The Product Science Podcast

What happens when the product science principles are applied to a conference organization?  You get Product Collective, now called Mind The Product by Pendo.io. Through events like INDUSTRY: The Product Conference, along with resources such as a member hub and over 100 hours of past conference videos, product professionals across the globe find community, learn, and improve their work.  Rather than AI being the end-all-be-all answer, Mike hopes that AI will be used to integrate both qualitative insights from empathetic customer interactions and quantitative data. This evidence-based approach involves testing strategies through small experiments, learning from the outcomes, and aligning decisions with core values and customer outcomes for incremental growth.  Mike also reveals insights from his experience working with Bob Moesta on jobs-to-be-done interviews, highlighting the value of going deep in customer research to uncover valuable insights, and in his case, understand attendees' needs and improve the conference and/or community experience.  Takeaways include asking deeper questions, spending more time gathering that qualitative feedback so that you can go deeper, being curiously observant of jobs-to-be-done, and finding various modalities in which to gather continuous feedback from the “friendlies” and those who are more hesitant to capture a complete picture.  Resources Follow Mike Belsito on LinkedIn Explore the free resources and upcoming events at mindtheproduct.com Listen to Mike on Rocketship.fm Follow Holly on LinkedIn Visit the Product Science Group website Explore Product Science Workshops and Courses  Quotes from Mike Belsito (00:06:52) "The job that people hire your product for, you know, if you want to think of it, in jobs to be done context, it may not be what you think it is." - Mike Belsito (00:21:29) "Qualitative data is data. So being data driven doesn't mean that we're relying only on the reports and the analytics. It's not an either or. It's not quantitative versus qualitative. It's using them both together." - Mike Belsito (00:28:15) "It's not just what you've learned, but it's these relationships that are a real value to you." - Mike Belsito Lab Notes Lab Note 607.1: Depth is where you find Differentiation. Lab Note 607.2: Start with observation of the jobs-to-be-done. Lab Note 607.3: Use different modalities to get feedback from a range of people. 

Andrew Breen, CEO of Prints of Love and Partner at Buy Build Fund, a seasoned entrepreneur and educator, believes in the power of observing user interactions to uncover the subconscious value people place on products, thereby driving strategic decisions beyond mere spreadsheet analysis. His experience reflects advocacy for addressing often-overlooked value risk and emphasizes the necessity of understanding both emotional and social values in product management. By challenging assumptions and focusing on customer needs, he highlights the importance of understanding both functional and emotional aspects of products, demonstrating how emotional benefits can strongly appeal to consumers and influence behavior. Resources Visit Buy Build Fund where Andy partners with investors and business owners Explore Prints of Love, where he serves as Board Member & CEO Connect with Andrew Breen on LinkedIn Follow Andy Breen on X  Follow Holly on LinkedIn Visit the Product Science Group website Explore Product Science Workshops and Courses Quotes from Andy Breen:  (00:05:57) "It's not about the technology. Just because you build it, they will not come. And you really do need to be solving problems for people and offering them something that changes them and their life and their abilities." - Andy Breen (00:08:57) "...these days especially every product gets about 30 seconds of consideration, you know, at the top. And so you have to have a clear value proposition." - Andy Breen (00:26:19) "There are a lot of stay-at-home moms or like people like engineers doing little SAS side projects and stuff that were turning into real businesses, real revenue, real profits, you know, something that's not often talked about in the venture world." - Andy Breen Lab Notes Lab Note 606.1: Too many product managers underestimate the importance of assessing value risk. Lab Note 606.2: Conducting value research often means holding uncomfortable tensions. Lab Note 606.3: When qualitative and quantitative are telling you the same thing, you're on your way to product market fit. Lab Note 606.4: Continuous Product Discovery has been useful since the 90's, even if it looks different today.  Lab Note 606.5: Deciding which customer use cases to replace with AI requires evidence-based product strategy. View the transcript and the full episode description on the Product Science Podcast website here.  Podcast video editing & management provided by podcastabundance.com

Ha Nguyen, a seasoned Silicon Valley product leader, then co-founding partner at Spero Ventures, Chief Experiences Officer at Swimply, and now Managing Partner at NextStep, a fractional & advisory COO consulting firm, shares her perspective, lessons learned, and journey through the ranks with us today.  Ha's journey underscores the importance of adaptability, continuous learning, and leveraging networks in navigating a product management career. She highlights the significance of being proactive, driving outcomes, and having the courage to ask for opportunities and support from leadership. Ha's experience showcases how excelling in one's function, seeking opportunities for growth and expansion, and being ready to pivot when necessary can lead to transformative career shifts, such as her transition from a VP of Product role to venture capital. Continuous product discovery is proven critical through Ha's story, even as companies scale, emphasizing the need to maintain customer contact and understanding throughout growth phases. Ha Nguyen's advice on driving impact, seeking expanded responsibilities, and being willing to walk away when opportunities for growth are limited resonates with the team at Product Science Group. By prioritizing personal growth, seeking supportive environments, and proactively shaping their career paths, product developers and leaders can make strategic decisions that propel their careers and products forward. Resource Links: Follow Ha Nguyen on LinkedIn Visit NextStepFwd, Ha's Consulting website Join the NextStep Substack Follow Holly on LinkedIn Visit the Product Science Group website Explore Product Science Workshops and Courses Quotes from Ha Nguyen: (00:05:45) "I felt like I was ready to sort of increase my scope and my impact, albeit at a smaller company. However, I really wanted to have more influence over the direction of the company, not just the direction of our products." - Ha Nguyen (00:09:39) "Be incredibly good at what you do. Startups give you the opportunity to have expanded scope, work for a great boss who's supportive of your career. Don't be afraid to ask. And then finally, if. If they're not going to support you and what you need, then you might need to make the decision to walk." - Ha Nguyen (00:28:47) "When you build the network and people have seen that you have been putting the hours in to build what I call the labor of love projects, it, it's just easier because when you need to reach out to folks for anything they want to help you, they'll pick up the phone and they'll help you." - Ha Nguyen Lab Notes:  Lab Note 605.1: As a company grows, you must intentionally create structure for continuous product discovery. (00:31:46) Lab Note 605.2: Raise your hand to access new opportunities. (00:33:03) Lab Note 605.3: There are varied perspectives on work-life balance and startup life. (00:34:07) Lab Note 605.4: Fractional product work is a great fit for creative people who thrive in ambiguity, but it's not accessible or right for everyone. (00:36:38) Lab Note 605.5: Invest in your network throughout your career and it will pay dividends. (00:40:27) View the transcript and the ⁠full episode description on the Product Science Podcast website here.⁠

How do CPOs balance keep teams engaged in meaningful work while building a product strategy from scratch? Stephanie Leue, Chief Product Officer at Doodle at the time of this recording, shares how she integrates customer feedback, collaboration with internal teams, and data-driven insights to inform strategic decisions, underscoring the value of communication and using various artifacts to convey the product strategy effectively across the organization. By engaging in discovery while leveraging foundational work, teams can build trust and demonstrate progress to stakeholders. Stephanie's experience as a seasoned product leader in B2B SaaS, along with her focus on leadership coaching and diversity and inclusion, underscores the critical role of experienced product leaders in making the craft of product management appear seamless.  Overall, her approach emphasizes the iterative nature of product strategy development, de-risking bets with data and discovery, and fostering collaboration and trust within teams to drive meaningful progress and innovation in product development. Resource Links Visit Stephanie's webpage Follow Stephanie Leue's Substack Follow Stephanie Leue on LinkedIn Visit the Doodle website Follow Holly on LinkedIn Visit the Product Science Group website Explore Product Science Workshops and Courses Quotes from Stephanie Leue:"We just don't want to build one feature after another. We want to have kind of a bigger picture in mind and we want to achieve that bigger version of what we are today, right?" “If you show them 1 minute 20 about the future of a product, they immediately have 20,000 things that will never work out. And they have 20,000 questions and like tons of ideas why things will take way longer than expected. But to be honest, that's exactly the discussion you want to have, right?”  “We needed to train ourselves to ask the right questions. We needed to get answers to these questions. We needed to understand the data we got. We needed to compose a picture out of that data. So that takes a while because that's like a team effort.” Lab Notes Lab Note 604.1: Experienced product leaders make the craft of product management look easy Lab Note 604.2: Strategy is a series of bets that can make even the CPO uncomfortable Lab Note 604.3: Use different communication approaches for different audiences of your product strategyLab Note 604.4: Find foundational alignment and begin executing while you are developing your bigger product strategy Ready to elevate your product leadership game? Dive deep into practical solutions for real-world product challenges. Register now: https://www.productsciencegroup.com/services View the transcript and the ⁠full episode description on the Product Science Podcast website here.⁠

Product management is a complex and multifaceted role that requires a delicate balance of strategy, organization, and communication. In order to effectively manage products from ideation to launch and beyond, product managers need the right tools at their disposal. This is where product management tools come into play.  Hubert Palan, the founder and CEO of Productboard, is a key figure in the evolution of product management tools, drawing from his extensive background as an engineer turned product manager. He recognized the pressing need for a dedicated platform that addresses the unique challenges faced by product managers, emphasizing customer-centricity and segmentation, a perspective shaped by his studies under Steve Blank at UC Berkeley.  Traditional tools like Jira and Asana, according to Palan, often fall short in catering to the nuanced needs of product management, prompting the creation of Productboard to fill this gap, which now serves over 6,000 clients including major players like Zoom and JPMorgan Chase. By leveraging visual communication tools and focusing on customer segmentation, Palan believes product managers can better understand and cater to their target audience, ultimately driving product success and organizational growth.  Resource Links Follow Hubert Palan on LinkedIn Follow Hubert Palan on X (formerly Twitter) Explore Productboard Learn about Steve Blank's Lean Startup philosophy Follow Holly on LinkedIn Visit the Product Science Group website Explore Product Science Workshops    Quotes from Hubert Palan: “Because at the end of the day you have to make a decision. Do I add another use case? Do I satisfy a new need, Do I expand the set of capabilities that my product has or do I double down on what the use case that I already have, but make them better or improve the usability? And that's every day.” Hubert Palan (18:06) “Frequently Personas are more like a design user Personas as opposed to Persona representing the business market segments that product managers need to think about. Because at the end of the day it needs to be a viable business, not just a product that satisfies needs of a specific user.” - Hubert Palan (21:16) “It's challenging and there's no shortcut, unfortunately. I mean, you have to do the workshops, you have to communicate frequently. You need to do the AMA sessions, you need to have the big 10-page document and then a summary of it. And it's constant communication, constant coordination.” - Hubert Palan (31:54)  Lab Notes Lab Note 603.1: Roadmaps are a conversation, not a one-way document.  Lab Note 603.2: Tools like roadmaps, customer interview snapshots, ideal customer profiles, competitive landscapes, and journey maps help leaders share context and set direction.  Lab Note 603.3: For more valuable personas, enrich them with data and an understanding of both behavior and business opportunities.  Lab Note 603.4: Find simple questions to identify who is best suited to get value from your product.  Ready to elevate your product leadership game? Dive deep into practical solutions for real-world product challenges. Register now: productsciencegroup.com/services View the transcript and the ⁠full episode description on the Product Science Podcast website here.⁠

Key aspects of product development, such as recognizing a true market opportunity, structuring teams for new market pursuits, and proving ROI when launching a new product are unpacked in this episode with Inessa Lurye as Holly Hester-Reilly's guest.  Inessa Lurye, as the Senior Director of Product and head of Women's Health at Hinge Health, identified a substantial market gap and shares her journey of developing a virtual program that has now served over 30,000 women. She has held product leadership roles at venture-funded startups, government agencies, and large corporations, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPP from the Kennedy School, and a BA from Swarthmore.  During product development, Inessa and her team focused on fostering empathy and understanding among team members through direct customer interactions. This episode emphasizes the significance of collaboration, innovation, and customer-centric approaches in product management and development. The conversation also touches on strategies for dealing with difficult stakeholders and addressing their concerns proactively.   Resource Links Follow Inessa on LinkedIn Visit the Hinge Health website Celebrate Inessa's 2023 Product Management Leader of the Year Award Follow Holly on Twitter Follow Holly on LinkedIn Visit the Product Science Group website Explore Product Science Workshops and Courses  Quotes from Inessa:"So initially we had a really focused, dedicated tiger team before any engineering was staffed... We were speaking [to] members or potential members, like really doing in-depth research to understand this space."  "We integrated the measurement of baseline data around pain and symptoms and specific patient reported outcomes... into our initial application to get a baseline and then into our app experience."  "We had our pelvic floor physical therapists and Hinge Health... a group of clinical specialists who are PTs that work with the product team to develop new products."  Lab Notes Lab Note 602.1: Great product leaders use all of the product science principles to succeed  (29:16) Lab Note 602.2: Include a subject matter expert on your cross-functional team for a tighter feedback loop (30:50) Lab Note 602.3: Evidence comes from customers, forums, and subject matter experts  (33:11) Lab Note 602.4: When your buyers aren't your users, make it easy for buyers to see the outcome (34:11) Lab Note 602.5: Simple tools can incentivize customer touchpoints for an outsized impact (36:57) Lab Note: 602.6: Spend the most time on your biggest naysayers  (39:11) View the transcript and the full episode description on the Product Science Podcast website here.Ready to elevate your product leadership game? Dive deep into practical solutions for real-world product challenges. Register now: https://www.productsciencegroup.com/services 

Meet Melissa Perri and Denise Tilles, the dynamic duo behind the groundbreaking book “Product Operations: How Successful Companies Build Better Products at Scale.” Melissa's expertise spans from founding Produx Labs, a product management training and consulting company, to spearheading product strategies at esteemed companies like Insight Partners, Capital One, Vanguard, and Walmart/Sam's Club. Meanwhile, Denise brings over a decade of product leadership experience at Condé Nast, Cision, and Understood.org to the table. Together, they have driven meaningful outcomes for various businesses through their targeted support in product operations, design, and coaching.  Dive deeper into Melissa and Denise's book as we explore the three principles of product operations, the responsibilities and values that come with a great product leader, and how effective product operations lead to more impactful product outcomes.  Resource Links Check out Melissa and Denise's book,  Product Operations Check out Melissa's book,  Escaping the Build Trap Visit the Produx Labs website Learn more about Melissa on her website Follow Melissa on LinkedIn Learn more about Denise on her website Follow Denise on LinkedIn Follow Holly on Twitter Follow Holly on LinkedIn Visit the Product Science Group website Explore Product Science Workshops and Courses Quotes from Melissa Perri and Denise Tilles: “I see this connection between continuous discovery and a team's capacity for creativity... If you have the time available to you and space has been made to think deeply about what's actually valuable to the people that you're creating things for, I think that puts you in a creative space.” - Denise Tilles “Try to show people what you can do as quickly as possible so they realize the value. The more that you can achieve value for people and help them realize it, the more buy-in you're going to get.” - Melissa Perri “The customer and market insights is really about aggregating all the feedback that we're hearing from our customers, from all different parts of the organization... Where do those live? And how do we make sure that people can read those studies, understand what has been asked of customers, use it to identify problems and put back into their work, and then also, where do they go to help contact customers?” - Melissa Perri  Lab Notes Lab Note 601.1: Product ops ties into each of the Product Science Principles. - Holly Hester-Reilly (31:25)  Lab Note 601.2: Centralizing product operations is worth it. - Holly Hester-Reilly (35:34) Lab Note 601.3: The work of product operations has been around longer than the name. - Holly Hester-Reilly (36:23) Lab Note 601.4: On a small, growing team, hire product ops before research ops.  - Holly Hester-Reilly (38:07) Lab Note 601.5: Organization of your insights goes a long way toward driving evidence-based product decisions.  -Dina Levitan (40:05) Lab Note 601.6: Product Operations may be an opportunity to systematically bring design in earlier in the product discovery and strategy process. - Mark Enache (43:06) View the Transcript and the full episode description on the Product Science Podcast websiteReady to elevate your product leadership game? Dive deep into practical solutions for real-world product challenges. Register now: productsciencegroup.com/services 

In this mini-episode of the podcast, Holly introduces team members Dina Levitan and Mark Enache, who share some stories about working with Product Science Group clients. Holly also tells us about changes coming for Season 6 of the Product Science Podcast - video, shorter episodes, and a new Lab Notes section.Subscribe for the full episode on Apple, Google Play, Spotify, YouTube, and more. Love what you hear? Leave us a review, it means a lot. Fill out our course interest survey and get notified about upcoming courses on Maven here: www.productsciencegroup.com/maven And check out our new homes on the web: https://www.productsciencegroup.com https://www.instagram.com/productsciencegroup/ https://www.tiktok.com/@productsciencegroup https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-science-group https://www.youtube.com/@productsciencegroup

Holly Hester-Reilly is the Founder and CEO of H2R Product Science, a product management coaching and consulting firm that teaches the principles and practices of high-growth product development, and the host of the Product Science Podcast. Holly is a former Columbia University research scientist and has spent over 15 years leading product initiatives at startups, high-growth companies, and enterprises like FalconX, MediaMath, Shutterstock, The Lean Startup Co, Unilever, Capital One, and Weight Watchers. Holly also teaches at NYU Stern School of Business as well as public and private workshops and has spoken about building high-growth products for events such as Lean Startup Summit Europe, the Women in Product Annual Conference, ITX Product + Design Conf, Parsons School of Design, and INDUSTRY: The Product Conference. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we share Season 5 excerpts as we cover the product discovery loop, a tool to break down the components of achieving product market fit. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/season-5-highlights-the-product-discovery-loop

Jeff Patton helps companies adopt a way of working that's focused on building great products, not just building stuff faster. Jeff blends a mixture of Agile thinking, Lean and Lean Startup Thinking, and UX Design and Design Thinking to end up with a holistic product-centric way of working. Jeff is author of the bestselling O'Reilly book User Story Mapping which describes a simple holistic approach to using stories in Agile development without losing sight of the big picture. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover common challenges to product discovery, what tools and techniques Jeff teaches, which ones he's changed over the years, and why. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-jeff-patton-hypothesis-successful-teams-focus-on-the-who-before-the-what

Christian is a partner at Silicon Valley Product Group. Christian has been a product leader for over 15 years, building teams and developing enterprise and consumer products that have shaped companies such as CareerBuilder and Merrill Corporation as well as clients such as Microsoft, Starbucks, and Squarespace. Christian teaches product management and innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He also gives back to his local product community each year by supporting and advising two student-led startups from conceptualization to product delivery. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover the importance of humility in product management, the benefits of diverse thinking, and how a contest kick-started Christian's career in product management. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-christian-idiodi-hypothesis-great-product-management-starts-with-admitting-i-dont-know

Peter Voss is a Pioneer in AI who coined the term ‘Artificial General Intelligence' and the CEO and Chief Scientist at Aigo.ai. For the past 15 years, Voss and his team at Aigo have been perfecting an industry disruptive, highly intelligent and hyper-personalized Chatbot, with a brain, for large enterprise customers. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover career opportunities in AI development, the potential of AI to be personal and an assistant, and how embracing a future with AI means focusing on critical thinking skills. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-peter-voss-hypothesis-we-will-soon-need-to-embrace-ai-to-be-effective-in-the-world

Matt LeMay is the author of Product Management in Practice (now in its second edition) and product leader and consultant who has worked with companies like Google, Spotify, Mailchimp, and Audible. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how constraints can be helpful in product, the effects of getting promoted without being ready, and why great product managers don't need to say yes or no. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-matt-lemay-hypothesis-great-product-managers-never-have-to-say-yes-or-no

Risa Stein is a Director of Product, Integrity leading teams focused on protecting customer safety, privacy, and security. Risa and her team are responsible for setting and enforcing policy, investigating and stopping bad actors who try to abuse Slack, and developing new product features to protect Slack's customers. Prior to joining Slack, she led Transparency and Safety Experience products at LinkedIn and worked in Trust & Safety and product at Twitter. Risa received her JD from Stanford Law School, an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and her honors BA from Brown University. Risa lives in her hometown of San Francisco with her husband and two dogs, Noodle and Pancakes. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover what it means to be a product manager of Integrity, what key areas are involved, and how Risa works with PMs across Slack. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-risa-stein-hypothesis-trust-is-a-crucial-component-of-a-successful-product

Paul Orlando helps organizations unlock new revenue and partnership opportunities, getting companies to solve problems that they couldn't in other ways. He has built startup programs around the world (Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Rome, and remote). Paul also teaches at the University of Southern California. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how to know when to pivot, answering the Why Now question as a startup, and building startup incubators and accelerators. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-paul-orlando-hypothesis-great-product-strategy-answers-the-why-now-question

Based on more than two decades of enterprise product management experience, including a stint managing a product for product managers, Nils Davis has lots of knowledge and wisdom. In his podcast, the Secrets of Product Management he shares powerful ways for product managers to create more value by ensuring every product is a solution to a meaningful market problem. And that every team creating and selling products is as effective and motivated as they can be. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how to tell a good story, why ROI calculations hurt innovation, and the 5 questions every PM should be able to answer. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-nils-davis-hypothesis-a-good-story-comes-from-solving-a-real-problem-for-real-people

Andrew Skotzko is a product discovery & strategy advisor to tech companies who has built products and led teams for 13 years. By day, he advises companies on product leadership & strategy to make products which find traction in the market and help people thrive in the process. By night, he picks up the mic on his podcast, Make Things That Matter, and explores how product innovation, cognitive science, and org design are creating the future of work. Before discovering product management, Andrew worked in both engineering and marketing, and has worked in a wide range of spaces: consumer web, consumer hardware, decentralized communities, human performance, open-source software, mental health, ocean science, and agriculture/aquaculture. He's worked with all stages of companies, from nascent startups to the Fortune 100. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover the importance of distribution to product success, creating a culture of experimentation on product teams, and the role cognitive science plays in product management. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-andrew-skotzko-hypothesis-if-youre-going-to-try-and-change-somebodys-behavior-you-better-understand-it

Driven by a passion to replace pain points with user delight, Dean Peters has provided product management expertise across a variety of domains and technologies for nearly two decades. From large enterprises such as IQVIA and Citrix to startups such as Dude Solutions and Seven Lakes Technologies, to merged and acquired companies such as Aprimo and McClatchy, Dean has helped teams self-organize, and businesses deliver on the promise of highly usable and valuable outcomes. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover moving from solution space to problem space, the importance of building relationships with other departments, and what makes a great work environment for product managers. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-dean-peters-hypothesis-the-best-products-are-created-from-problem-focused-conversations

Roman Pichler is a leading product management expert specialized in product strategy, leadership, and agility. He has advised product leaders and he has taught product managers and product owners for more than 15 years. Roman has pioneered agile product management practices, and he has developed a range of models, methods, and tools to help organizations create successful products. Roman shares his knowledge through his training courses, his four books, his popular blog, podcast, and talks, and his product management tools, including his widely used Product Vision Board. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover agile and product transformations, what's wrong with the focus on features, and saying no. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-roman-pichler-hypothesis-establishing-an-effective-agile-product-management-organization-takes-time

Andrew Michael is an entrepreneur with 14 years of experience in digital growth companies as a founder or senior manager with a focus on customer retention, data analytics, product, and growth. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover the mistakes Andrew made early on in his startup career and at what points in the development process he focuses on quantitative vs qualitative research. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-andrew-michael-hypothesis-mixing-qualitative-and-quantitative-research-methods-leads-to-better-product-decisions

Lisa is the Founder of Conscious Product Development. Her purpose is to help product teams solve the right problems for the right reasons and develop products (and careers) more consciously - in ways that are inclusive, holistic, ethical, accessible, and sustainable - and that makes people's lives measurably better. She previously worked at Google, several wearable tech startups, and with Bauer Hockey's stick development team. She is also a three time national hockey champion. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Lisa's philosophy of Conscious Product Development, and how her personal life helped guide towards wanting to solve problems in a more compassionate way. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-lisa-marie-zane-hypothesis-conscious-product-development-is-building-a-better-future-for-tech

Shane Zilinskas has worked on many product launches for companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500. He started off as an engineer before finding his way to product management, when a book and a one-way ticket to Europe led him, together with his wife Kara McGehee, to build ClearSummit, an agency that has helped 100s of companies take their products from 0 to 1. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how Dan got started in tech, why he built an agency of his own, and how they practice product discovery. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-shane-zilinskas-hypothesis-user-research-and-empathy-drive-products-from-0-to-1

Christina is a product manager at Slack, focused primarily on improving the accessibility of both Slack and Quip (the collaboration tool, not the toothbrush company!) for people with disabilities.Previously to working in product, Christina was an ethnographer focused on how people incorporate technology into their lives, with over a decade of experience in observing and orchestrating social interactions on the internet and in offline subcultural spaces in China and the U.S. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how Christina's team makes sure that accessibiilty needs at Slack are addressed and how we can help the industry do more for disabled users. Read the show notes to learn more: URL: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-christina-xu-hypothesis-accessibility-is-a-critical-aspect-of-product-design

Jason Keramidas is always thinking about how to build products that will make people's lives better. He has over 25 years experience working with a range of companies from early stage startups to driving growth at public companies. He lives just north of NYC with his wife and two children. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Jason's early days in product management, what is different about product in B2B, why Jason argues that the sales team is your greatest asset, and what his experience at a nonprofit was like. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-jason-keramidas-hypothesis-with-enterprise-products-the-sales-team-is-your-biggest-asset

Tosin Onibon-oje is a highly skilled Product Lead with 15 years of experience in the industry. She is customer-focused and outcome-driven, with a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams in developing and launching innovative and successful products. She is an effective communicator who excels at building strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels. Additionally, Tosin is passionate about fostering kindness and a human-centered culture in the workplace. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how Tosin has experienced product management both outside and inside the software world, how to utilize kindness and empathy to be strong product leader, and how to balance business and human needs fairly at the workplace. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-tosin-onibon-oje-hypothesis-kindness-is-a-strength-for-product-managers

Jackie Bavaro has over 15 years of product management experience, most recently as Head of PM at Asana. During her tenure, she grew the PM team to over twenty people, helped Asana's go from 0 to more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue, and launched Asana's associate product manager program. She has worked as a PM for Google and Microsoft as well, and in a diverse set of PM roles—consumer, B2B, platform, mobile, and growth. She has been a manager and manager of managers. She has written two books: Cracking the PM Interview and Cracking the PM Career. You can find her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jackiebo and substack at https://jackiebavaro.substack.com/. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover why Jackie wrote books about PM interviews and careers, how product organizations evolve as a company grows, and what great product leadership looks like. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-jackie-bavaro-hypothesis-cracking-the-pm-career-means-leading-with-the-right-questions

Dan Balcauski is the founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, based in Austin, TX. He focuses on helping high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs define pricing and packaging for new products. Over his career, he has worked in both B2C and B2B companies ranging from startups to publicly traded enterprises. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Dan's SVCS model for working through pricing and packaging, how to figure out what different customers value, and how to use the 3 common pricing orientations. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-dan-balcauski-hypothesis-the-most-important-part-of-product-pricing-is-who-and-how-you-charge

Navya is the Chief Product Officer at Peek.com, responsible for scaling the industry-leading Peek Pro platform, known as "Shopify for the Experiences economy" with $2B+ bookings. Peek.com helps consumers book fun activities (such as boat rentals and cooking classes), and provides experience operators with powerful software tools to grow their businesses. Prior to Peek, Navya built new business lines at StyleSeat, the world's largest marketplace for beauty services that has fueled billions of dollars in beauty services. She has also managed large-scale products at Uber, Disney and Goldman Sachs. Navya holds an Electronics Engineering degree from University of Sheffield, UK, a Masters in Computer Science from Stanford and a MBA from NYU Stern. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover the major inflection points in Navya's journey to CPO, how Navya talks about the ROI of product investments, and how she chooses the key KPIs and assumptions that she uses to model ROI. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-navya-rehani-gupta-hypothesis-cpos-should-measure-product-roi-in-business-outcomes

What can we learn by following our curiosity, embracing the unknown, and creating amidst chaos? This is the question that propels Adam Thomas's career as a technologist, product expert, and all-around thinker and creator. His answer so far? We can learn that our potential is limitless and we have an amazing array of options for living, working, and playing better. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover what led Adam to develop Survival Metrics, what they are, and how to use them. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-2nd-adam-thomas-hypothesis-survival-metrics-guide-profitable-products-that-matter-to-people

JH Forster is a product leader with deep experience helping teams ship solutions for real user needs. As SVP of Product at User Interviews, he oversees the Product Management and Design departments—and geeks out about all things user research as the co-host of the Awkward Silences podcast. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how he found a job as the first product hire at a startup and what challenges he's faced as the team and company have grown. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-jh-forster-hypothesis-the-first-product-hire-at-a-startup-needs-to-be-a-player-coach

JJ Rorie is faculty at Johns Hopkins University, teaching undergraduate and graduate-level product management courses. She is the author of IMMUTABLE: 5 Truths of Great Product Managers, and is Chief Executive Officer of Great Product Management. JJ is a sought-after speaker, advisor, trainer, and coach, having worked with some of the world's largest companies, and also hosts the podcast Product Voices. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover what mistakes teams make around their assumptions, how product management is different across industries and company stages, and how to create an environment where product managers help each other. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-jj-rorie-hypothesis-the-5-key-skills-that-make-a-product-manager-great-can-be-learned

Emily Patterson has been doing product management work since the '00s. As a tech grad from Boston University, she was a business analyst before moving into product management roles. She's a B2B SaaS product leader, currently focused on cybersecurity. She holds a MBA from UNC Chapel Hill. She has 2 great kids, a weird cat, and a very supportive partner. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover why Emily started In The Lab PM, what her experiences as a mom in product have been like, and how she has built a network despite being an introvert. Read the show notes to learn more: www.h2rproductscience.com/post/the-emily-patterson-hypothesis-youre-not-really-learning-product-unless-youre-doing-it

Pulkit Agrawal read Engineering at Cambridge and worked in non-profits, consulting, and startups before founding Chameleon because he was frustrated at the energy that both companies and users were wasting when trying to explain/learn a product. He enjoys talking and writing about user onboarding, product-led growth, SaaS, self-serve, and UX, and he's an angel investor of product-led startups. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how practicing product can be different outside of the western world, how Pulkit validates solutions with customers, and the lessons he's learned while growing Chameleon. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-pulkit-agrawal-hypothesis-customer-centric-teams-are-attached-to-problems-and-not-solutions

Susan Stavitzski is an experienced Product Leader with experience working in the software industry for start-ups, SMB and enterprise companies. She has a passion for taking manual, bulky processes and turning them into powerful, automated, scalable solutions to empower teams. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover the role of product marketing, the nitty-gritty process of doing continuous product discovery, and what it's like working in a strong product organization with empowered teams. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-susan-stavitzski-hypothesis-the-best-way-to-get-better-at-discovery-is-to-do-it-over-and-over-again

Before becoming a full-time executive coach to product leaders, Ken spent more than fourteen years at Google, where he led product initiatives for Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Mobile Maps, and GV (formerly Google Ventures). These products today are used by more than three billion people worldwide. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Ken's 14 year history and learnings from his time at Google, what it's like to build products with mass appeal, his approach on how to be an authentic leader, and how product is best learned under an apprenticeship model. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-ken-norton-hypothesis-product-is-best-taught-through-apprenticeship

Dan Olsen is a product management trainer, consultant, and speaker. Dan wrote the bestseller The Lean Product Playbook. Through his interactive training workshops, Dan helps companies build great products and strong product teams. He is also the founder of the 11,000-member Lean Product Meetup community. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Dan's journey through product at both enterprises and startups, how that experience became the Lean Product movement, and how to validate a user's responses and prevent false negatives. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-dan-olsen-hypothesis-you-cant-just-take-what-you-learn-in-a-big-company-and-apply-it-to-a-startup

Sam Haveson is a Senior Product Lead on the Consumer Product team at Twitter. Sam has defined, launched and scaled products that help millions of people create and converse on Twitter. Prior to Twitter, Sam was a Senior Product Manager at Amazon building Amazon Photos experiences for Amazon Alexa devices. She holds an MBA from Cornell Tech, where she is an adviser to the programs graduate students. Sam is also a writer and musician based in San Francisco, CA. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Sam's career in product, testing and experimentation at different scales from startup to enterprise, and how to do real time experiments to measure progress. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-sam-haveson-hypothesis-the-artfulness-of-product-management-is-identifying-customer-needs

Caroline is a senior product manager on the Etsy mobile apps team and previously worked at Walmart Labs. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Caroline's career in product, how she uses story telling to align different teams, how to get buy in for continuous experimentation at companies large and small, and how even a failed experiment can yield positive results.

Janel embeds herself within a clients' organizations to transform their culture by shifting mindsets at all levels, helping them make many small changes in their product practices that have big impacts on their ability to meet their customer needs & deliver measurable business value. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Janel's journey into product working at large retailers like the Gap & Macy's, transitioning from waterfall to agile. We also cover how to iterate behavioral changes in an organization, and how to embrace quick failed experiments to help build the right products. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-janel-wellborn-hypothesis-teams-should-celebrate-learning-fast-not-failing-fast

Karthik Suresh is the Co-Founder of Ignition, a collaborative hub for Marketing & Product teams. Karthik is a product and a technology leader with experience as a founder, an early startup hire, and a key player in defining product strategy, and finding a market fit. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Karthik's lessons learned in being an entrepreneur trying to find product market fit. We also cover what it's like to be a product manager at an organization like Facebook building features that affect users at large scale. And we answer how to build a go to market strategy for businesses of varying stages of development. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-karthik-suresh-hypothesis-even-amazing-products-fail-without-the-right-go-to-market

Kate Leto's product management, org design, and marketing background spans more than 25 years. She has had a front-row seat to the evolving ways products are discovered, defined, built, and delivered and now takes her hands-on experience into organizations of all shapes and sizes as a consultant, coach, and advisor; helping to create authentic, high-performing cultures, teams, and products. Her consulting experience has taken her around the world, guiding clients that range from disruptive startups to Fortune 500 companies. Kate's first book, Hiring Product Managers: Using Product EQ to go beyond culture and skills, is now available at all digital storefronts. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Kate's journey through product, and the value of 1 on 1 communication and emotional intelligence in product. We cover how organizations handle large scale transformations, and how to coach individuals on what solutions work best for them. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-kate-leto-hypothesis-human-skills-are-teachable

Cofounder of Mind the Product, now Evangelist for Pendo - James spent his first career in recruiting, his second in product and events. He's still happiest outdoors though! In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover the story of Mind the Product from concept to acquisition. We also talk about how the pandemic has affected the future of live events, and how to add product principles to event planning. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-james-mayes-hypothesis-focus-on-what-drives-the-audience-to-curate-great-events

Sarah Bernard is currently the Chief Customer Officer for Greenhouse Software. She has held executive positions as COO with Crisis Text Line, VP, Officer of Product with Walmart's Jet.com, and earlier in her career General Manager, SVP and VP of Global Product with Expedia's Hotwire. Ms Bernard helps B2B SaaS and Internet companies grow valuations by transforming their product and customer success operations so they can hit the next stage of growth like start up to scale, accelerating growth in late-stage companies, and helping companies achieve profitability post acquisition. Ms. Bernard is also one of the producers of The Product Leader Summit; an annual invite-only gathering of 120 founders and product leaders to connect and learn from one another through keynotes, workshops, round-table peer learning discussions. She is most proud that Product Leader Summit achieves equal ratios of men and women for not just attendees, but also speakers, which is a rarity for Tech events. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how machine learning can give you a better understanding of your customer, how teams can become customer focused, and how to create cross functional solutions for customers. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-sarah-bernard-hypothesis-customer-centric-companies-uncover-the-most-impactful-solutions

Giff Constable is a product leader, entrepreneur, and author. He was the Chief Product Officer at Meetup.com and earlier was the CEO of Neo, a global innovation consulting company acquired by Pivotal. He has sold 3 businesses while at the helm and helped build many others. He is the author of two books on how to test new business ideas, which are used as core curriculum in top university entrepreneurship programs and accelerators around the world. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how good product managers learn from their mistakes, how to better test ideas, and how to be more vulnerable and honest as a manager. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-giff-constable-hypothesis-efficient-teams-learn-before-they-build

Stephanie has designed products and led product teams in both enterprise businesses like PayPal and startups like Contentful for over 15 years. She also co-founded her own startup. Actually she is educating Product Managers to master the fundamentals of coaching. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Paypal's transition from Waterfall to Agile and how to manage high performing teams. We also cover how to be a product manager without an engineering degree, and how to use active listening to empower teams by asking the right questions. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-stephanie-leue-hypothesis-leaders-dont-have-the-right-answers-they-have-the-right-questions

Paul works as a consultant, coach, keynote speaker, and author with extensive experience in the world of product. Through his leadership, numerous businesses have been successful ranging from startups to high growth companies alike. He is the creator of a number of product management methodologies including the SOAP™ planning and prioritization framework. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how to clean a product roadmap of bad ideas, how to increase team collaboration, how to help new ideas gain support, and how to leverage informal socializing to better connect with other teams. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-paul-ortchanian-hypothesis-informal-conversations-are-key-to-building-influence

Victoria Kennedy is driven by her core values of impact, adaptability, and discipline. These values have guided her as a product leader in early-stage startups, an advisor to early-stage founders, and now as a founder of the venture studio, Seed to Harvest. She is from Atlanta but calls NYC home. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover getting into product, practicing continuous discovery, being inclusive as a product manager, and founding a venture studio for social impact. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-victoria-kennedy-hypothesis-your-actions-have-to-match-your-words-for-true-diversity-and-inclusion

Anthony is a Product Coach and Director of the Association of Product Professionals. As a coach, Anthony helps organizations succeed in product. His experience spans several industries and organizations of all shapes and sizes. He has shipped products at every stage of the product life-cycle and even sunset them! In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover leadership, scaling up startups into enterprises, consulting for personal growth, and how a product mindset can change people's minds and habits.

Janice Fraser is an investor, speaker, and expert in emerging management practices to support innovation at scale. A Silicon Valley veteran, she's built a storied career as a product manager, founder, facilitator, and confidant for entrepreneurs and enterprise executives alike. But her impact extends beyond the Valley with innovation and transformation projects at NASA, the Obama White House, Procter & Gamble, and many other companies in the Fortune 500. As an investor, she is particularly committed to championing and extending access to the brilliant entrepreneurs who are typically underrepresented in the world of venture-backed startups. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Janice's career from the early days of Silicon Valley to consulting for lean startups and large enterprises. We dive into her philosophies on how regular people can become everyday leaders, and her strategies to create clear communication and durable decision making in a fast-changing and polarized world. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-janice-fraser-hypothesis-the-best-decision-is-one-everyone-can-live-with

Jason is a passionate product management nerd, always curious to learn and pay it forward to the next generation. By day he leads the product team at DueDil. By night he picks up the microphone and interviews a range of product management professionals on his podcast, One Knight in Product In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover how to apply product principles to a B2B market. We also cover how to build a good & balanced relationship with sales, and the value of mentorship from company leadership. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-jason-knight-hypothesis-popular-product-principles-can-be-adapted-for-b2b-realities

Maggie is the VP and Head of Product for Charlie Health, a startup that provides personalized mental health treatment for teens and young adults. Maggie is also an Olympian and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. In this episode of the Product Science Podcast, we cover Maggie's transition from being an Olympic Speed Skater into the world of product. We cover how she entered product, what skills were needed to level up to a product leader, and how to create a product team from scratch. Read the show notes to learn more: https://h2rproductscience.com/the-maggie-crowley-hypothesis-great-product-leaders-excel-at-non-technical-skills