift in thinking that many coaches and leaders need to make: moving away from trying to fix teams and instead focusing on coaching for meaning. If you're involved in organisational change—whether as a product leader, agile coach, or transformation lead—this episode offers practical insight into why team-level improvements often fall short.

Using the story of Jack Phillips, the Titanic's senior radio operator, Ben reflects on what it means to act with purpose during moments of change. He draws a parallel to the challenges many organisations face today—where activity can mask the absence of genuine progress.

Ben shares three practical ways to reframe your approach to coaching and leading, helping you connect the day-to-day work of teams with a broader, more meaningful narrative that supports long-term impact.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• Why team-level coaching doesn’t always lead to meaningful outcomes
• How to work with leaders to define and communicate purpose
• What to listen for when transformation feels stuck or misaligned
• The risks of focusing on output over organisational clarity
• Three practices for helping people reconnect with why their work matters

💥 Key Takeaways

• “Fixing a team is like fixing a leaking tap on the Titanic.”
• Meaning Drives Engagement
• Clarity Before Change

🎯 Who This Is For

• Agile and product coaches looking to expand their impact beyond teams
• Leaders seeking to create more coherence across strategy and delivery
• Transformation leads working to align change efforts with real business value
• Product professionals who want to anchor work in something more than backlog items

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80 

Send us Fan Mail

In this no-holds-barred solo episode, host Ben Maynard delivers a searing obituary for agile coaching — or at least, the version of it we’ve come to know. If you’re a senior leader investing in agile or a coach trying to stay relevant, this episode is for you.

Ben doesn’t just diagnose the decline of agile coaching — he traces its evolution, exposes the industry dynamics that killed it, and calls on both leaders and coaches to fundamentally rethink their approach. From certificate-driven consultancy models to the obsession with frameworks over outcomes, Ben argues that agile coaching lost its soul the moment it stopped delivering real business impact.

But all is not lost. This is also a rallying cry for a rebirth — one built on commercial empathy, contextual learning, and building real organisational capability.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• Why agile coaching has become irrelevant in many organisations
• How large-scale frameworks and certification mills diluted the craft
• The difference between coaching theatre and meaningful transformation
• What leaders should really look for when hiring coaches
• The traits and behaviours of truly great, impactful coaches
• The hard questions coaches must ask themselves to remain credible

💥 Key Takeaways

🔥 “Agile coaching is dead. And we killed it.”

❌ Death by Framework

🛠️ Real Coaching Is Not Jira Hygiene

🎯 Who This Is For

• Agile Coaches wondering how to stay relevant in a post-framework world
• Transformation Leads tired of empty ceremonies with no measurable ROI
• CTOs, CPOs, Heads of Product & Tech looking for real business agility, not theatre
• Product Coaches & Leaders reflecting on their own impact

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80 

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of the Product Agility Podcast, host Ben Maynard challenges one of the most pervasive and damaging habits in product organisations: treating roadmaps like contracts.

Ben explores why our obsession with polished timelines and rigid plans can undermine trust, limit learning, and stall product progress — and offers a radical reframe: what if your roadmap isn’t a document, but a relationship?

Drawing on insights from David Pereira and his own coaching experience, Ben walks through a mindset shift that can transform how product teams engage with stakeholders and make strategic decisions — moving from certainty and control to curiosity and collaboration.

Topics include:

• Why “the roadmap is not the strategy” — and why confusing the two causes real harm
• How treating roadmaps as delivery plans masks uncertainty and stalls learning
• The hidden danger of optimising for artefacts over alignment
• Why tough conversations matter more than tidy timelines
• Reframing the roadmap as a tool for dialogue, not defence
• Practical tests to reveal if your roadmap mindset needs a reset
• Three powerful ways to evolve your roadmap this month — with real impact

Whether you’re a product leader trying to engage stakeholders, an agile coach tired of delivery theatre, or simply someone who wants to work smarter — not just faster — this episode will get you rethinking your roadmap from the ground up.

Host Bio

Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.  

Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱!

Ben Maynard

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/

🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard

💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ 

Product Agility Podcast 

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 

💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/

🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility

Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes

• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56
• iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p

Want to come on the podcast?

Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80