Product Voices

Innovation and product ideation is one of the core tenants of successful product management. We simply have to get this right in order to put impactful nuanced, valuable, differentiated products and solutions out in the market for our customers. In this episode, Jennifer Glenski, Director of Product Management for BMC Software's Innovation Labs joins to discuss innovation and product ideation and how product teams can succeed at these critical activities.

Learn more at ProductVoices.com.

Agency and accountability are so very important to the success of a product manager - not only embracing this themselves but also having the organization set up in a way and the culture set up in a way that expects accountability and allows agency with product managers. On this episode, Amanda Ralph, Principal Product Manager at Papercut, joins to discuss agency and accountability in product management.


EPISODE OUTLINE:
Why is agency so important in product management? 0:03

How can product leaders transform or empower when they’re in an environment where it’s more about feature-driven product delivery? 3:57

How product leaders can give their teams the agency they need while holding their teams accountable for value creation. 7:30

Why it’s so important to start with leadership and culture. 10:51

What are some things that may help a product manager who embraces the role but doesn’t quite know how to take hold of it? 15:11

How to tease out the right environment for a new product manager. 20:05

The importance of having a candid conversation with the product leader you’re interviewing with to better understand the environment before joining a new org.  24:01

The fun of product management is that you’re on a continuous learning journey, but it’s also hard. 29:18

On this episode, Jonathan Hensley, the CEO and Chief Product Officer at EMERGE and author of Alignment: Overcoming Internal Sabotage and Digital Product Failure, discusses why alignment is critical to product success, and what teams can do to become more aligned.

We discuss four types of alignment:

• Individual
• Team
• Organization
• Market

Product management is one of the best jobs in the world but it comes with great responsibility. If we are building products, we must ensure that we are putting inclusive products out in the world. And for leaders, inclusive leadership is paramount to a successful team and positive culture.

In this personal, poignant, and impactful episode, Stephanie Leue, Chief Product Officer of Doodle shares how she has become a better, more inclusive leader by learning about, embracing, and celebrating neurodiversity at home and at work.

Find more at ProductVoices.com.

There is a lot of buzz about product management. So many people want to get in the field. It is a fun, exciting profession and is getting the limelight like never before. But product management has been around for a long time. It has evolved over the years, thankfully. But much of modern product management is rooted in fundamental business principles. We sometimes overcomplicate product management and it can help to look back at the areas that tend to lead to success.

In this episode, Anneliese Olson, former SVP & Global GM  for HP’s Print Category joins to discuss how we can leverage some foundational concepts to drive modern product management.

Listen to hear more on...

• Defining “fundamental business practices”
• Discussing “modern” product management
• How lifecycle management influences what we do 
• What product managers can do to ensure these principles are being used to drive work and decisions
• how product leaders can create an environment conducive to success
• Advise for product folks can build their business acuity

Learn more at ProductVoices.com.

In this episode, Rich Mironov joins to discuss the core challenges of product managers and product leaders and how to combat these challenges. 

We discuss:

• The reality of product managers leading with influence and no authority
• Balancing the long-term health of your product when so many of your stakeholders are focused on the short-term

Learn more at ProductVoices.com.

While it is impossible for me to pick top moments from this year. There are simply too many great moments.  I have loved each and every one of the conversations I have had on the 47 episodes, and each guest has brought their own unique insights to the show and we've all learned from each one.

But in this episode, I highlight some moments that I found especially meaningful or insightful from Product Voices in 2022, including:

• Radhika Dutt as our very first guest!
• A powerful moment with Farah Rana on her "why"
• Amber Hall sharing her perspective on product management for physical, durable products
• John Fontenot telling us why the customer is NOT always right
• Navya Rehani Gupta educating us on product strategy through her unique product avocado approach
• Jen Yang Wong reminding product leaders not to overlook talented but green product managers because of our own insecurities around mentoring them
• Nils Davis discussing the importance of storytelling in product management
• Colleen Graneto sharing why storytelling is even more important in the age of asynchronous working

Find more at ProductVoices.com.

Saeed Khan joins to discuss five dysfunctions common across product teams. These include:

1. Poor Job Definitions

2. Under-skilled Product Managers

3. Poor Processes

4. Unclear Objectives

5. Weak Product Leadership

Tyler Guarino and Marie Eric, graduate students at Johns Hopkins University, join to discuss their invention Tastee Tape - an edible tape that helps secure burritos, wraps, and other foods. 

What started as a school project has now been featured by Jimmy Fallon, Ryan Seacrest and many others, and was recently named one of Time's Top Inventions of 2022!

We discuss:

• How the idea came about
• The moment the team realized they had something more than a class project
• Advice for others with invention ideas
• What's next for Tastee Tape

Rex Chekal, principal product designer at TXI discusses user centric research, specifically:

• Why product innovation should be rooted in user research & what does that research look like 
• How can product managers weigh the needs of two distinct user groups during the research and design process
• Defining a culture of innovation
• Threats to innovation within an organization