The Product Bakery Podcast

This is the official end of the product bakery. Thanks to everyone who followed us for 4 years! Tune in one last time! If you want to stay in touch let's connect on LinkedIn: Christian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianstrunk/ Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdapunt/

Is innovation dead? Do companies even innovate or just re-use and refine existing innovation? This week, we discuss the necessity of innovation and what companies and teams can do to move forward. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

In this episode, Alex coaches Christian on how to create a holistic design and brand system that can be applied consistently across multiple channels. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Spoiler: This episode might be disturbing and might change your point of view on how product people and organizations should work... ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

We discussed the current situation in the hiring and job market, addressing why hiring processes often drag on and the challenges encountered by both parties. This is particularly hard when either a candidate or a company realizes, late in the hiring process, that there isn't a good fit. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Check out our latest episode where we break down what makes product marketing truly effective. We tackle the question of when marketing crosses the line into overselling, pointing out that it happens when your message doesn't match your product's real value. Tune in for practical tips on keeping your marketing on track with what your product brings to the table. Don't miss out! Copy Writing Article: https://frankkernprivate.clickfunnels.com/how-to-create-free-articles-reports-and-blog-posts-that-sell ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Even though we started talking about Jira and project management we've ended up on a crucial topic: Expanding product lines vertically and horizontally. We discussed the specific example of "True Fruits" a smoothie producer and some of their new products failed. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

A new generation is arising. Generation Alpha (A). How will these people (children) develop and how do you address marketing and brand building for younger generations? Is it ethically "correct" to target younger people? Tune in to learn more. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

This time, we talked about the current state of the tech world. We discussed what's happening behind the scenes based on general bad experiences with products, customer services, and more. Will the internet explode? Tune in to learn more. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Branding is more important than ever, whether for yourself or your company. In this episode, Alex coaches Christian on the essentials of branding. Together, they discuss everything from crafting a clear mission statement to choosing the perfect color scheme for your brand. Dive into our 'brand' new episode to discover Alex's approach to branding and how you can apply these strategies to your own brand. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Alex says you can't predict the future, but you can learn a lot by watching how users behave. In this episode, we explore how observing user behavior helps us spot patterns and make educated guesses about what's next. Tune in to discover our research insights. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

In this episode, we dive into the nuances of A/B testing, guided by Christian's latest side project. Alex shares his insights on conducting effective A/B testing, striking the perfect balance between thorough testing and decisive action. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

This time we dive into the new possibilities to quickly build products with automation tools like make.com, and zapier.com, in combination with AI tools. This fast way to build MVPs and prototypes accelerates the whole process of shipping and testing products. Tune in to learn more! ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

In today's episode, titled "The Vision-Based Product Strategy," our hosts Alex and Christian tackle the challenges and importance of having a clear product vision. They discuss the common pitfalls of defining a vision and how it can lead to misalignment within the company. Christian challenges the traditional approach of creating a single inspiring sentence and emphasizes the significance of also including the "what" and the "why" in the product vision. The conversation evolves into distinguishing between a company's mission and its vision, and how these two aspects need to be aligned to drive success. Get ready for an insightful discussion filled with practical advice on crafting a strong product vision. What we've covered: (00:02:34) Defining an inspiring, world-changing vision. (00:04:18) Product vision = future state and covers the what and why (00:07:53) The mission in concise sentences. (00:10:30) Vision and missions in multiproduct companies (00:14:59) Alignment with input from teams. Blog Article: https://www.product-bakery.com/blog/product-vision-strategy ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

In today's episode, we dive into the world of Chief Product Officers and explore what sets apart the effective ones from the ineffective ones. Drawing from our recent conversations with CPOs from around the world, we discuss the differences between European and US CPOs, the impact of culture and leadership styles, and the key ingredients for success in this role. So grab your favorite pastry and join us as we uncover the secrets to being a top-notch CPO. What we've covered: (00:02:33) CPO's role in companies and European culture. (00:06:32) Cultural differences and leadership styles impact teams. (00:10:09) Trust, autonomy, growth, and teamwork for CPOs. (00:11:07) Product strategy: problem-solving, profitability, and future positioning. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

In today's episode, Alex and Christian shed light on the growing emphasis on tools in the industry, particularly in the realms of design and product management. While tools can be immensely helpful and time-saving, the duo reminds us of the importance of not neglecting the craft itself. Join us as we explore the relationship between tooling, skills development, and the enduring need for human judgment and understanding in the product creation process. So grab your notepads and get ready for some insightful discussions. What we've covered: (00:18) Love for software tooling and emerging trends. (05:17) Tools don't replace understanding and communication. (09:03) Steve Jobs discovered through books and aesthetics and craftsmanship in product design. (10:23) Tools change, learn history, study good designers. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

In this episode, Alex and Christian bring you an insightful discussion about a hot topic in the industry. They dive into the recent announcement by the CEO of Airbnb, who boldly stated that the company is moving away from product managers. They explore the implications of this decision and its potential impact on the role of product management. They also share their thoughts on the evolving nature of the product manager role and how organizations can optimize their workforce for efficient product development. Join us as we unpack the CEO's vision for a more design-driven company and the possible implications for the future of product management. Stay tuned for a thought-provoking conversation addressing product managers' role and relevance in today's ever-changing landscape. What we've covered: (00:01:56) Apple worked without product managers, interesting discussion. (00:05:26) Engineering manager enables on-time delivery, overlaps determine role necessity - Apple example. (00:08:16) Designers and CPMs should work together effectively. (00:11:44) One person can cover the process, but experts validate. Product Marketing Episode With Martina (click me) ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

We know you might be tired of people talking about AI... Nevertheless, there are tremendous trends changing the industry and we believe it's important to stay on top of things before... ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Innovation is a word that many companies claim to do. Or, they want to be more innovative by hiring external people, setting up innovation labs, and more. What is innovation though? We took it from there and dove into the definition of innovation as well as what it needs to "do innovation" and how not to do it. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

The summer break is over! We're back with an episode about learning from feedback, news, podcasts, books, and other resources. We don't only talk about how you learn, we talk about how you learn in the right way by taking a wider perspective on things instead of "just adapting" new knowledge. We've covered: (00:02:18) Thoughts on podcasting and professional development vary. (00:03:50) How to absorb information and apply it. (00:08:16) Understanding problems before chasing solutions is crucial. (00:12:09) The Coaching Habit: effective learning and adaptation. (00:14:31) Romans exist, follow us for updates. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Long story short: We'll change the podcast format to make our conversation even more interactive. Tune in and learn about our plans ;-) ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

We've been invited to the Product Conference in Munich and interviewed great guests about the importance of the product strategy. Here are the questions we've asked: The importance of product strategy Why do product teams need a product strategy (or not)? What are the key steps for a team or individual PM to define a strategy (ideally with examples)? Which key parts & information need every strategy to cover? How can teams & leaders ensure that their teams live by the defined strategy and further develop it so it doesn't get outdated? What do CEOs & founders need to give buy-in? Follow the guests: Shilu Mistry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shilu-mistry-b56598a/ Pankaj Gupta, Ph.D.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pankaj-gupta-germany/ Check out amplitude: https://amplitude.com/ ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

We've been invited to the Product Conference in Munich and interviewed great guests about the product discovery process. Here are the questions we've asked: Running the product discovery process How do you run product discovery at your company? How did you initially set up or adjust a product discovery process when starting at your company? Which KPIs & metrics do you use to measure the impact of your discovery (ideally with examples)? At which point of the discovery process do most teams fail? Check out amplitude: https://amplitude.com/ Follow the guests: Gopi Kannappan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gopikannappan/ Sophie Genty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sgenty/ Vikas Seth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vikas-seth-/ ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Whether AI is a trend or not... it's there and it provides many ways and solutions to automize and outsource certain types of work and workflows. We've talked to Ofir Natan an AI specialist who shared with us the power of AI tools, and how he uses those to work with teams and empower companies. On top of that we dropped the critical question if and how AI specialist might replace product people and engineers in the near future. Connect with Ofir: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ofirnatan/ Link to Ofir's AI talk: https://ofirnatan.gumroad.com/l/gen-ai-for-product-teams-eu-cpo-conf-2023 Link to the resources: https://amplitude.com/blog/supercharge-with-ai ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

We invited Esmar to our show who is an experienced product leader. In this episode, he talked about how to set up a product discovery process as a leader who recently joined a new team/company. Connect with Esmar Mesic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esmarmesic/ ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

After diving into the product discovery, we continued our conversation and talked about the product delivery process. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

This week, Alex talks about how he does product discovery and how he and his team managed to establish a new process within their company. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

After many requests, we finally talked for the first time about OKR planning! In this episode, we looked at the whole planning process of OKRs on a team and company level. We specifically looked at the planning process and the common traps teams fall into. OKR planning & process https://www.christianstrunk.com/blog/practical-okr-planning-guide Defining OKRs: https://www.christianstrunk.com/blog/5-okr-best-practices ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

This time we attended the Chief Product Officer Conference 2023 in Berlin. We've hosted a panel discussion and talked about product lead growth as well as the importance of AI. Our guests: Mirela Mus - CPO & Founder @Product People Rhiannon White - CPO @Clue Belen Caeiro - VP Product @Microverse ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

After our previous discussion about product owners and managers, we looked deeper into product design vs. UX design. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Product management and design collaboration is what we've talked most about in the past. The same goes for product and engineering collaboration. In this episode, we talk about how product designers and engineers should collaborate to ensure seamless delivery to production. Follow us on LinkedIn: Alex Dapunt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdapunt/ Christian Strunk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianstrunk/⁠ ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

We enjoyed talking to the analytics veteran and product evangelist Adam Greco. Adam has more than 20 years of experience in the industry. We talked about the importance of good data for marketers and product teams, the shift from sales-led growth to product-led growth as well as the upcoming trends around machine learning and AI. Table of content: 00:30 - Intro Adam 02:40 - The rise of data 05:10 - Privacy, GDPR & more 13:25 - Marketing vs. product analytics 19:00 - Tracking based on business questions 27:20 - Good tracking vs. bad tracking (example) 33:10 - The trend of AI 36:45 - Adam's advice for product teams Linkedin: Adam Greco Website: amplitude.com ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

The product manager vs. product owner discussion is still a thing. What's the difference and how do companies distinguish these roles? This time, we shared our thoughts and experiences around the titles. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Giving and receiving feedback can be very challenging. Especially when it comes to the topics that bother us. In this episode, we talked about how we're giving feedback as well as the negative side effects of not speaking the truth. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Do you have a place where you collect every idea of a stakeholder, team members, etc.? Are some ideas getting lost sometimes? We discussed some approaches to manage ideas and report transparently on the progress of the stakeholder requests. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Christian was at the Berlin Product Conference 2023 and hosted a panel discussion about the importance of user-centricity in product development. The whole conversation was recorded including the QA session. Panel Guests: Henning Witzel - Head of Product Design @NewStore Benjamin Keyser - CPO @Latana Vamsi Krishna Wuppalapati - Interims CPO @Phyntelligence ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Netflix shared their new salary ranges due to the legal requirements for open positions. Interestingly a senior designer role has a range between $50k - $600k. We discussed the crazy range and what you can do to get the salary that you deserve! ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Creating a good product strategy is one thing. Another is ensuring that the whole company buys in and follows the strategy. We talked about how important it is to clearly communicate our plans as product leaders. Need inspiration? Check out this product strategy template: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mLNt7f6CPPa3FzNxnHZAS7pxgp-QDOLL2UtsBe7fcKI/edit?usp=sharing ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

"I don't have time to..." is maybe a quote you've said or heard many times. We made a deep-dive into time management and talked about the root-causes. Meeting attendance decision tree:

Today, we talked about the recent news on FTX (crypto exchange) and the current mass layoffs the tech industry faces. We took a deep dive into how the current economic situation impacts hiring, culture, how people are approaching job search, and more! ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

After an eventful year, we're heading into a short break. Thank you all for the support throughout this year and see you back in 2023. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

We're sure you've heard about ChatGPT! In this episode, we discussed the new technology and the threats and opportunities of this new enhanced AI. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Backlog management is not only a task for product managers. Design teams need to manage and prioritize their work as well. Therefore, we talked about how to best manage and coordinate the work between product and design. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

The new Arc browser is on its way! This time, we discussed how browsers have developed and what we expect from a product & design PoV from a good browsing experience. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

Maybe you've experienced something similar... Many times people work on features or solutions... if you ask the question though: "what's the problem" you are not getting a real answer... In this episode, we discussed why people tempt to jump to solutions and how you can be more problem/customer-centric. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

After more than 91 episodes we finally talked about design thinking. This time, Alex got interviewed about his opinion on design thinking and how to apply it. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

There is a tool... called the company compass or medicine wheel. It's used for strategic planning and defining clear roles within a company, project, or group. In this episode, we talk about the new framework we've discovered and how to apply it in product. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

This time, we talk about how to best approach when your team members are struggling with their performance. We looked at questions like: What best to do? What do the people need? How can you empower them? Tune in to learn more! ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

What to do if you're in trouble with your leader(ship team)? Can individual contributors make a change? Is it even their job? Or, should you just move on and let it go? This time we talked about what product people can and may should do if they want to change the direction of their leaders. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

You may have noticed that Instagram updated its app and rolled it back to the previous version. We took a closer look at what has happened, especially on the product & engineering side. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩

In this episode, we talk about the importance of having and working with experienced people who coach or mentor you. ✩ Follow The Product Bakery Podcast ✩