Product Remixed: Rethinking Product Management

In this episode, we chat with my friend, Eva, who I first met when we both worked at an interior design startup. Here’s Eva in her own words:Eva Recinos is an editor and freelance writer based in Los Angeles. As an arts and culture journalist, her reviews, features, and profiles have been featured in Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Magazine, LA Weekly, Hyperallergic, Artsy, Jezebel and more. Her essays on mental health and cultural identity have appeared in Electric Literature, Catapult, Refinery29, Marie Claire, Remezcla and more. She is less than five feet tall.Eva and I chat about:What tech can learn from the artsAmplifying BIPOC voices The power of fiction and memoirWhy stories matterConnect with Eva via her IG @evaiswriting, her website, and her newsletter Notes from Eva where she shares her work and opportunities for BIPOC in the arts.

In today’s episode, we learn that there is no such thing as a free app. Join me as we explore the world of product from the lens of privacy and data protection advisor, Ayana Miller. Having built privacy programs for companies such as Pinterest, Facebook, and Snapchat, our guest today is also a real estate investor and restaurant venture owner.Grab your notebook and take notes for our chat where we discuss:How privacy can be a part of the product life cycle What does privacy by design really meanHow starting a business can be viewed as a systemLearn more:AyanaMiller.com, and IG via @ayanarmillerBooks mentioned: Queen Sugar by Natalie BaszileWeapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’NeilPodcasts mentioned:ShineHard Conversations with Johnny BaileyReal Estate Investing: BiggerPockets Podcast & Forums

On this episode, we are chatting with Ravi Raman, a career coach for technology leaders and high performers. Ravi was a product lead and director for many years at Microsoft, and is also a dedicated yoga practitioner and teacher. Ravi coached me through my first year of product management and was instrumental in how I shifted my views from merely just excelling in my career to living a joyful, fulfilling life (and yes, I got promoted to senior PM). On this episode, we talk about:Waking up to our innate capacity and wisdomThe role of insight in living a happy and joyful lifeHow our passions can make us better product managersHow to think about working with a coach, career or otherwiseThis is not a sponsored post, by the way! I truly believe in Ravi’s work: book your complimentary call with him via his website and subscribe to his newsletter,

In this episode of Product Remixed, Frances shares her thoughts on the unique value that workshop activities provide individuals and their teams. Topics include: how workshops provide value that is different from conferences or lectures, nine ways to incorporate the spirit of a workshop in day-to-day activities as a product manager or team leader, approaches to building better teams and products, and more.Episode Action Item:Take a moment to reflect on how you could tryout one of the tools discussed in this episode sometime this week. Get in touch and share your results, I’d love to hear from you!Resources Mentioned:Joy Harjo: https://www.joyharjo.com/Crazy Brave Memoir: https://www.joyharjo.com/book/crazy-braveCompliment Ball by Isadora Dantas (she’s coming onto the show soon: stay tuned!) https://www.isawonderfulworld.com/Design Sprint: https://www.gv.com/sprint/User Manual: https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/my-user-manual

If you feel called to a higher purpose in your work or if you are curious about building products with integrity and impact, you’ll want to listen to this episode. This week, we sit down with William Tyner, a professional user researcher, anthropologist, and documentary filmmaker who has worked at Code for America, Facebook, Google, and National Geographic. In this insightful and thought-provoking episode, we chat about:Building trust in field research for emotional topics such as economic mobility Respect, dignity and awareness as cornerstones of conducting impactful researchWhat product builders can learn from cultural anthropology Will’s experience in Romania as a filmmakerFind out more:WilliamTyner.comNational Geographic Newsroom: “Back From the Field: The 2018-2019 Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellows”Wesleyan University Magazine: “Technology as a Tool for Transcendence: William Tyner ’13”Connect with Will on LinkedIN or IG via @willtyner

“You can improve your working relationships through negotiation or leading, and even if you’re the most junior person in the room, it doesn’t matter if you just got out of school: you’d be viewed as an essential asset of your organization since you’re actively contributing to helping others grow, which is so key as a designer.” - Rachel D. WeissmanI’m thrilled to welcome Rachel D. Weissman to the show. I have been following her for a while now on Instagram and even had a fan girl moment when we finally connected. Currently a designer at Google, as well as a practicing meditation and yoga teacher based in San Francisco, Rachel is truly inspiring with her mission to help us form a deeper connection with ourselves, our careers, and the world. In this episode, she also gives us a sneak peek into newest venture, Design To Be, a community for designers to become empowered, educated, and effective using EQ-based tools and practices.In this episode, Rachel and I chat about:How meditation has influenced her journey and processThe key pillars of emotional intelligence or EQHow to use EQ to design better products and build relationshipsHow to move from good to great as a designerConnect with Rachel via: RachelDWeissman.com, @racheldweissmanDesigntoBe.com or follow along on IG via @design_tobe, Twitter, and Facebook.

On this episode of Product Remixed, Frances sits down with Living London’s founder Saira Niazi. Living London is a platform featuring London’s hidden gems through workshops, tours, and a fantastically written and photographed blog. Topics of conversation include: how we can use places and settings to connect with people, the relationship between stories and building trust, Saira’s forthcoming book On Belonging: Reflections of a Tour Guide, building a mindset of possibility and wonder, Saira’s book writing process, the power of wandering, and other topics.Connect with SairaIG: @livinglon, Twitter @livinglonLiving London Website: https://www.livinglondon.org/Subscribe to Living London Newsletter: https://us15.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=12ab60102c71118e4d9a5f0dd&id=c261c8dbd6Keep an eye out for Saira's forthcoming book, On Belonging: Reflections of a Tour Guide - https://us15.campaign-archive.com/?u=12ab60102c71118e4d9a5f0dd&id=b8990637ccWatch Museum of London event replay for City of Refugees: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london/whats-on/city-refugees-conversation?id=262209

On this episode of Product Remixed, Frances sits down with product manager and mentor Lynne Levy. After launching multimillion dollar products over the course of her career as a product lead, Lynne has turned her attention to nurturing and mentoring the rising product managers of today. Topics of conversation include: how Frances collaborated with Lynne to level up her skillset as product manager during quarantine, how Lynne’s guidance inspired Frances to launch this podcast, the power of stories and how they influence the way we lead, why vulnerability is a superpower for building relationships, and other topics.Connect with Lynne via her website: LynneLevy.com or via LinkedIn. Be sure to checkout her free masterclass and join the group on Facebook.https://lynnelevy.com/https://lynnelevy.com/contact/#

In this long-awaited episode, we sit down with Abiola Ogunbiyi, a coach helping professional artists achieve life-art-work balance and craft authentic and flourishing careers. Previously an actress in London’s West End, you may also recognize her from the show Jamestown or from her insightful IG account, @tobeabtterartist. In this episode we talk about:How to have a sustainable career and creative practiceWhat clarity is and how to “arrive” at itFlow state and how we can get there more oftenWe also geek out about our shared love for Ashely C. Ford. I can’t wait to share this episode with you!Connect with Abiola via @tobeabetterartist on IG and her website, To Be a Better Artist. Also, please consider supporting her work at Buy Me a Coffee where she posts videos with a sneak peek into her process, as well as very fun (and useful!) expansion challenges. http://www.tobeabetterartist.com/https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tobeabetterartistResources Mentioned:The Slight Edge by Jeff OlsonThe Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

“The most powerful seat in any organization is the one you are sitting in. Your ability to influence, create change, and make a difference has nothing to do with your title or where you are… It has everything to do with who you are. No matter where you sit you have more power to make a difference than you realize. The question is, who do you want to be today?” - Kim Nicol on Product RemixedIn this episode of Product Remixed, Frances sits down with mindfulness and leadership coach Kim Nicol. Topics of conversation include: why mindfulness is essential in leadership positions, leadership as a balance between managing and coaching, how mindfulness allows you to show up to your life instead of react to it, how to give feedback that builds teams not tension, feedback as a form of service, and more....Mentioned Resources and Links:Kim Nicol*Website: https://kimnicol.com/*Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimnicol*The New Manager Podcast: https://anchor.fm/kimnicol*Essential Skills for New Managers: https://kimnicol.com/new-managers/*General Assembly Workshops: https://generalassemb.ly/instructors/kim-nicol/4911Satori Yoga Studio*Practice Online now and In-studio when they re-open http://satoriyogastudio.com/Bill Campbell Book*https://www.trilliondollarcoach.com/Good Product Manager, Bad Product Manager*https://www.khoslaventures.com/wp-content/uploads/Good_Product_Manager_Bad_Product_Manager_KV.pdf

In this first episode of Product Remixed, Frances connects with her listeners over the experience of quarantine during the COVID pandemic and provides strategies for self-care and career engagement. Within the theme of leveling up as a product leader during quarantine, Frances discusses: reframing the experience of “being stuck at home” to “being safe at home”, what yoga has taught her about product management, the importance of balancing ones career with personal projects (such as podcasting!), the value of vulnerability in the workplace, and much more.Inspiration for the episode mentionedMarty Cagan’s article “Working from Home” Seth Godin’s article “Graduate School for Unemployed College Students” Lynne Levy: product manager coaching programAnti-Racism Educators Monique MeltonWebsiteThe Shine Box: 5 modules and 49 lessons! An excerpt from the description: “The Shine Box is an anti-racism course designed to present to you the tools you will need to feel equipped, prepared and empowered to do the work of anti-racism.”L. Glenise Pike, Where Change StartedWebsite, an online platform with self-guided long-form lectures and space for office hours and consultationsOther Thought LeadersToo Marie Smith, Growth & Impact StrategistWebsiteBusiness Beyond Profit virtual workshop Books Mentioned about Technology and Racism Ruha Benjamin, PhDWebsiteBook: Race After Technology