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Gerar resultado é parte da carreira. Entender como as decisões realmente são tomadas dentro de uma empresa é a outra parte.Neste episódio, Pablo Silva volta ao Product Gurus para uma conversa direta sobre carreira, liderança, inteligência artificial e o papel atual do Product Manager.Pablo explica por que toda empresa funciona como um ambiente diplomático, como a relação com a liderança influencia oportunidades e por que questionar prioridades sem dados pode fazer um profissional parecer reativo, mesmo quando ele está certo.A conversa também aborda como a IA pode retirar trabalho operacional da rotina dos PMs, devolver tempo para análise e melhorar a qualidade das decisões. Mas isso só acontece quando a tecnologia resolve um problema concreto de custo, receita ou comportamento do usuário.Ao longo do episódio, discutimos:• Por que Product Managers ficaram presos no operacional• Como confrontar prioridades usando dados• O peso da confiança e da influência na carreira• Por que sua liderança é uma aliada decisiva para o crescimento• Como usar IA para ganhar tempo de qualidade• Quando frameworks, OKRs e processos deixam de ajudar• Por que empresas adotam ferramentas sem entender seu propósito• O que realmente diferencia um PM excelenteUm episódio para quem trabalha com Produto e percebeu que conhecer frameworks ajuda, mas não explica por que algumas pessoas crescem e outras continuam apenas acumulando entregas.Convidado: Pablo SilvaLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/souopablosilva/
Selma, Chief Revenue Officer chez Agorapulse explique sa vision sur la place du Product Marketing dans la performance commerciale.Au fil de son parcours, Selma a construit une vision très business du Product Marketing. Pour elle, cette fonction n'est pas un simple support marketing. C'est un levier qui permet d'aligner les équipes, d'améliorer la conversion, d'attirer les bons clients et de construire une croissance durable.Dans cet échange, elle partage sa vision du rôle du PMM et les signaux qui montrent qu'une entreprise a besoin de structurer cette fonction.Découvrez :
Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
digital kompakt | Business & Digitalisierung von Startup bis Corporate
Bald füllt kein Mensch mehr Checkout-Formulare aus: KI-Agenten übernehmen die Produktsuche, treffen Kaufentscheidungen und bezahlen für uns. Doch was macht das mit der Zahlungsinfrastruktur dahinter – und welche Player werden aus der Kette gestrichen? Julius Danek ist Product Manager bei Stripe und arbeitet genau an dieser Zukunft. Am Rande der Stripe Tour in Berlin ordnet er ein, was Agentic Commerce wirklich bedeutet und warum es für Stripe eher Riesenchance als Bedrohung ist. Wir sprechen über die fünf Stufen des KI-Einkaufs (von der ausgefüllten Web-Form bis zur vollen Autonomie), über Machine Payments und Microtransactions im Cent-Bereich, warum Krypto und Stablecoins die perfekte Währung für Agenten sind, was das für Marktplätze, Marken und Vertrauen im Netz bedeutet – und wann das Ganze im Mainstream ankommt. Du erfährst... ...wie Agentic Commerce den Einkauf revolutioniert und welche Ebenen es gibt. ...welche Chancen und Herausforderungen Stripe in der Zukunft sieht. ...wie Machine Payments und Krypto die Zahlungswelt verändern. __________________________ ||||| PERSONEN |||||
Kailash Badu is one of Nepal's pioneering Product Managers. He helped scale CloudFactory during its early years, has built multiple products across AI, Enterprise Software and FinTech, and currently serves as VP of Product at Genese Solution. In this conversation, he shares over a decade of experience building products, leading teams, and preparing businesses for the AI era. From why 95% of software features are never used to why coding was never the real job of a software engineer, this conversation explores Product Management, Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, customer thinking, and what it takes to build products people actually use. Whether you're a software engineer, founder, product manager, business leader, or IT student, you'll find practical lessons on building products, adopting AI, and staying relevant in a rapidly changing technology landscape. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Highlight 00:02:04 - Introduction 00:03:47 - Scaling CloudFactory from Nepal 00:07:36 - From Programmer to Product Manager 00:12:18 - Why 95% of Software Features Go Unused 00:15:24 - Digitizing Nepal's Ministry of Education 00:26:01 - AI's Real Superpower Isn't Coding 00:26:38 - Business Is Just Decision Making 00:38:37 - Be Digital Native Before AI Native 00:46:37 - Is AI Just Another FOMO Trend? 00:52:28 - Why Coding Was Never the Real Job 00:58:02 - The Wedding Photographer Lesson Every Founder Needs 01:06:51 - The Four Pillars of FinTech 01:10:25 - Banks Are Just Matchmakers 01:25:31 - Why People Avoid Formal Banking 01:30:06 - Nepal's Fear-Based Regulation Problem 01:36:10 - Why Bank Transfers Are Still Slow 01:47:03 - AI Is a Commodity, People Are the Advantage 01:54:48 - Why Smart People Still Fail ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Want to become a video podcaster? Get info: https://becomeadoer.com/programs/become-a-video-podcaster?utm_medium=YT&utm_source=organic If you love reading, don't miss our newsletter on Substack Link: https://substack.com/@doersglobal? Want to join us live in the studio as an audience member? Fill out this form: https://forms.gle/xZi8yptyoxkkc6aa8 ✉ Reach out to us at partners@doersnepal.com
Have you ever had a gut feeling that something wasn't right with your child—but couldn't explain why? That inner knowing may be your greatest parenting tool. In this eye-opening episode of Radio Medium, Laura Lee welcomes Dr. Debra Bolt, clinical psychologist, child development researcher, and Product Manager of Clinical AI at Aura Parents, for an essential conversation about protecting children in today's rapidly evolving digital world. Together, they explore the hidden emotional, mental, and spiritual impact of AI-powered apps, digital role-playing, online predators, self-harm language detection, and the growing challenges parents face in balancing safety with trust. Laura and Dr. Bolt discuss how parental intuition and practical technology can work together to recognize warning signs early while strengthening communication and connection within the family. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, caregiver, educator, or someone who believes in the power of intuition, this episode offers compassionate guidance, expert insight, and actionable tools to help keep children safe while honoring their emotional well-being. You'll walk away feeling more informed, empowered, and confident in trusting both your instincts and your child's journey.
Seu time tem direção, dados e ferramentas, mas ainda assim atrasa entregas? Nesta Enzima, Rômulo Velasco, Product Manager no Itaú Unibanco, fala sobre o que mais sabota a execução no dia a dia: a distração. Ele explica por que proteger o foco do time pesa mais do que planejar e compartilha como sustentar entregas consistentes mesmo quando tudo parece urgente. Ficou curioso? Então, dê o play!Assuntos abordados:Foco e prioridade;Blindagem do time;Gestão de distrações;Execução de produto;Papel do líder;Cultura de foco.Ficou curioso? Então, dê o play!Links importantes:NewsletterDúvidas? Nos mande pelo LinkedinContato: osagilistas@dtidigital.com.brOs Agilistas é uma iniciativa da dti digital, uma empresa WPP #enzimas
On prend du recul sur le rôle du PMM à travers les yeux d'une responsable Marketing & Revenue.Selma, CRO chez Agorapulse partage sa vision de la fonction et les situations dans lesquelles elle crée le plus de valeur pour l'entreprise. Elle revient aussi sur un choix organisationnel fort chez Agorapulse : déplacer l'équipe PMM initialement au Produit sous son aile, puis faire évoluer progressivement son périmètre vers une équipe Go-To-Market qui ne se limite plus aux recommandations stratégiques, mais qui porte les sujets de bout en bout, de l'analyse du marché à l'exécution, avec des KPI directement liés au business.Selma nous partage des exemples concrets de collaboration avec le content, la lead gen et la brand pour arrêter de se marcher dessus mais aussi de ce qui permet à un PMM d'obtenir une place à la table des décisions.Enfin, elle revient sur plusieurs pivots de carrière qui ont marqué son parcours et partage ses réflexions pour faire des choix professionnels qui semblent contre-intuitif mais qui permettent de progresser sur le long terme.Si vous cherchez à renforcer votre impact business en tant que PMM, à confronter vos idées reçues et à mieux comprendre ce que la fonction Product Marketing peut apporter à une organisation, cet épisode va vous donner quelques pistes de réflexion.Bonne écoute.RESSOURCES
Charity Ibhadon is a Global Product Director at WPP, where she leads the development of an AI marketing tool. With 15 years in product — including three formative years at ASOS during its high-growth heyday — she came to the discipline via a decade in investment banking and an executive MBA. She has operated at VP and CPO level, leading large international teams across consumer technology and media.We discuss:— Why the explosion of product frameworks, books, and LinkedIn benchmarks has made it harder, not easier, to feel like you're doing the job well — regardless of seniority— How the physical symptoms of burnout can masquerade as markers of success, and why high-achieving women in particular are vulnerable to that misreading— What it actually takes to recover: stepping away, finding what your body needs outside of work, and stopping short of making your job your entire identity— Why being genuinely enjoyable to work with is a more durable career advantage than any certification or methodology— How the Eisenhower matrix — do, defer, delegate, delete — can be a practical daily tool for protecting energy, not just a poster on a wall— The case for "happy high status": remaining calm and unflappable under pressure as a learnable leadership behaviour, not a personality trait— Why commercial curiosity — understanding what moves the business and staying interested in the world — will matter more for long-term product careers than AI certificatesChapters:0:00 Introduction 1:29 Charity's background 4:00 Why product feels harder than ever 6:34 Why fun at work matters 8:45 Recognising burnout 10:25 When burnout feels like success 12:13 Finding your way back 16:18 Fun as a strategic advantage 18:00 Staying calm under pressure 22:26 The "CEO of the product" myth 22:41 Mindset for a long career in product 24:45 Building resilience 26:35 Wrap-upReferencedEisenhower matrix | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priorit...Charity's keynote at #mtpcon London | • Product is Hard. It should still be fun: C... Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
Welcome back to #SoLeadSaturday. I'm Chibi version of Vaishali Lambe, and today we are talking about **Will AI Replace Product Managers?**.For professionals thinking about their AI careers, this topic matters because:AI may replace repetitive tasks, but not product judgment and stakeholder leadership.The market is changing quickly.But the winning skill is not chasing every new tool.The winning skill is knowing how to connect tools to outcomes.That means learning how to explain AI clearly, build small proofs of work, and show measurable impact.Let's break this down into three parts.First, why does this matter now?AI is no longer just a research conversation. It is becoming part of everyday work. Teams are using it to summarize information, automate repetitive tasks, analyze documents, generate content, support decision-making, and improve customer experiences.
For the past 5 years, the ITX Product + Design Conference stands at the top of the company's calendar. In this Topics in Product Series (TiPS) episode, Product Momentum co-host Sean Murray called the 2-day conference event “my favorite two working days of the year,” complete with workshops, keynotes, spotlight sessions, and live podcast recordings. Sean (Director of Product Management) is joined by ITX colleagues Shannon Baird (Lead UX Designer), Kyle Psaty (VP of Business Development), and Dan Sharp (Product Manager, Product Momentum co-host). With conference excitement still fresh on their minds and drawing from their experiences across product management, UX design, and business development, the panel explored the conference’s most relevant takeaways. As you'll see and hear, one theme emerged: the boundaries that once separated the roles of Product and UX are rapidly fading. As AI changes how teams work, their success depends less on tools and more on the collaborative problem solving that grows from a deeper understanding of our products' users. Here's a look at what they learned: AI Amplifies Existing Product Practices Not surprisingly, Conference speakers discussed artificial intelligence and its impacts – but not as the primary topic. Instead, they focused on ways AI can be used to strengthen good product thinking, not to replace it. David Pereira, author of Untrapping Product Teams, explained that AI is most valuable when it enhances sound discovery, user research, and decision-making. Teams that already practice strong product fundamentals will benefit the most, he added. “AI accelerates what you are already doing,” David says. Leadership Is Something You Do, Not Someone You Are Leadership emerged as another major theme during the Day 1 workshops. In a Product track session guided by Rachel Kohman, attendees explored how leadership happens through everyday actions. Rather than being defined by job title or authority, leadership is revealed at all levels of the organization by speaking up, creating space for others, and helping teams navigate difficult problems. As Dan points out, “It’s really easy to think about leadership as a thing that happens when ‘somebody's in charge.’ But that’s not always the case. Leading is a verb that you do, not an overall overarching principle. I think there’s a lot of power in that.” Product and UX Deliver Stronger Results Together Our TiPS panelists believe that the Conference's most actionable takeaway is the growing convergence of Product and UX. Even though AI is enabling professionals to work across traditional role boundaries, a focus on shared customer and business outcomes are bringing the disciplines even closer together. “In past years,” Kyle shares, “guests like Jesse James Garrett, Jared Spool, and Rich Mironov really celebrated our conference because it brings together product and design. Historically, the impetus has been to actively bring those departments together. Now, those roles are converging in this kind of natural way; the game board is tilting us all together toward unified problem solving and shared solutioning.” [04:11] The ITX Product + Design Conference is my favorite two working days of the year! — Sean Murray, Director of Product Management, ITX. [13:28] I'm now building my own AI design expertise, and it's important to stop for a beat and make sure I'm asking the right questions as I design these tools. — Shannon Baird, Lead UX Designer, ITX. [18:51] One thing is clear: the work we’re doing – designers, engineers, product managers – is figuring out what brings value. It’s adaptive problem solving, right? — Dan Sharp, Product Manager, ITX. [19:50] The Product and Design roles are converging in this natural, authentic way that is tilting us all toward unified problem solving and shared solutioning. — Kyle Psaty, VP of Business Development, ITX. [21:05] That’s why this Product + UX Conference was killer for me. With AI technology becoming readily available, we’re seeing designers coding their own prototypes and product owners designing their own solutions. Our roles are more closely aligned and offering more opportunities to cross-collaborate. — Shannon Baird, Lead UX Designer, ITX. [22:33] I think we’ve lost a little bit of the in-person career development. And we wouldn’t have been able to make the observations that we were making about the blending of these worlds. There’s so much value for both distinct role sets; the opportunity to be there in person and the opportunity to talk with other people is really unique these days. — Sean Murray, Director of Product Development, ITX. Sean Murray. Sean is the Director of Product Management at ITX. His expertise lies in aligning teams with product goals, business objectives, and user value, all while creating a fun and collaborative environment where everyone can thrive. Dan Sharp. Dan is a Product Manager at ITX focusing on enterprise level clients and technology solutions. He enjoys shaping product strategy and turning a strategy into valuable solutions. Kyle Psaty. Kyle is ITX’s VP of Business Development. In this role, Kyle is the executive sponsor of the annual ITX Product + Design Conference. Shannon Baird. Shannon is a Lead UX Designer at ITX. She thrives on solving challenging problems with a user-centered design process, taking problems through research, ideation, prototyping, and testing design phases. The post 191 / TiPS: ITX 2026 P+D Conference – Converging Around Better Problem Solving appeared first on ITX Corp..
Entrevista de Leandro Gabin a Isabel Botta, Product Manager en Balanz, con alternativas de inversión para globales y bonares.
What does it actually take to move an entire company from handwriting PRDs to shipping features with agents in two years?In this episode of Supra Insider, Marc Baselga and Ben Erez sit down with Alex Meyers, Principal Product Manager at Gusto, to trace how the company became AI-native from the inside. Alex shares how his own quiet tool use turned into a C-suite demo, why that demo made clear that you cannot simply mandate “be AI native,” and how PM AI hackathons became the ritual that moved the org forward.They explore why dedicated, uninterrupted build time beats an hour here and there, why the ritual has to recur as the tools keep changing, how roughly three-quarters of the PM org now merges pull requests, and where Alex thinks the work is heading as loops and goals let PMs spend more time on customers and taste.If you're a product leader trying to raise your team's AI fluency, a founder deciding how much structure to put around learning, or an operator wondering what the PM role becomes when agents handle the busywork, this episode is for you.All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox
Neste episódio do Product Guru's, Paulo Chiodi conversa com Taynara Franck, coordenadora de produtos no Flamengo e ex-Globo/Globoplay, sobre uma pergunta que quase ninguém responde bem: como desenvolver uma pessoa júnior ou estagiária em Produto sem jogar um manual impossível no colo dela?A conversa parte de uma experiência concreta: Taynara precisou estruturar o desenvolvimento de um estagiário de Produto em um contexto real, com múltiplas tecnologias, stakeholders, prioridades concorrentes e decisões acontecendo fora da ordem bonita dos livros.O episódio mostra por que aprender Produto não começa decorando frameworks, discovery, priorização ou Marty Cagan. Começa entendendo contexto, problema, relacionamento, métrica e decisão.Ao longo da conversa, Taynara explica como ensinou um estagiário a sair da linguagem de curso e começar a raciocinar como alguém de Produto: olhar menos para interface, mais para dor; menos para feature, mais para problema; menos para certeza, mais para decisão responsável.Também falamos sobre cultura de produto, fábrica de demanda, problemas analíticos versus problemas conceituais, métricas de vaidade, relacionamento com stakeholders e o papel real da liderança no desenvolvimento de pessoas iniciantes.Se você é Product Manager, Head de Produto, GPM, liderança de tecnologia, pessoa júnior ou alguém tentando entrar em Produto, este episódio ajuda a entender uma coisa desconfortável: muitas vezes o júnior não está perdido por falta de esforço. Está perdido porque ninguém ensinou a ordem certa das coisas.Assista até o final para entender:* O que ensinar primeiro para um estagiário de Produto* Por que Produto “by the book” quebra na vida real* Como separar problema analítico de problema conceitual* Quando parar de pesquisar e começar a decidir* Como dizer “isso não faz sentido” para stakeholders sem virar a pessoa do não* Qual é o papel da liderança na formação de pessoas junioresLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taynarafranck/Capítulo:01:25 Quem é Taynara Franck02:55 Como nasceu a série sobre estagiário de Produto07:11 O que um júnior acha que Produto é13:01 Quando o júnior começa a pensar como PM16:20 O que não ensinar cedo demais21:02 Cultura de Produto ou fábrica de demanda?23:50 Problemas analíticos vs. problemas conceituais30:52 Quando parar de pesquisar e começar a decidir35:00 Métricas de vaidade vs. métricas de decisão39:40 Como dizer “não” para stakeholders44:02 PM3, UserGuiding e IA aplicada45:35 O papel da liderança no desenvolvimento júnior48:46 EncerramentoInscreva-se no canal, deixe seu like e comente qual foi o maior erro que você cometeu quando começou em Produto.Parceiros do episódio:PM3 Cursos — 10% de desconto com o cupom PRODUCTGURUS → https://productgurus.short.gy/HBiSmtUserGuiding — 20% de desconto com o cupom PRODUCTGURUS → https://productgurus.short.gy/Au9oVX
Industrial Talk is onsite at MD&M West and talking to Kai Li, Production Manager at Mean Well USA about "Power solutions for manufacturing". Overview Kai Li, Product Manager at Mean Well USA, discussed the company's role as a leading power supply manufacturer with over 15,000 standard SKUs. Mean Well specializes in industrial equipment, medical devices, and LED lighting, emphasizing reliability and smaller, higher-protection power supplies. The company has a subsidiary in Kansas City dedicated to providing turnkey solutions. Li highlighted Mean Well's adaptability, driven by a robust R&D team and long-term supplier relationships. The company is transitioning to a solutions provider, focusing on sustainability and AI-driven power demands. Li also mentioned Mean Well's extensive training programs for distributors and their reliance on a global distribution network for over 70% of sales. Outline MD&M West and Industrial Talk Introduction Scott introduces the episode of Industrial Talk, sponsored by MD&M West and News and Brews, highlighting the innovation and energy at the event.Scott thanks listeners for tuning in and celebrates industry professionals who solve problems and innovate daily.Scott mentions the importance of MDNM West and the role of Informa and News and Brews in telling the story of manufacturers. Introduction of Kai Li and Mean Well Scott introduces Kai Li, the product manager at Mean Well USA, and invites him to share his background.Kai Li explains his role at Mean Well, mentioning his 10-year tenure and transition from field applications engineer to product manager.Kai Li highlights Mean Well's expertise in power supplies and their role as a hidden champion in the industry.Kai Li discusses the company's focus on solving customer issues by understanding market needs and providing tailored solutions. Mean Well's Market Position and Solutions Kai Li elaborates on Mean Well's market position as a leading power supply manufacturer, serving various industries including industrial equipment, medical devices, and LED lighting.He explains the company's strategy of providing comprehensive solutions rather than just components, through their subsidiary, Mean Well Power Solutions.Kai Li details the company's approach to developing products based on customer feedback and market trends.He mentions the creation of a subsidiary in Kansas City, Missouri, to focus on providing turnkey solutions for customers. Manufacturing and Market Adaptation Scott inquires about Mean Well's ability to stay nimble and adapt to market changes.Kai Li attributes the company's adaptability to a strong R&D team and a large portfolio of standard SKUs, with plans to add 15% new SKUs annually.He discusses the impact of emerging technologies like gallium nitride and silicon carbide on Mean Well's product development.Kai Li emphasizes the importance of long-term relationships with suppliers and customers in maintaining a steady supply chain. Future of Power Electronics and Sustainability Kai Li predicts a bright future for power electronics, driven by advancements in AI and other revolutionary technologies.He highlights Mean Well's active participation in power electronics conferences to stay updated with the latest trends.Kai Li discusses the company's transformation from a component supplier to a solutions provider, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).He mentions the importance of maintaining a broad market focus to cater to various industries and customer needs. Distributor Relationships and Training Kai Li explains Mean Well's strategy of hosting training sessions and events for distributors to keep them informed about new products and applications.He details the company's efforts to educate distributors through webinars, technical seminars, and direct interactions with the product and technical teams.Kai Li emphasizes the importance of a strong distribution network, with over 260 distributors worldwide, in driving sales and market penetration.He highlights the bi-directional communication between Mean Well and its distributors to gather market feedback and improve product offerings. Conclusion and Contact Information Scott asks Kai Li about his excitement for the future of Mean Well and the company's sustainability initiatives.Kai Li reiterates the importance of sustainability and Mean Well's transformation into the Sustainable Development Group.Scott provides contact information for Kai Li, including his LinkedIn profile and Mean Well's website, to encourage listeners to reach out for more information.Scott wraps up the podcast, encouraging listeners to attend MD&M West and highlighting the importance of storytelling and marketing in the industrial sector. If interested in being on the Industrial Talk show, simply contact us and let's have a quick conversation. Finally, get your exclusive free access to the Industrial Academy and a series on “Why You Need To Podcast” for Greater Success in 2026. All links designed for keeping you current in this rapidly changing Industrial Market. Learn! Grow! Enjoy! KAI LI'S CONTACT INFORMATION: Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-li-725419113/ Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mean-well-usa-inc-/ Company Website: https://www.meanwellusa.com/ PODCAST VIDEO: https://youtu.be/IRDIdUAJgL8 THE STRATEGIC REASON "WHY YOU NEED TO PODCAST": OTHER GREAT INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES: NEOM: https://www.neom.com/en-us Hexagon: https://hexagon.com/ Arduino: https://www.arduino.cc/ Fictiv: https://www.fictiv.com/ Hitachi Vantara: https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/home.html Industrial Marketing Solutions: https://industrialtalk.com/industrial-marketing/ Industrial Academy: https://industrialtalk.com/industrial-academy/ Industrial Dojo: https://industrialtalk.com/industrial_dojo/ We the 15: https://www.wethe15.org/ YOUR INDUSTRIAL DIGITAL TOOLBOX: LifterLMS: Get One Month Free for $1 – https://lifterlms.com/ Active Campaign: Active Campaign Link Social Jukebox: https://www.socialjukebox.com/ Industrial Academy (One Month Free Access And One Free License For Future Industrial Leader): Business Beatitude the Book Do you desire a more joy-filled, deeply-enduring sense of accomplishment and success? Live your business the way you want to live with the BUSINESS BEATITUDES...The Bridge connecting sacrifice to success. YOU NEED THE BUSINESS BEATITUDES! TAP INTO YOUR INDUSTRIAL SOUL, RESERVE YOUR COPY NOW! BE BOLD. BE BRAVE. DARE GREATLY AND CHANGE THE WORLD. GET THE BUSINESS BEATITUDES! Reserve My Copy and My 25% Discount
Fred Gifford, Strategy Lead and Sr. Product Manager at Sony AI, shares how his team is building knowledge graphs from academic literature to predict new biomedical relationships and accelerate drug discovery. He explains why Sony AI publishes so much of its research openly, what he got wrong about AI therapy when writing his novel and why he believes accountability for AI's ethical failures still lags dangerously behind the pace of the technology itself. Key Takeaways: Why specialized AI tools are losing ground to all-in-one chatbots and what that means for the personal data we hand over What it actually takes to build an ethical dataset from scratch and why most image data used to train AI didn't His experience of writing about AI therapy years before chatbots became a mental health solution for millions Why Sony AI is choosing to open-source its work This episode was recorded LIVE at The AI Summit London Guest Bio: Fred Gifford is an AI strategy lead based in London. He has spent the past 5.5 years at Sony AI applying frontier AI research to solve challenges in gastronomy, AI Ethics, and biomedical. He is also an author under the pen-name Fred Lunzer. His debut novel, Sike, was published by Macmillan / Celadon last year, and focuses on a young couple navigating life with an AI therapist. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte
Vonny Laing is a user-centred design lead at the Student Loans Company, part of the UK government, where she oversees a service used by millions of people at every stage of their higher education journey. She has held roles spanning UX design, content design, and head of design across both public and private sectors, and completed an MBA specifically to earn the language of business — and with it, a seat at the table where design decisions get made. We discuss why designing from the majority inward produces invisible failures, how flipping to an underserved-first model creates a halo effect for all users, and why government service assessments make the happy-path approach structurally untenable. Vonny shares how a single day of guerrilla research at a further education college surfaced a critical gap between student loan payments and universal credit eligibility that years of data had never revealed — and why synthetic users can never replicate that. We also get into her "eat your greens" principle for designing across a user's whole life; the case for disaster thinking over happy-path optimism; how stories and verbatims move executives more reliably than dashboards; and why designers who learn to speak business become a secret weapon in any organisation.Chapters:(00:53) Welcome and introductions (01:23) Vonny background (02:10) Moving fast in the civil service (04:02) The UK government digital community (05:05) The pyramid model (07:03) Underserved versus edge case users (08:09) Designing at population scale (09:43) Service assessments and design accountability (11:01) Discovery research methodology (13:25) Finding users invisible in the data (16:22) Bridging gaps you cannot fix (18:42) Eat your greens: needs versus wants (20:07) Designing for users over time (21:04) Worst-case scenario thinking (22:11) Mining complaint logs and prioritising (25:47) Why synthetic users fall short (28:12) Where automated testing has a role (29:19) Leave the building: guerrilla research (33:03) Communicating research through storytelling (36:29) Why Vonnie did an MBA (39:03) Design's ceiling in organisations (42:04) Wrap-upOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
What if your biggest breakthrough came years after you thought your competitive running career was behind you?This week on RUNWITHALLI LIVE, I'm joined by Alana Levy, my fellow Horace Greeley High School alum, a 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, and one of New York City's top marathoners. Alana is a Product Manager by trade, an incredible human, and someone who proves that your best running may still be ahead of you.After stepping away from competitive running following college, Alana never imagined she'd eventually qualify for the Olympic Trials. Yet through years of consistency, patience, and trusting the process, she progressed from a 2:59 marathon to a 2:48, then a 2:40, and ultimately a 2:34 marathon to earn her first Olympic Trials qualifier. All while working full-time.In this episode, we dive into what it takes to balance ambition, career, and elite performance without losing sight of why you started running in the first place.WHAT WE COVER:00:00 Welcome to RUNWITHALLI LIVE00:01 Meet Olympic Trials Qualifier Alana Levy02:02 Why She Stepped Away from Competitive Running04:55 Running Faster in Her 30s Than Ever Before05:21 Breaking 17 Minutes in the 5K10:37 Joining Brooklyn Track Club Changed Everything13:28 How She Improved from 2:59 to 2:3416:35 Recovery, Nutrition & Training Evolution19:18 The Power of Patience in Running22:05 Letting Go of Fear & Racing for Yourself24:46 Rapid Fire: Sacrifices, Joy & Daily Habits27:46 Garmin, WHOOP & Nutrition Habits30:40 Balancing Tech & Elite Marathon Training33:46 Alana's Most Controversial Running Opinion36:20 Advice for Runners with Big Goals39:10 Final ThoughtsAlana's story is proof that progress doesn't have an expiration date. She is far from slowing down and continues to inspire me, and I know she'll inspire many of you listening as well!Fun fact: I was the captain of our varsity swim team, and Alana was the track star when we graduated from Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York, in 2007. Nearly two decades later, our paths have crossed again through running and the incredible community this sport creates. It truly is one of my favorite parts of running and how it has a way of bringing people back together. And no, we are NOT old!FINAL THOUGHTSWhether you're chasing your first marathon, hoping to qualify for Boston, balancing training around work and family, or simply wondering if your best running is still ahead of you, this conversation is a reminder that consistency compounds, patience pays off, and extraordinary results often come much later than we expect.If you've ever questioned whether you're too late to improve, this episode is for YOU!And remember, there's no pace too slow!Share this episode with a training partner who needs to hear it!Connect with Alana Levy:InstagramAnd take ONE thing from this episode and apply it to your next run.Thank you for being here. I appreciate you!Support the showThe RUNWITHALLI LIVE Podcast is hosted by Alli Felsenthal, founder of RunWithAlli Coaching and virtual run coach to runners around the world. Each episode brings expert guests, honest conversations, and practical tools to help you train smarter, race better, and love the process. Whether you're chasing your first finish line or a new PR, you're in the right place.ENJOYED THIS EPISODE? Your support helps this podcast reach more runners who need it. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It's the #1 way to help the show grow: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/runwithalli-live/id1510066149Share this episode with a runner who needs to hear itSubscribe so you never miss an episodeWORK WITH RUNWITHALLI 1:1 Run Coaching. Personalized plans from the mile to the marathon → runafastermarathon.comFollow on Instagram → @runwithalliJoin the newsletter for weekly training tips, athlete wins, running science, and more → http://runafastermarathon.com/newsletterFree community with free weekly resources → Discord Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREE Support the showThe RUNWITHALLI LIVE Podcast is hosted by Alli Felsenthal, founder of RunWithAlli Coaching and virtual run coach to runners around the world. Each episode brings expert guests, honest conversations, and practical tools to help you train smarter, race better, and love the process. Whether you're chasing your first finish line or a new PR, you're in the right place.ENJOYED THIS EPISODE? Your support helps this podcast reach more runners who need it. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It's the #1 way to help the show grow: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/runwithalli-live/id1510066149Share this episode with a runner who needs to hear itSubscribe so you never miss an episodeWORK WITH RUNWITHALLI 1:1 Run Coaching. Personalized plans from the mile to the marathon → runafastermarathon.comFollow on Instagram → @runwithalliJoin the newsletter for weekly training tips, athlete wins, running science, and more → http://runafastermarathon.com/newsletterFree community with free weekly resources → Discord
Niyati Gupta describes her career as one long experiment — deliberately putting herself in uncomfortable, ambiguous situations and treating every move as a personal learning loop. That instinct took her from a bachelor's in design inside one of India's most prestigious engineering colleges, where almost nobody understood what design was, to a research role at Carnegie Mellon where she studied health info needs for low-literacy users in rural India, to Autodesk's bio-nano innovation lab building molecular visualization tools for scientists — and eventually to Google, where she joined the Next Billion Users team. Find bonus content and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/niyati-gupta That team's mission was to ask an open question: where would the next wave of users come from, what did they need, and what products didn't exist yet to serve them? Niyati ran immersion sprints in the Philippines, India, Indonesia, and Mexico — shadowing users, building prototypes in the field, testing them in the wild, and bringing those insights back to a team that was building products like Camera Go and Google Files from the ground up. And she'll tell you that the swim lanes between designer, engineer, and PM felt just as artificial out there in the field as they do today with AI accelerating everything. These days she's a senior product designer at Netflix, working on commerce and partnerships — which means thinking hard about discovery, about fandom, about how you help someone decide what to watch on a Friday night without making them feel like the choosing is harder than the watching. It also means designing across a ten-foot TV screen, a phone, and every device in between, and trying to make all of it feel like one seamless experience. In this conversation, we get into what the Next Billion Users work taught her about designing for people who aren't like you, how she thinks about influence as a designer — and why she's convinced the title was never where the influence actually lived — and what Netflix's design culture looks like from the inside, including how they run crits and how they think about A/B testing. *** Premium Episodes on Design Better This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you'd like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you'll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to the documentary Design Disruptors and our growing library of books. New premium subscriber benefit: we've launched a private Slack workspace…join now to connect with designers, product leaders & creative practitioners in our community. And get a behind-the-scenes pass to every episode with The Roundup, where each week we bring you insights and actionable tactics from recent episodes. You'll also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, and our monthly newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show. And subscribers at the annual level now get access to the Design Better Toolkit, which gets you major discounts and free access to tools and courses that will help you unlock new skills, make your workflow more efficient, and take your creativity further. Upgrade to paid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Recorded live at #mtpcon London, Lily sits down with Emily Tate — former MD of Mind the Product for a broad debrief on the day's themes. They cover why product and design may matter more in an AI world than ever before, how heritage organisations can navigate transformation without the luxury of greenfield conditions, and what it actually takes to get internal stakeholders on side. Emily also makes a case for why SaaS isn't dead, why positioning fundamentals haven't changed despite the AI frenzy, and why remote work is draining the fun out of product teams.Chapters0:00 — Intro1:00 — The state of AI in product: still an inflection point3:18 — AI is a technology, not a moat4:57 — Keeping the humanity in product work6:13 — Advice for PMs new to the industry8:38 — Why conferences need both practical and inspirational talks10:24 — How to start speaking: find your local ProductTank13:46 — You don't need a novel idea to give a great talk16:01 — Charity Ibhadon's talk: product is hard, but it should be fun16:19 — Remote work and the slow erosion of joy at work19:15 — Innovating inside heritage organisations21:39 — Stop trying to educate stakeholders about product24:06 — April Dunford on positioning: what AI changes, and what it doesn't27:00 — The SaaS-pocalypse myth28:47 — Predictions: 12–18 more months of heavy AI talk30:59 — Filtering signal from noise: where Emily reads31:40 — Eric Ries' Incorruptible and building companies that resist corruptionKey takeawaysIf your only moat is AI, you don't have a moat. AI is a capability, not a product. The question is how you're using it to serve customers better than you could before — not whether you're using it at all.Building is no longer the bottleneck — deciding what to build is. That shift makes strong product and design thinking more important, not less.Stop trying to teach stakeholders about product. Drop the methodology, use their language, show them something tangible, and bring them along in ways that make sense to them — not to you.SaaS has a defensible edge. Products built on experience across hundreds of customers carry knowledge that a single company building its own solution can't replicate. That's a positioning story worth telling.Positioning fundamentals haven't changed. Sprinkling AI on your messaging doesn't sharpen it. Outside of tech, leading with AI can actively damage trust.You don't need a novel idea to give a great talk. Your version of a familiar concept might be the one that finally makes it click for someone. Start at a local ProductTank.Don't try to be someone else on stage. Find your style by doing it. Authenticity beats borrowed charisma.Remote work is eroding team joy in ways we're not measuring. The informal moments that build relationships and make work fun don't happen on Slack or in back-to-back video calls — and the resulting friction is real.Featured links Incorruptible by Eric Ries — https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/460881/incorruptible-by-ries-eric/9780241692028The Decision Stack by Martin Eriksson — thedecisionstack.comChristian Idiodi — Silicon Valley Product GroupApril Dunford — aprildunford.comFind your local ProductTank — producttank.comMind the Product — mindtheproduct.comOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
Specialized's new Demo 11 downhill bike is a certified rocket ship. You don't need us to tell you that. Jordan Williams, Loic Bruni, and Finn Iles have proven the platform's abilities over the past three years of development and this year two World Cup DH wins have been nabbed aboard the production version. The problem may be that it's complex, heavy and priced much higher than other DH bikes. Specialized gave us the chance to ride the bike, and we took the opportunity to get all of your questions answered—no marketing BS. Vital editor, Jason Schroeder, chats with Nicco Deluca, Product Manager at Specialized. Enjoy!Watch the full 'First Ride' video - https://youtu.be/D6dVxVffoPA
AgileDad & AI For Product Managers, Project Managers, and LeadershipThe real value of AI is not just that it helps us move faster. It is that it helps us slow down in the right places so we can move better in the places that matter most.That is the shift.AI should not just help us produce more. It should help us think more clearly before we produce anything at all.- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/
Thomas and Meaghan sit down with Drew Magaha, Product Manager for Mizuno USA, to talk through his running history and what the brand has in store. The gang have been running in Mizuno shoes this year that are getting green lights across the board, so keep an eye out!
This episode contains some screen sharing so it's best watched on YouTubeWhat happens when one product leader decides to stop copy-pasting between chat windows and instead build an operating layer that puts coding agents in the hands of an entire company?In this episode of Supra Insider, Marc Baselga and Ben Erez sit down with Kyler Ross, Head of Product at Cloaked, to walk through the internal “harness” he started building last Thanksgiving: an agent-friendly system of context files and scripts that lets agents read from and write to the team's real tools. Kyler explains how it gets installed on every company machine, why he treats each new agent session like onboarding an employee, and how a self-improving loop of skills and automated reviews keeps it getting better.They explore his day-to-day setup for running many agents at once, why worktrees and Claude Code hooks exist to make failure nearly impossible, a one-on-one prep skill that pulls context from every corner of the company, and the layered guardrails, including a nightly “librarian” agent, that keep confidential information from leaking.If you're a product or engineering leader trying to make your team more AI-native, someone wiring agents into real workflows, or anyone wrestling with how to run agents safely at scale, this episode is for you.All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox
Lindsey Jayne is an independent product adviser and coach, and former chief product officer at the Financial Times. She began her career at the Government Digital Service, where she stumbled into product management by chasing someone down a corridor holding a MacBook that actually worked. What followed was 15 years moving through startups, scaleups, and ultimately one of Britain's most storied media institutions.Chapters00:00 — Introduction01:08 — Lindsey's origin story: from a broken government laptop to product management02:48 — Why product managers burn out: accountability without authority05:34 — Influencing stakeholders using discovery skills07:19 — What leaders can do to clear the way for their product teams08:44 — Stakeholder mapping: the influence and interest framework09:41 — Recognising burnout signals in your team at scale11:16 — Balancing passion and sustainability: when enthusiasm becomes a pattern14:16 — When to transition from individual contributor to product leader16:24 — Product reviews and cross-team knowledge sharing18:42 — How to communicate effectively with senior stakeholders20:40 — Career-defining advice: you don't have to die on every hill21:43 — Half your job is landing the product, not just building it22:25 — The most common mistake junior product managers make24:05 — How to tell your story after a difficult or toxic company exitOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
Rory Woodbridge, Product Marketing Consultant, shares why the best PMMs obsess over what he calls radical simplicity.The challenge isn't adding more messaging. It's having the discipline to remove everything that creates confusion.Rory explains why great Product Marketers make tough choices, simplify relentlessly, and focus only on what customers need to understand at each stage of their journey.You'll learn:
Growing your own machinists and orchestrating robots across four continents, is this what the future of manufacturing looks like? This live episode from Hapa's Brewing in the Bay Area features two panels of people who have built careers at the intersection of mechatronics, automation, and industrial innovation. First up, Vinod, Kevin, and Adam get into what it takes to build a skilled workforce from the ground up, talking about apprenticeships, college partnerships, and growing your own talent in-house. Then we get into the bigger picture with our founder panel Kim, Glenn, Nick, and Florian on what Silicon Valley gets wrong about manufacturing, and what manufacturers are missing by not paying closer attention to what's being built there. In this episode, find out: How Vinod bootstrapped an automation company in the Bay Area while raising a family and why his wife had something to do with it What Kevin learned from a 3-year German apprenticeship that he thinks more US manufacturers should be paying attention to How Adam solved his machinist shortage by bringing the training programme in-house and partnering with a local college How Kim thinks about leading companies through inflection points when there are no guardrails or safety nets Why Glenn believes manufacturers who aren't paying attention to what's being built around them won't even know when it's too late How Nick's B2C background completely changed the way he thinks about building software for frontline manufacturing workers Why Florian ignored his investors and opened a public-facing robotics storefront on the main street of Mountain View Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It's feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going! Tweetable Quotes: “You don't have that mechanical job anymore that's done by one person. You need support, whether it's software support or you need a robot at your side.” – Kevin Toomer, Product Manager at Sumitomo Drive Technologies “In automation, you don't need a master's or a PhD to be successful. Just getting creative and having that experience in mechanical engineering really helped me in my career.” – Vinod Anandarajah, Co-Founder and CEO at Kanavu Automation ”In Silicon Valley, we tend to love disruption because to us it represents something new and something better. But when you get on a manufacturing floor, they tend to want predictability.” - Kim Losey, Founder and CEO at NextLine Group Links & mentions: Kanavu Automation, bringing value to manufacturing clients via a strategic focus on machine automation and robotics MaintainX, empowering maintenance professionals to reduce unplanned equipment downtime and boost production capacity NextLine Group, architecting what is next in robotics engineering Sumitomo Drive Technologies, providing engineered solutions to industrial power transmission customers Beluga Navigation Systems, building deep tech navigation solutions for vehicle and vessel navigation InOrbit.AI, leading AI-powered robot orchestration platform, driving software-defined operations at scale Hapa's Brewing Company, craft brewery and taproom located in San Jose, CA Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.
We explore what may be the fastest-moving technological shift dentistry has faced in decades and why most practice owners are still underestimating how quickly the ground is moving beneath them. While many dentists are using ChatGPT to write emails, draft social posts, or answer quick questions, the conversation argues that's barely one percent of what's now possible. The discussion digs into the rise of agentic AI, autonomous systems that take action rather than simply generate responses. Blake and Shane break down how AI is moving past the chatbot stage and becoming a true operational partner, capable of running workflows, automations, data analysis, content creation, and the endless repetitive tasks that quietly eat hours inside a dental practice. They also tackle the practical side most people skip, like knowing which model to reach for, why connections and context matter more than clever prompting, and how to avoid drowning in half-baked projects. But they issue a clear warning. AI is not a shortcut around leadership, systems, or operational excellence. Dentists who lack clear workflows, documented SOPs, and defined outcomes will simply automate chaos. The practices that win won't be the most technically advanced. They'll be the ones with the cleanest systems, the strongest foundations, and the willingness to learn alongside a community of peers. Peter, Blake, and Shane also get honest about the loneliness many dentists carry as practice owners, the value of AI as a non-judgmental thinking partner, and why community matters more than ever during periods of rapid change. They share real examples of AI already saving hours every week, helping teams execute faster, and creating leverage that simply wasn't possible a few years ago. If you've been experimenting with AI but still feel like you're using a fraction of its potential, this one is for you. This episode leads into the first-of-its-kind AI workshop on Sunday, August 9th at The Phoenician, held on the heels of the Bulletproof Summit. DESCRIPTION The Bulletproof Dental Podcast Episode: 444 HOST: Dr. Peter Boulden GUESTS: Blake McClellan and Shane McElroy (All In Practice Growth) In this episode, Dr. Peter Boulden sits down with Blake and Shane to discuss the future of AI in dentistry and why the next wave of innovation is about far more than chatbots and content creation. They explore agentic AI, workflow automation, SOP development, practice efficiencies, and the role community plays in helping dentists stay ahead of rapid technological change. The conversation provides practical examples of how AI can create leverage inside a dental practice while highlighting the common mistakes many practice owners make when implementing new technology. Whether you're just getting started with AI or already experimenting with advanced tools, this episode offers a practical roadmap for understanding where the technology is headed and how to position your practice for the future. TAKEAWAYS AI is evolving far faster than most dentists realize Community accelerates learning and implementation Agentic AI goes beyond chatbots by taking action, not just generating responses SOPs and workflows are the foundation of successful AI adoption AI cannot replace clarity, leadership, or operational discipline The best use cases often involve saving time on repetitive tasks AI can help practices create leverage without sacrificing quality Dentists should focus on outcomes rather than chasing every new tool Workflow mapping makes automation significantly more effective AI can become a powerful thinking partner for practice owners The future belongs to practices that combine human connection with technological efficiency Small improvements compounded over time can create significant competitive advantages TIME STAMPS 00:00 Introduction & Why AI Matters Right Now 02:10 The Origin of the Dental AI Summit 03:31 Why Community Is the Key to AI Adoption 04:45 Partnering with Bulletproof to Bring AI to Dentistry 06:00 AI Is Evolving Hour by Hour 07:49 The Difference Between AI Curiosity and AI Implementation 08:45 From AI Novelties to Real Practice Applications 11:04 Creating Leverage Inside Your Practice 13:10 Why Most Dentists Don't Know Where to Start 14:13 Days in AI Equal Months Ahead 17:42 The Biggest Opportunity for Dental Practices 20:06 Real-World AI Use Cases in Dentistry 22:08 Chatbots vs. AI Agents 24:35 How to Choose the Right AI Tools 26:24 Common Mistakes Dentists Make With AI 30:15 Context, Data, and Better AI Results 34:52 Innovative AI Applications You Can Use Today 45:15 Why SOPs Matter More Than Prompts 47:18 Mapping Workflows Before Automation 50:27 Using AI as a Product Manager 51:26 The Lone Wolf Syndrome in Dentistry 53:25 AI as a Coach, Mentor, and Thinking Partner 56:44 Practical Steps for Embracing AI 01:00:42 The Future of AI in Dentistry 01:02:08 Preparing for the Dental AI Summit 01:05:00 Final Thoughts & Event Details REFERENCES Dental AI Summit Claude AI Grok AI OpenClaw AI Bulletproof Practice Growth Summit
Why does Product Marketing look so different in Europe, and why copying US playbooks often leads to the wrong outcomes?In this episode, I sit down with Rory, Product Marketing Director consultant, with 13+ years of experience in PMM, across top tech companies such as Google, YouTube and Pleo. Europe Isn't Silicon Valley: Together, we unpack what truly shapes Product Marketing in Europe today, and why this context is driving the rise of fractional PMM roles.In this conversation, you'll learn:
Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
Recorded live at our SAP Customer Council in Berlin, this episode features Fernanda Rodrigues in conversation with Frank Harder, Product Manager for SAP Cloud ERP at Testo. Testo is a family-owned leader in high‑tech measurement devices from Germany's Black Forest, serving industries such as pharma, food, biotech, analytics, and more, with connected products and strong cloud‑based data analysis. Frank explains how the company is transitioning from legacy ERP to SAP Cloud ERP, starting with sales organizations worldwide and now operating in nine countries. This is the fifth episode in our Customer Council Berlin Series. Follow and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts so you never miss an update. On Spotify, join the conversation using the episode's Q&A and Poll; on Apple Podcasts, a quick rating or review helps others discover the show. Have a question, topic suggestion, or want to connect with the team? Write to us at insides4@sap.com — we read every message.
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: My company follows scrum, with daily standups. We got a new scrum master. He is very formal and procedural and I struggle with our daily meetings. He goes through a long list of assigned tickets, asking each ticket owner about status and info on progress. We are all engineers with many years of experience but it feels like we are in the kindergarten. We don't have deep expertise about each others work. It is important to know what each of us is doing more or less, but going deep in these issues makes me disconnect, and I think these meetings are above all very good to signal blocking points and ask for help. A recitation of tickets and work being done is not their purpose. On top of that, most days it takes 25-30 mins to go through all the issues. Am I being difficult complaining about this? I tried to be polite when I raised the issue but I was told more or less that this way is better for the company. Is it common in the industry to go through dailys like this? Thanks a lot, guys, you do great work and I look forward to the SW/industry podcast that makes me laugh the most! Hi! Long-time listener here, I remember Jamison mentioning this podcast on JS Jabber and I've been listening ever since. Best part of my week! In my current organisation I have a tech lead role on a small, internal platform team. Our “customers” are mainly other engineers. Due to several re-orgs, I have over the years worked with a number of Product Managers and Engineering Managers who have all had one thing in common: they don't understand the technical domain we work in very well. You could say we have “Product Managers” who do not understand the “Product”. At the same time, these people are expected to interact with stakeholders, set the platform vision, manage the roadmap and backlog, prioritise risks, write documentation, do demos, etc. In the end, a lot of this work falls through to me. I do the work, but have also received negative feedback from my skip level that I need to do a better job keeping the product manager and engineering manager in the loop. I just got a new EM and am heading into our first expectations setting meeting. How can best express that my expectation is that the roadmap for a technical platform team should be managed by someone technical? Do you think product managers have a role on internal platform teams?
As product management becomes increasingly data-driven and AI-powered, one human capability is growing in importance: emotional intelligence. In this episode, you'll discover why emotional intelligence is a critical complement to data, analytics, and AI, how it helps product managers and product leaders create better products and build stronger relationships, and why it may have a greater impact on product success than intellectual ability alone. You'll also learn practical techniques for strengthening your emotional intelligence—from increasing self-awareness and self-management to developing empathy, active listening, and conflict-resolution skills.
What does it really take to move from survival mode into a life of confidence, purpose, and personal ownership? In this episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Arti Agarwal, full-time Product Manager at Accenture and founder of Empowering Minds, Transforming Souls. Arti shares her deeply personal journey from growing up in a traditional Indian middle-class family and losing her father at 17, to becoming a mindset coach helping others overcome scarcity thinking, self-doubt, and victim mentality. Together, they explore how mindset shapes our reality, why many people unknowingly operate from “victim energy,” and practical ways to reclaim ownership of your life. Arti also shares simple but powerful habits—including gratitude, self-talk, discipline, and acceptance—that can help anyone shift toward a more abundant and empowered mindset. If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or trapped in survival mode, this conversation offers relatable wisdom and actionable insights to help you take your next step forward. In This Episode: • How childhood experiences and financial pressure can create scarcity thinking • Signs you may be operating in “victim energy” without realizing it • Why taking responsibility for your emotions changes everything • The role of gratitude, discipline, and positive self-talk in personal growth • How acceptance becomes the first step toward transformation • Why becoming your own cheerleader matters more than outside validation Memorable Takeaway: “Unless and until we are able to accept totally what is happening with us, we cannot truly change it.” – Arti Agarwal Tune in for a meaningful conversation about mindset, resilience, emotional responsibility, and creating a life aligned with who you truly are. Connect with Arti: artiashokagarwal10@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/artiagarwalba/
Dave Martin has spent more than two decades in product leadership, with a string of C-suite roles, a couple of exits and a book, The Product Momentum Gap, to his name. He is also dyslexic and ADHD, and has built a career while masking the effort it takes to "think normal". In this episode he makes the case that the advice handed to neurotypical leaders often fails the roughly half of tech workers who are neurodivergent, and lays out a practical playbook for landing your message, leading the room and progressing without pretending to be someone else. Chapters00:00) Welcome, and Dave's background in product(02:03) "I've been masking it": faking thinking normal(02:37) The meeting where your idea is ignored, then credited to someone else(03:28) AI as a "spell check for influence"(04:07) The myth that growth requires pretending to be neurotypical(05:15) Why standard leadership advice fails neurodivergent leaders(06:45) Executive presence, signal presence and signal drift(07:57) Is this universal, or specific to neurodivergence?(09:48) From "dumb kid" to writing C++ at ten(11:27) When a word processor flipped his Fs to As(13:24) The trap: leading with detail(15:42) The boardroom moment that gets you labelled "not strategic"(17:05) Designing for re-tell: what the room repeats when you leave(18:19) Three mistakes that kill your influence(19:36) The CALM framework(21:32) Authority and the signal prep exercise(22:14) Three questions: outcome, one-line recommendation, re-tell(24:44) "Minutes not months": seeding the line that gets repeated(26:56) Learning: vulnerability and psychological safety(28:27) Momentum, well-being and burnout(31:21) Why burnout is a leadership fault(32:01) Mia's story: the head of product who wanted to be CPO(34:20) Recognising the trigger and practising signal prep(37:06) When stakeholders started calling her strategic(38:31) The opposite trap: abandoning detail entirely(39:22) Why some leaders step back into IC roles(41:16) Free training and AI as your spell checker for influence(42:26) Closing thoughtsKey takeaways— Authenticity is not the goal; deliberate communication is. Dave's central provocation is that "be your authentic self" assumes everyone in the room thinks the way you do. For a leader who sees patterns instantly and works in deep, hyperfocused bursts, behaving authentically can mean failing to explain the obvious and struggling to empathise with those who need the journey, not just the destination.— The symptoms are universal, the tax is not. Everybody's message gets lost in meetings. What separates neurodivergent leaders is the cognitive cost of noticing that drift and correcting it. As Randy and Dave agree, the tools discussed here help everyone, but the impact is far larger for those paying the higher tax.— Leading with detail is the career trap. The very trait that makes someone an exceptional individual contributor, the ability to go deep and surface every edge case, can sink them in the boardroom. — Answer a strategic question with edge cases and you are labelled "not executive" with alarming speed, and undoing that label takes months of work.— CALM is the alternative. Clarity, authority, learning and momentum, delivered calmly. Authority comes from being clear on the outcome and the ask, asking for support and guidance rather than permission, and not feeling obliged to justify every edge case.— Signal prep is the practical tool. Three questions: what do I need from this room; what is my one-line recommendation; and what will they repeat when I am not in the room. A bonus question for higher-stakes meetings asks what the room feels now and how you want them to feel when you leave.— Design for re-tell. Dave's example of a leader who reduced a lengthy objective to "minutes not months for our customers", and repeated it, is the clearest illustration. That phrase, not someone else's reframe, is what got repeated in the room afterwards.— Well-being underpins momentum. Dave nearly named the framework around well-being. Without a sustainable pace, leaders cannot lead, and the unprocessed meeting that keeps you awake at 3am is a momentum problem. He frames widespread tech burnout as a leadership failure, because leaders set the expectation.— AI is a spell checker for influence. Just as a word processor turned Dave's Fs into As without changing his brain, AI tooling can help neurodivergent leaders translate their thinking into the right language for the room, supporting the communication without doing the thinking or the judgement for them.Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
What if the role that has defined a generation of tech careers disappears within five years? In this inaugural episode of the fifth year of the CPO Rising Series, Products That Count Founder & Managing Partner SC Moatti and Resident CPO Renee Niemi make their boldest prediction yet: the product manager as we know it will be replaced by the product builder by 2030. Drawing on conversations with over 1,500 CPOs this year alone, Renee unpacks what is driving the shift, what separates good CPOs from great ones from the best, and why for companies that do not get ahead of this transition, the risk is not just competitive. It is existential.
It's been about 2 years and 3 mo since I was infamously laid off from my dream product manager job at Discord. And today, I finally sit with my old manager to talk about life after layoffs. Derek Yang is now a Principal Product Manager at Roblox, and before that he was at YouTube, Twitch, Yik Yak, Facebook, and Discord where he was also my last ever corporate manager. In this ep, we talk about: → What it actually means to "make it" in tech (spoiler: he still doesn't think he has)→ the performance review that humbled him and forever changed → how he approaches his career→ why working hard is not enough and what actually gets you recognized→ what he gave up becoming a new dad→ and why sustainability is his whole era right nowThis episode is for anyone who has ever put their whole heart into their work and still felt like it wasn't enough. Derek is one of the most thoughtful people I know and I learned something new about him even after years of friendship.→ Find Derek on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/dereklyangSubmit your Coworker Confessions
Have you ever stopped to think about the technology powering almost every text box you interact with online? Whether you're applying for a job, drafting a legal contract, publishing content, or updating a website, there's a good chance a rich text editor is quietly working behind the scenes. In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I caught up with Fredrik Danielsson, Product Manager at TinyMCE, to discuss how one of the internet's most widely used editing platforms is evolving for the AI era. Frédéric shares the remarkable story behind TinyMCE, a tool that traces its roots back to the early days of the web and has played a role in creating much of the internet's human-generated content. From the days of hand-coded websites and Flash applications to today's AI-powered content workflows, we explore how the company has continually adapted to changing developer and user needs. Our conversation focuses on the launch of TinyMCE AI and why the company believes artificial intelligence belongs inside the content creation experience rather than in a separate chatbot window. We discuss the hidden productivity costs of constantly switching between applications, copying and pasting content between AI assistants and business tools, and why bringing AI directly into the editor creates a more natural and efficient workflow. We also examine the growing challenges around AI governance, content ownership, compliance, and accountability. As organizations race to adopt AI tools, how can they maintain visibility into which content was AI-assisted, who made changes, and how information flows through the business? Frédéric explains why features such as revision history, track changes, and audit trails may become increasingly important as regulations and expectations mature. Along the way, we discuss context-aware AI, model flexibility, developer experience, and the future of content creation. Frédéric also shares his thoughts on why AI adoption is becoming more natural for everyday users and what the next phase of AI-powered productivity could look like as these tools become deeply embedded in the software people already use. If AI is changing how we create, edit, review, and collaborate on content, what happens when the editor itself becomes the smartest participant in the room? And how will that reshape the way we work over the next few years?
Njegos Ilic: The "Painting by Numbers" Scrum Master vs. The Quiet Leader Who Made the Team Self-Sufficient In this episode, we refer to the concepts of Scrum Master as facilitator and team empowerment. The Bad Scrum Master: The "Painting by Numbers" Approach That Leaves Product Owners Working Alone Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. "You basically feel totally alone because you are trying to deliver value as a team, but if nobody asks anything and nobody challenges anything, you end up defining everything yourself." - Njegos Ilic Njegos describes the worst Scrum Master anti-pattern he's witnessed: the "painting by numbers" Scrum Master who runs every ceremony by the book — dailies, refinements, plannings, retros, reviews — but without understanding the purpose behind any of them. The meetings become a reporting cycle: "What did you do yesterday?" with no interaction, no challenging, no real engagement. From the product owner's perspective, this is devastating. Njegos describes feeling completely alone — trying to deliver value as a team while nobody engages, nobody asks questions, nobody pushes back on assumptions. The downstream effect is predictable: gaps that could have been caught early with a single conversation only surface during development or after deployment. Worse, the lack of engagement creates doubt and overthinking — the product owner starts over-defining requirements because there's no feedback loop, which reinforces the very passivity that caused the problem. Self-reflection Question: Are the ceremonies on your team creating genuine engagement and learning — or have they become a reporting cycle that nobody actually needs? The Great Scrum Master: The Quiet, Impactful Leader Who Made the Team Self-Sufficient Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. "The best Scrum Masters I worked with were invisible — they knew always when to speak, they sensed the pulse of the team, and they weren't afraid to jump in when needed." - Njegos Ilic The best Scrum Masters Njegos has worked with share a common trait: they were almost invisible. They didn't dominate meetings or insert themselves where they weren't needed. But they were always present — sensing the team's pulse, knowing when to step in, unafraid to say "we're out of time, let's take this offline." They were knowledgeable about the product, which earned them genuine respect from developers. And perhaps most powerfully, they delegated facilitation itself. Njegos shares an example where a Scrum Master introduced a round-robin system: when new developers joined the team, everyone took turns facilitating meetings — planning, retros, dailies. This wasn't just delegation for efficiency; it was empowerment by design. Team members who facilitated a retrospective suddenly understood how hard it is to lead one. That empathy changed how they participated when someone else was facilitating. The Scrum Master remained the guide, but the team grew its own capacity to self-organize. Self-reflection Question: If your Scrum Master disappeared tomorrow, would your team know how to facilitate its own ceremonies — and if not, what does that say about how the role is being used? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]
Njegos Ilic: Why Measuring Your Product Bets Is the Key to Product Owner Success Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. "If you cannot measure what you build, you will just be depending on who is screaming the loudest and using your gut feeling — which is not a good thing long term." - Njegos Ilic Njegos defines product owner success through three pillars: the ability to measure product bets, deep knowledge of the industry and product, and the humility to admit mistakes and be challenged. The measurement piece is central — without it, he argues, you're flying blind, making decisions based on opinions rather than evidence, reacting to whoever screams loudest rather than what the data shows. But Njegos is honest that not every environment makes measurement easy. Some companies lack the tooling, the culture, or the historical infrastructure to set up proper analytics. In those situations, he turns to user interviews as the next best thing — getting direct feedback from users, even though he acknowledges that opinions are still limited without data to fact-check them against. His most powerful suggestion: invite the whole team to user interviews, not just the product trio. When developers hear directly from users, they connect to real-world problems, and conversations during refinements become richer and more grounded. In this episode, we refer to The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick and Shift: From Product to People by Michael Dougherty and Pete Oliver-Kruger. Self-reflection Question: How do you currently measure whether the features you shipped actually delivered the value you expected — and if you can't measure it, what's your fallback? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Start With a Relaxing Exercise Njegos doesn't advocate for a specific retrospective template — and that's the point. From his product owner perspective, he values retrospectives that begin with a relaxing, informal exercise to set the tone. Not everything needs to feel like business as usual. This casual opening allows people to connect as humans first, which opens them up to think differently about what they learned during the sprint. Njegos is candid about the reality: some teams love icebreakers, while others find them childish and just want to get to the point. His advice is to sense the pulse of the team and adapt. The format matters less than whether it creates an environment where people can be honest about what went well, what didn't, and what to improve. A Scrum Master who reads the team's vibe and adjusts accordingly — that's what makes the difference. [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]
Njegos Ilic: How a Miro Board Experiment Changed the Way His Team Understood the Big Picture Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. "Every feature is a product bet. I would call this a process bet — just try to see what works best for you." - Njegos Ilic Njegos shares a change story from his time working with a tech lead who had previously been a Scrum Master — a partnership that made all the difference. Together, they introduced a simple but powerful change: visualizing the team's work on a Miro board instead of relying on a standard ticket board with cards and status columns. They mapped out concepts, connected ticket numbers to a visual representation of how different pieces of work fit together, and used this board during dailies and refinements to track progress in context. The change wasn't imposed top-down — Njegos and his tech lead simply said, "Give us one sprint to try this. If it doesn't work, we drop it." The result was immediate: dailies became more engaging, the team could see how their individual work connected to the bigger picture, and Njegos found it much easier to track progress as a visual thinker. His advice for Scrum Masters and product owners who want to introduce something similar is refreshingly simple — frame it as a "process bet," just like you'd frame a product bet. Try it, measure what happens, and if it doesn't work, drop it and try something else. The willingness to experiment with your own process is a prerequisite for experimenting with the product itself. Self-reflection Question: What "process bet" has your team been avoiding — and what would it take to just try it for one sprint? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]
Barry O'Reilly is an entrepreneur, author, and founder of Nobody Studios, an early-stage venture studio focused on building AI companies. Over the last six years he has worked with founders, executives and enterprise leadership teams to rethink how organisations operate in the age of generative AI, while simultaneously building and launching companies inside the studio model.A former startup advisor and executive coach, Barry has spent the last several years studying why most AI transformations fail despite enormous investment. Through his coaching and advisory work with leaders from companies including American Airlines, Skyscanner, and Slack, Barry has developed practical frameworks for improving decision-making, reducing administrative overhead, and increasing what he calls "decision velocity".In this episode, Barry explains why AI adoption fails when companies focus on tools instead of behaviour change, why judgment is becoming the most important human skill, and how teams can use AI to improve collaboration rather than replace people.Key takeaways — Most AI transformations fail because organisations start with tools instead of behaviours. Installing AI software does not change how people work, make decisions or collaborate. — The most effective AI use cases amplify a person's natural way of working. Barry realised he produced better writing by talking through ideas and using transcription tools instead of forcing himself into traditional writing workflows. — Capturing meetings, conversations and decisions as structured data creates long-term organisational intelligence. Every interaction becomes a reusable asset that improves preparation, follow-through, and future decision-making. — Leaders must role-model AI adoption themselves. Organisations see better outcomes when executives openly experiment with tools, share lessons learned, and create psychological safety around adoption. — Decision velocity matters more than raw productivity. Teams improve when they arrive prepared, make decisions faster, reduce reversals, and spend more time solving meaningful problems instead of handling administration. — AI should be used to challenge thinking, not replace it. The most valuable prompts ask for blind spots, alternative scenarios, and pressure tests rather than definitive answers. — Teams working with AI outperform individuals working with AI. Barry cites research showing that collaborative ideation with AI produces significantly stronger outcomes than isolated use. — Productivity gains are meaningless if they simply create more exhaustion. The real opportunity is creating space for reflection, slow thinking, and better judgment. — Judgment is the critical human capability organisations cannot outsource. If people stop exercising judgment and rely entirely on AI-generated answers, they gradually erode their ability to make decisions under uncertainty.Chapters 1:03 — Building AI companies at Nobody Studios 3:16 — Why AI transformations fail 5:05 — The danger of focusing on tools 6:35 — Discovering natural workflows with AI 8:51 — Turning conversations into data assets 12:02 — Measuring successful AI adoption 13:14 — Why leaders must role-model behaviour change 18:39 — Decision velocity as a leadership metric 21:33 — Escaping administrative overload 23:02 — Why leaders need time to think 26:54 — What CFOs are worried about 28:08 — Can AI replace startup teams? 29:45 — Why distribution still matters most 33:13 — Capturing and synthesising ideas with AI 34:38 — Using AI to challenge your thinking 37:11 — Avoiding top-down AI-driven strategy 39:00 — Why teams plus AI outperform individuals 42:31 — The problem with AI-generated certainty 43:12 — Preserving human judgment 44:55 — Hiring for judgment and decision-making 47:19 — Final reflections on leadership and AIOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
Njegos Ilic: Why the Product Trio Breaks the Hand-Off Mentality That Kills Team Engagement Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. "I can't change people, but I can definitely involve them." - Njegos Ilic Njegos describes a pattern he's encountered multiple times as a product owner: teams where engagement is almost nonexistent. He walks into a refinement session, presents ideas, asks for feedback — and gets crickets. Nobody pushes back, nobody asks questions, nobody challenges the assumptions. The result is a product owner working in isolation, defining everything alone, only to discover gaps during development that could have been caught early with a single conversation. Njegos is honest about the limits of what any one person can do — you can't change people's personalities, and expecting a Scrum Master to do so is unrealistic. But what you can do is involve people. His approach when joining a new team: don't come in announcing how things will work. Instead, learn how the team already works, meet them where they are, and then find ways to fit new concepts into their existing rhythm. For the non-negotiable things — the red lines — he's precise, open, and always provides an alternative rather than just pushing his way. In this segment, we talk about Discovery and Delivery and the Product Trio concept. Self-reflection Question: When you join a team meeting and get silence instead of feedback, do you assume agreement — or do you treat it as a signal that something deeper needs to change? Featured Book of the Week: Inspired by Marty Cagan Njegos recommends Inspired by Marty Cagan as the book that most shaped his approach to product ownership. He highlights the entire SVPG series — including Empowered and Transformed (available as the Product is Hard SVPG Box Set) — but points to the Product Trio concept as especially powerful. As Njegos puts it, the Product Trio — bringing together a product manager, a tech lead, and a designer — removes the hand-off mentality where each discipline works in isolation. Instead of the product owner defining everything alone and handing it to the team, the trio shapes problems together during discovery, so that by the time work reaches the team, there's shared understanding of why they're building something, not just what to build. [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]
Daniel Wyrzykowski is a Product Manager at Mend.io. In this episode, he joins host Paul John Spaulding to discuss the AI-generated dependency problem plaguing the industry right now, including slopsquatting, information ecosystems as supply chain risk, and more. Securing The Build is brought to you by Mend.io, the leading application security solution, helping organizations reduce application risk efficiently. To learn more about our sponsor, visit https://mend.io.
Njegos Ilic: Why Saying Yes to Every Stakeholder Request Is the Fastest Way to Fail as a Product Owner Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. "The game is rigged because they are strong personalities, they want to get things done, but you don't have a magic stick — it's really hard to deliver results if you cannot say no." - Njegos Ilic Njegos shares a failure from early in his career as a product owner in startup environments, where he found himself saying yes to every stakeholder request. Working with strong-willed founders who expected things done their way, Njegos fell into the trap of trying to please everyone — building everything that was asked without pushing back. The result was predictable: scattered priorities, no room to pivot, and a product backlog driven by the loudest voice in the room rather than real user needs. But Njegos frames this failure with a perspective that product owners at any stage can learn from. He compares the learning process to watching children learn to walk — stumbling and falling is not a sign of weakness, it's a necessary step in the process of growing. His advice to product owners currently stuck in this pattern: don't try to avoid failures too hard, because you might prevent yourself from learning the most important lessons. Instead, treat failure as a feedback loop — something happened, you can measure it, and you can change your approach. The key is doing the actual work of reflection: What did I do? What should have been different? What wasn't possible to change, and why? Self-reflection Question: When was the last time you said yes to a stakeholder request even though your gut told you it wasn't the right call — and what would it take for you to say no next time? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]
Gwendoly Espe, Product Manager at Yaskawa Solectria Solar, discusses the technical and commercial advantages of DC-coupled solar-plus-storage systems at utility scale. The conversation covers DC versus AC coupling architecture, energy harvest optimization through clipping recovery, and Yaskawa's American-manufactured PVS 500 inverter solution. Additional topics include NABCEP-accredited training programs, FEOC compliance, and the growing role of solar storage in powering data centers and supporting grid stability. Topics Covered Yaskawa Solectria Solar www.solectria.com Inverter Converter DC Coupling AC Coupling Energy Yield DC = Direct Current AC = Alternating Current Utility Scale Solar Utility Grid Microgrid Ercot DER = Distributed Energy Resources AI = Artificial Intelligence ESS = Energy Storage System Data Center Recharge with Solectria FEOC = A Foreign Entity of Concern Reach out to Gwendoly Espe here: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gwendolyespe Website: www.solectria.com Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean's classes at www.heatspring.com/sean www.solarsean.com/esipexam
In this episode of Reboot IT, host Dave Coriale sits down with Vinnu Deshetty, Product Manager at the American Chemical Society, Event ROI Coach, and longtime PCMA instructor, to discuss the evolving role of technology in events. They explore how AI is reshaping planning and analytics, how associations can better serve exhibitors and attendees, and why intentional innovation matters more than ever. Vinnu shares practical insights on avoiding “shiny tech syndrome,” aligning tech with business goals, and using data to drive meaningful outcomes. The conversation highlights the importance of purpose-driven decisions in delivering real value from events. Themes and Topics: The Current State of Event Technology Events are operating “between four and five” in tech adoption, reflecting strong progress with room for improvement. Associations are balancing traditional goals like attendance with new expectations for engagement and personalization. AI is accelerating innovation while increasing complexity in tool selection. Purpose-Built Event Tech (Not One-Size-Fits-All) Technology is now tailored to planners, attendees, and exhibitors instead of being one broad solution. Vendors are solving specific pain points like workflows, engagement, and lead generation. Comparing solutions is more complex because platforms are no longer “apples to apples.” AI's Growing Impact on Event Operations AI is reducing manual work, like building session schedules. Systems can learn from past data such as session ratings and attendance trends. Predictive analytics and real-time insights are becoming more common in decision-making. Data Strategy: Start with Intent Organizations often collect too much data without a clear purpose. Defining the questions upfront is critical to making data actionable. Focusing on a few key goals prevents teams from trying to “boil the ocean.” Exhibitor Expectations and ROI Pressure Exhibitors are asking sharper questions about ROI and measurable outcomes. Associations compete with alternative marketing channels for sponsor dollars. Integrated systems now provide better insights into lead generation and attendee behavior. Change Management and Innovation Mindset Innovation requires intentional planning, not just adopting “shiny” tools. Pilot programs and incremental changes help reduce risk. Understanding stakeholder impact is essential before rolling out new technology.
Dan Ciruli is VP and General Manager of Cloud Native at Nutanix. A computer science graduate of UC Berkeley, Dan spent a decade in engineering before pivoting to product management in 2003, a role that barely had a name when he started. Since then he has held product leadership positions at EMC and Google, where he was part of the team that helped create Kubernetes and open source Google's cloud infrastructure.He was a founding member of the OpenAPI Initiative and a steering committee member for the Istio service mesh project, and has spent the last two decades with one foot in commercial product development and one in the open source community.In this episode, Dan explains why open source is not a charity exercise, how companies actually make money from code they give away for free, and what product managers get wrong when they tell their engineers to avoid it.Key takeaways— Open source is not crowdsourcing from individuals — much of the contribution comes from companies investing on the clock, because broad adoption benefits everyone more than proprietary lock-in.— The CNCF succeeded because it created a neutral space where the largest and smallest organisations felt equally safe contributing and consuming. That structure — not the code itself — is what made cloud native computing universal.— Being a product manager in open source requires the same core instinct as any other PM role: understanding the why. The difference is that your engineers may work for a competitor, and your roadmap is not entirely yours to control.— AI is multiplying the capability of both good actors and bad actors in open source security. The answer is not to slow adoption but to keep a credible human in the loop — someone with accumulated trust, judgement and accountability.— Before open sourcing your own work, be clear on how your company will make money, articulate it concisely for leadership, and then find at least one other organisation — even a competitor — willing to join you. A consortium signals a standard. A solo release signals a gamble.Chapters1:16 — From engineering to product management3:11 — Bridging open source and commercial work5:05 — The origin of Kubernetes at Google6:35 — How Nutanix embraces open source7:16 — The crowdsourcing misconception8:51 — Why the CNCF changed everything11:25 — Building a defensible moat in open source12:13 — The business models behind free code14:18 — Managing roadmaps you don't fully control15:04 — When your competitor writes your code16:04 — The CEO who wore his secrets around his neck18:13 — Developing an open source strategy19:37 — The one question every PM must ask22:44 — What is the CNCF?23:34 — AI, open source and the security arms race29:45 — Chop wood, carry water: the human in the loop31:48 — Advice for PMs running open source products33:15 — Harnessing a community you don't manage34:38 — Should you open source your own work?36:35 — How messy does it really get?39:33 — Linux is an anti-patternOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.
BONUS: Your Developers Got 20x Faster — Now Watch Your Product Managers' Heads Explode Clarke Ching is "The Bottleneck Guy" — and he just spotted the bottleneck that AI is about to create in every software organization. It's not in the code. It's inside the heads of the people who decide what gets built. In this conversation, Vasco and Clarke unpack why speeding up developers with AI tools pushes the real constraint upstream — onto product managers, designers, and leaders — and what to do before cognitive overload crushes the people your organization depends on most. Every Business Has a Bottleneck — Most Are in the Wrong Place "Every single client I have is a detective puzzle. We're looking for this quiet killer sitting inside their business, siphoning off money. And if you look at them without the idea of going 'where's the bottleneck?' — you mistake the busyness for productivity." Clarke approaches Theory of Constraints like a detective story, not a physics lecture. Every business has a bottleneck — the narrowest point that chokes throughput. The question isn't whether you have one, it's whether it's in the right place. In software development, Clarke argues, the bottleneck should almost always be the developers. Not because they're slow, but because they're the pacing resource — like the aircraft carrier in a naval fleet that sets the speed for everything else. When developers are the bottleneck, the people upstream (product managers, designers, architects) have time to curate high-quality, high-value inputs. The people downstream (testers, ops) can deliver fast feedback. Everything flows. But when the bottleneck drifts somewhere else — and nobody notices — everyone gets busy, nothing flows, and the organization mistakes that busyness for productivity. Clarke's latest book, The Speed Book, lays out how to find where your bottleneck actually is and move it to where it belongs. AI Just Moved the Bottleneck — And Nobody's Talking About It "Just imagine one person trying to feed 100 developers. It's ridiculous. Everyone goes, 'oh, that's just crazy.' But that's kind of going to be what it's like." Here's the problem: AI coding tools — Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot — are making developers dramatically faster. If a team of 5 developers becomes 20x more productive, that's the equivalent of 100 developers. But you still have one product manager feeding them. The bottleneck hasn't disappeared — it's moved upstream. And when a bottleneck moves to the people who make product decisions, three things happen: they cut corners on requirements (shipping half-baked ideas because the team can turn them around fast), they feed developers busy work just to keep them occupied, and — worst of all — they lose the time needed to push through complexity to find elegance. Clarke references Steve Jobs's insight: Apple kept working past "peak complexity" until they reached "peak simplicity." That's where great products come from. But a product manager juggling work for 100 developers has no time for that journey. Elegance goes out the window. Why Giving AI to Product People Almost Makes Things Worse "If you want to wear your dog out so she sleeps, don't take her for long walks. Make the dog think. Brain games exhaust the dog faster than running." The obvious fix — give product people AI tools too — sounds right but misses the point. AI can handle the easy parts of product work: drafting user stories, generating specs, compiling research. That's the equivalent of taking the dog for a run. But the hard parts — the deep thinking about what to build, why it matters, how features interact — that's brain work. And brain work is exhausting in a way that volume work is not. Clarke works with senior leaders whose biggest challenge is pacing themselves. Heavy cognitive lifting burns through energy fast — your brain consumes 30-40% of your body's glucose when you're thinking hard. When AI handles the easy work, the proportion of your day spent on exhausting brain work jumps from maybe 15-20% to 50% or more. It's like lifting weights for six hours straight. You don't get stronger — you break down. On top of that, product people go from coordinating one stream of work to juggling many simultaneous initiatives. Clarke calls these "idea grenades" — and when you're juggling chainsaws with grenades attached, you start dropping things. The Real Danger: Going in the Wrong Direction, 100x Faster "If you change the relative capacities and make some of them much, much faster, the bottleneck's gonna move. My next book, jokingly, is gonna be called 'Who Moved My Bottleneck?'" There's an amplification effect that makes this worse than a simple throughput problem. An error in a line of code affects one line. An error in a design document ripples into hundreds of lines. An error at the strategic level — building the wrong features entirely — can be a disaster for the company. Now add AI speed to that equation. Overwhelmed product people making rushed decisions don't just slow things down — they point the entire organization in the wrong direction, and AI-powered developers execute that wrong direction at 20x speed. As Clarke puts it: you crash into the mountain, faster. The fundamental Theory of Constraints insight applies: if you speed up a non-bottleneck resource, you don't speed up the system. You just create more work-in-progress, more chaos, and more cognitive load for whoever the real bottleneck is. Four Experiments to Try Before Cognitive Crush Hits Your Team "Quality will come from actually slowing down. Money, profits will come from slowing down, building very good products, focusing on why we're building these products, not just how do we keep the AIs working." Clarke offers four practical experiments for teams navigating this shift: Get product people working with AI — as a thought partner, not a turbo boost. Teach them to delegate the routine work to AI so they can protect their cognitive energy for the decisions that actually matter. Think of AI as a delegation tool, not a productivity multiplier. Help product people find their sustainable pace. Like Clarke's gym trainer who said "don't come five days a week or you'll never come back" — the people doing heavy cognitive lifting need to pace themselves. Old-school agile called this sustainable pace. It's never been more relevant. Don't try to keep developers (or AI) busy all the time. The instinct to maximize utilization is the instinct that creates the problem. With AI, you're renting capacity by the minute, not paying salaries. Use it at the pace of good product thinking, not at maximum throughput. Turn the tap on and off as needed. Measure what matters: value delivered, not stories completed. If 60-70% of features rarely get used today, imagine what happens when you 20x the feature output without improving the decision quality upstream. More features, more waste — at scale. About Clarke Ching Clarke Ching is "The Bottleneck Guy" — a Theory of Constraints and lean expert who wrote Rolling Rocks Downhill, the agile+lean business novel that never mentions agile, and The Bottleneck Rules. Born in New Zealand, he spent 20 years abroad (15 of them in Scotland) before returning home. He's spent decades helping teams find and manage the one constraint that controls everything else. LinkedIn You can link with Clarke Ching on LinkedIn.
Featured Interview: This is a big month! The Muscle Car Place welcomes a brand-new sponsor to the network this month, but this partnership is about far more than advertising banners and product mentions. We’re trying to be a part of something BIG. I sat down with Bridney Jordan, Property Brands and Product Manager for Lexani, […] The post TMCP #648: Bridney Jordan and the Inside Baseball World of Tires for Daily's, Trucks and Enthusiast Rubber! first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.