<![CDATA[Make Things That Matter]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GY_h!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F867ac3aa-3e38-48be-8644-f58c14ba8cdc_500x500.pngMake Things That Matterhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.comSubstackSat, 11 Apr 2026 06:00:49 GMT<![CDATA[Itamar Gilad: the GIST of product discovery]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/itamar-gilad-gist-of-product-discoveryhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/itamar-gilad-gist-of-product-discoveryTue, 30 Jul 2024 06:21:27 GMT

Itamar Gilad is the author of Evidence Guided, which is my favorite book out there on how to practically DO product discovery well. Prior to working as an independent product consultant and trainer, he had a long and successful career in product at Google where, among other things, he led the creation and launch of products that are now used by over a billion people.

In this conversation we explore the GIST approach to product discovery through the origin story of Gmail's tabbed inbox, to help you see what great product discovery looks like in practice. We also discuss how to think about roadmapping and formulating strategy, all within the crazy levels of uncertainty we all deal with.

Please enjoy learning from one of my favorite product thinkers out there, Itamar Gilad.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(01:33) Creating frameworks and coming up with catchy models

(10:02) GIST: the meta framework organizing model concept.

(15:02) Illustrating GIST through the story of Gmail tabbed inbox

(21:06) Refocusing goals led to stronger, simpler idea.

(25:08) Prioritize, filter, and reevaluate for effective ideas.

(29:02) Usability and value risks, low confidence, evolution.

(35:43) Key results drive achieving goals, engaging company.

(40:07) Inquiring about applying startup approach to enterprises.

(45:32) Navigating uncertainty in strategy with evidence and discovery.

(50:44) Emphasizing iterative nature of product discovery process.

(59:10) Encouraging analysis for companies hesitant about changes.

(01:01:18) Evaluate, test, experiment, launch, measure, impact, outcomes

Links & resources mentioned

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If you haven't already would you do me a favor and take ~40 seconds to rate/review the show on Apple Podcasts ? It really helps. (Scroll to bottom of page for rate/review links.)

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]]><![CDATA[Steve Portigal: Improving your user research process]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/steve-portigal-improving-user-research-processhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/steve-portigal-improving-user-research-processFri, 28 Jun 2024 15:33:17 GMT

Steve Portigal is a veteran user research leader and consultant who helps companies mature their research practices. He’s the author of Interviewing Users, a classic in the field, and the host of the design leadership podcast Dollars to Donuts. In this conversation, we explore:

  • how to use creative practices to develop your voice as a leader and storyteller

  • how to be a smart consumer of research findings when you aren’t an expert in the craft of research

  • one simple question leaders can ask to set their organizations to make the most of research

  • and how to create the conditions for high-impact, effective creative work in your team

Please enjoy, Steve Portigal.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(10:21) Experimenting with writing and finding one's voice

(15:47) Feedback model: GASP - goals, attempts, successes, possibilities

(19:53) Workshops, creativity, and self-doubt

(27:06) Embrace authenticity, find your unique facilitation style

(28:10) Appreciating different approaches, understanding executives' skepticism

(34:37) Engage with compassion

(39:29) Research is essential for informed decision-making

(49:01) Compassion and reflection are crucial for leaders

(50:48) Create a safe learning space for engagement

(56:03) Assessing code quality and marketing effectiveness

(01:00:39) Research raises questions, timing and deployment important

(01:10:31) Stay fascinated with the world around you

Links & resources mentioned

Sign up here to get upcoming essays + episodes emailed to you.

Follow the MTTM journey on Twitter or LinkedIn!

If you haven't already would you do me a favor and take ~40 seconds to rate/review the show on Apple Podcasts ? It really helps. (Scroll to bottom of page for rate/review links.)

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]]><![CDATA[Christian Idiodi: Telling the story of transformation]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/christian-idiodi-telling-the-storyhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/christian-idiodi-telling-the-storyThu, 30 May 2024 22:09:00 GMT

Christian Idiodi is a partner at Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG). Before SVPG, he profoundly shaped or reshaped the culture and products of CareerBuilder, Snagajob, and led the product transformation in Datasite, the first SaaS for due diligence in the finance industry.

This conversation was so fun and covered a lot of territory:

  • how to tell if a transformation has truly gotten into the DNA of a culture

  • how to tell if leaders are truly bought in to the work needed

  • how to weave practice and skill development into your existing meeting structures

  • and how to approach reading differently to improve as a decision maker

Please enjoy, Christian.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(08:56) An unusual childhood leads to survival skills, creativity

(12:25) Aspiring doctor turned innovator seeking problem-solving opportunities

(18:33) Guiding others through transformation, not crafting it

(21:31) Thriving on tech success, driven by motivation

(28:40) Cycle of innovation: growth, stagnation, reversion, reaction

(36:45) Reading biographies as a leader to improve your decision-making

(37:40) Key to career success: leadership, insight, humility

(47:23) Transitioning roles, what were key mindset shifts?

(56:30) Prioritizing practice before game day

(01:03) Choose kindness, support, and do good work

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/christian-idiodi-telling-the-story-of-transformation/#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Martina Hodges-Schell: Understanding your operating model]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/martina-hodges-schell-operating-modelhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/martina-hodges-schell-operating-modelSat, 13 Apr 2024 22:41:15 GMT

Martina Hodges-Schell is a transformation coach and consultant that helps organizations adopt a Silicon Valley approach to innovation. She spent 25 years leading design and innovation in tech companies, and now she loves providing a fresh, outside perspective to help teams develop and mature their product practice.

In this conversation, we…

  • define transformation and what it means for your company operating model

  • explore how a company operating model might be shifted by adapting AI technology

  • Discuss how embodied leadership practices like equine coaching can give leaders the most honest feedback

Enjoy!

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(05:31) A horse's feedback reflects your behavior and communication

(06:51) Feedback on your actions and decision making

(10:48) Leaders MUST be involved in change process

(13:57) Control is equated with power, active involvement important

(18:58) Change is difficult, people resist it

(19:45) Balancing ideas within organizations, encouraging participation

(25:37) Four lenses for an operating model

(29:18) How AI transforms operating model: structure and collaboration challenges

(31:36) Organizational structure should promote collaboration and communication

(37:17) Optimistic about innovation, promoting change and collaboration

(39:55) Focus on broad possibilities, capabilities, and brand

(43:16) Closing the loop from teams to leadership

(50:20) Guiding questions in life

(52:49) Book recommendations

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/martina-hodges-schell-operating-model#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Marty Cagan: Moving to the product model]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/marty-cagan-moving-to-the-product-modelhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/marty-cagan-moving-to-the-product-modelWed, 13 Mar 2024 05:40:18 GMT

Marty Cagan is a legend in the world of product management. He’s the guy who literally ‘wrote the book,’ having published the foundational books INSPIRED and EMPOWERED. He’s now back to complete the trifecta with his latest work, TRANSFORMED, which is a deep dive into a topic near and dear to my heart: the product operating model, what it takes for a company to actually transform to it.

Here’s why this matters for you: companies spend huge amounts of time and money trying to transform, and all too often get little in return. TRANSFORMED shows what's possible on the other side, what it actually takes to pull it off, and what can derail the effort.

Enjoy!

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(00:00) The process and challenges in writing a book

(12:27) Real world products need tech for results

(17:28) Deciding on investments, solving problems, and changing processes

(28:11) Understanding disconnects

(36:00) Top leadership support crucial

(40:28) How product coaches help

(44:57) "Being agile" doesn't always mean "doing agile"

(49:52) Handling objections well

(54:45) How it comes together in an organizational operating model

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/marty-cagan-moving-to-the-product-model#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Randy Silver: The conversations that create impactful products]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/randy-silver-conversations-create-impacthttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/randy-silver-conversations-create-impactTue, 23 Jan 2024 07:15:12 GMT

A product and leadership coach, Randy Silver is one of the true weavers of the global product community. He’s the co-host and founder of The Product Experience podcast, runs the Product in the {A}ether meetup, and wrote “What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of Crisis.” Prior to all that, Randy spent years in the trenches as a head of product roles. In this conversation, we discuss:

  • how to diagnose new stakeholder relationships

  • the perception issues that can undercut your product team

  • how to think about making better decisions faster

  • balancing authority and influence

  • leveling up our ability to collaborate under revenue pressure

Enjoy!

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(04:00) Moving from a journalistic editor to product editor

(07:34) Parallels between product management film production

(09:53) Missed opportunities & the need for collaboration

(15:21) Alignment with stakeholders

(18:24) Sales misalignment and restructures

(21:10) Diagnosing teamwork challenges with partners

(25:02) Diagnosing your new org via informational interviews

(28:05) Creating a manager README

(30:11) Roles and responsibilities convo for better understanding

(35:19) Guiding conversations and change

(44:22) Did reorganization at Airbnb address strategy misalignment?

(46:18) Defensive reaction within product community to Airbnb

(52:14) Coordinating while scaling

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/randy-silver-conversations-create-impact#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Product, it's time we grow up]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/product-management-its-time-we-grow-uphttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/product-management-its-time-we-grow-upWed, 20 Dec 2023 17:03:59 GMT

(weary sigh) "They don't get it. Man...they just don't get it."

That might be the phrase of 2023 within the product management community. Exasperation has been a very common sentiment, especially in the tense annual planning cycle that's underway. 

Between the difficult economic environment in tech over the last fifteen months, repeated mass layoffs, and the recent visible backlash against the product management function by Airbnb founder Brian Chesky, product management is in the hot seat. 

As a function, product management is in a place similar to where design was in 2005. People know "it's a thing," but don't really understand it, and are asking the function to justify its existence.

Within the product community, there has been much debate about this. Is PM "out"? Are we really adding value? Or are we peddling snake oil, and our collective imposter syndrome is actually—gasp—right?

Let's take a breath, and a step back. 

Many people in product management feel under attack. This is understandable: it feels like our professional identity is threatened. This triggers insecurity and defensiveness. 

So, we push back. We say, "you know what? Maybe Brian Chesky is actually just bad at creating an empowered culture!" Or, "this is a bunch of panicked, short-sighted execs willing to sacrifice long-term value for short-term revenue." Or, truly exasperated, we fall back to old faithful: "they just don't get it."

 Of course they don't get it. Most people, regardless of role, have neither seen nor experienced a strong, effective product culture. (This applies to most PMs, too.) Strong product company practices remain unevenly distributed within the tech sector, and are barely starting to spread outside tech as software continues to 'eat the world.' There is a contingent of coaches, consultants, and advisors (myself included) working to spread strong product company culture and practices, but it takes time.

To be fair, there absolutely are PMs out there doing all the right things. And there are many more who have read the books, tried everything they can imagine, and now feel stuck in and unable to change a disempowered environment that is very far from what all of us pundits say product management "should" look like. 

Most of us in product are somewhere in between these extremes: we've tried some things that didn't help much, and now believe the problem is in our working environment. 

When we do this, we are doing exactly what we are accused of: avoiding accountability. By displacing the fault onto our environment, we are not taking responsibility for our contribution to the situation. 

Product friends: we have met the enemy, and it is us. 

We need to at least consider the possibility that we are the ones who don't get it. We need to take a hard look in the mirror and consider if there is truth in the critiques of product management. 

I define "empowerment" as bounded autonomy: we get autonomy to define solutions, within guardrails, in return for being accountable to driving business impact. 

For at least the four years since Josh Seiden published "Outcomes Over Output," we've chanted the title as a sacred mantra. We remind each other to be customer-obsessed, vigorously nodding our heads while slapping each other on the back for how outcome-oriented we are. Look at the focus in these OKRs! See how well aligned these product outcomes are to the business! We can certify that we've now 'empowered' all the agile teams, rejoice!

Well, congrats: our cross-functional peers have heard us. Now they'd like to see the results of all those outcomes we've been going on about. 

We've been talking about empowerment for years, but now that the accountability comes around...we don't like it so much. 

It seems like we want all the freedom and none of the responsibility. 

Management teams are asking legitimate, responsible questions about the value-add of product management. And we are not handling it well. 

We react defensively when asked to justify the ROI on the product work. We get flushed and anxious when we're asked to commit to driving revenue. We stammer that we cannot possibly tell you exactly what conversion lift product can drive next year!

The problem is not that they don't get it, or that everyone else is short-sighted.

The problem is not the impossibility of predicting the future. 

The problem is our immaturity as a discipline. 

You know who's really outcomes-driven, and probably the best example of "outcomes over output"? 

Sales.

Sales doesn't know exactly who will buy or how much, and yet they have to commit to driving revenue and to making forecasts—despite those forecasts being uncomfortable, difficult, and needing ongoing revision.

We must do the same in product. 

We cannot have it both ways. 

Either we are leaders accountable for using the resources entrusted to us to drive business impact through the product, or we should shut up and accept being told what to build. That's it.

Delivering value—to the customer, and to the business—is the job, full stop. 

If our colleagues and management are not perceiving value in the product management function, then either (a) we are ineffective at communicating the value we are creating, or (b) we are not actually creating much value. 

Neither is acceptable.

How did we get here?

As a discipline, product management exploded in popularity over the last 5-10 years. This went into overdrive with the boom—and subsequent overstaffing—of PMs in software companies during the pandemic. 

This expansion was driven by economic tailwinds that enabled a lot of exploratory investment in the product management field. Buoyed by a zero-interest rate environment and abundant funding, companies were willing to invest in many drivers of possible upside, including product management.

This was good. Our discipline needed time for development, incubation, and growth. This also means that right now, product management as a discipline is still relatively immature and the vast majority of practitioners are inexperienced. Collectively, our field is a bit like a teenager: it shows great potential, and sometimes amazes us, yet struggles to establish its own identity and be taken seriously. 

Unlike design or engineering, the product management discipline currently lacks formal education and certification pipelines, and is primarily learned through apprenticeship. Many PMs were simply retitled from product owner, project manager, or business analyst as part of a digital/agile transformation, and had no chance to apprentice with experienced PM leaders and practitioners. Further, there is no industry-standard certification that actually ensures baseline competency for anyone with the title “product manager1.”

Together, these factors create two results. First, rather than adaptively working from principles, many product managers are overly dependent on repeating scripted processes and applying basic templates. Second, there is enormous variance in the skill levels of “product managers” and so the field is very inconsistent in the quality of the experience provided to our collaborators. Industry-wide, “product management” as a brand is very inconsistent in delivering its brand promise.

How many PMs feel right now

Battlefield promotion time, everyone. We gotta grow up, and fast. If the last fifteen months have shown us anything, it's that product management is out of the incubator and is being forced to mature. 

Product must now be accountable for its impact, just like every other function. We must now commit to driving no-bullshit business results like revenue, growth, or market share. We have to clearly map out how the things we're driving toward (i.e. "product outcomes") are actually also driving the desired business impact. 

The best product people were already doing this anyway. Now, this level of accountability is becoming table stakes.

Why doesn't this happen to design or engineering?

Both design and engineering are now considered non-negotiable means of production. Execs from other functions know that they can't do this work themselves.

In tech-powered product companies, the product management function—as Marty Cagan has long explained—is responsible for ensuring the customer value and business viability of what we make. But here’s the thing: historically, value and viability were handled by other functions. For example, in CPG companies such as Procter & Gamble, product development was led by brand managers within the marketing department2.

What we call "the right way" has not been around very long, and is mostly constrained to the tech sector. This is why the "tech as IT" mindset is one of the key issues to overcome when a traditional business wants to transform itself into a strong tech product company.

Given all this, it's understandable why people who have not spent their entire career around tech products might be confused about why there is, or should be, a separate product management function. They're not crazy or stupid. 

What do we do about it?

I hope to unpack these in future posts, but broadly, we have to do three things:

  1. Adjust our attitude

  2. Ensure we're actually creating value 

  3. Communicate more effectively

(1) Adjust our attitude

I'm just gonna say it: we need to stop whining and grow up. If we want a seat at the big table, we need to act like we belong there.

Avoiding accountability for the results of our work, or lack thereof, is exactly the opposite of what is needed. Each and every part of the company has a role to play and a contribution to the present situation, and needs to drive results. Product is no exception. 

(2) Ensure we're actually creating value 

Is our work as valuable as we claim it is? We are very biased here due to the endowment effect. 

We must be rigorous, most of all with ourselves. We have to do our homework to clearly establish the link between the product outcomes we are driving, and what the business needs. We need to be able to explain our business impact, even if there are other factors affecting it (e.g. lead quality, traffic volume).

If we cannot connect the dots and show how the product levers we've chosen to focus on measurably drive what the business needs, then we are probably focused on the wrong levers. This is essential going into any planning cycle. 

If we are going into annual planning or forecasting, then we need to be prepared with a range of outcomes based on the levers we believe we can move, and based on a strategy. Refusing to collaborate and claiming that "we can't possibly predict the upside of these features" will only make things worse and undermine our credibility. 

(3) Communicate more effectively

If we've done the previous steps, what remains is a challenge in communication and perception. Value is subjective, in the eye of the beholder.

We should now be able to give anyone in the company a simple, clear explanation of what we're doing, why, how it is driving the business, and how it might affect them. This helps enormously with the "what are they working on all day?" questions that inevitably come up in other teams. 

And remember attitude: we must willingly, proactively give these explanations! Not begrudgingly or only when prompted. 

Secondly, we must alter our language. We love our jargon. But even if they understand, nobody outside product management cares about our jargon. PMs are translators3, and so we need to speak the language of business: revenue, ROI, payback periods, due diligence, etc. 

Product friends, it's time we grow up, step up, and show up. 

Let's get to work.

This article was originally published here.

Thanks to Alan Albert, Nacho Bassino, Randy Silver, Christoph Steinlehner, MJ Jastrebski, Jenne Pierce, Rich Mironov, Kristin Darrow, Andrea Michalek, Avid Boustani, David Wegbreit, and Greg Skotzko for discussion, suggestions, and/or reading drafts.

Notes

1

An extreme counterexample would be a doctor, registered nurse, or pilot. While there is certainly variance in the quality of e.g. doctors, when you get sick you have faith that any MD you see, globally, is at least competent. There are still outlier, amazing doctors, but the variance in quality distribution is much tighter.

2

In fact, many credit P&G with starting what later evolved into product management with a 1931 memo calling for hiring "brand men."

3

Can you imagine how annoying it would be if you traveled somewhere you didn't speak the language, hired a translator to help you achieve a key project, and they wouldn't speak in a language you understand?

]]><![CDATA[(Bonus) Chris Smith: Simple guidelines for AI investment sizing]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/simple-guidelines-for-ai-investment-planninghttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/simple-guidelines-for-ai-investment-planningTue, 12 Dec 2023 15:34:07 GMT

Chris Smith is a longtime engineering leader who has been in the trenches of building with AI & machine learning for years. This is a short, bonus episode to go along with our main conversation.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(00:00) AI tooling allows for cost-effective testing.

(06:02) Scoring and statistical measures to track progress.

(09:22) Costs if model needs rebuilding or hyperparameter tuning

(11:31) Order of magnitude investment estimates

(15:10) Decide upfront when to cut bait.

(17:12) Investment essentials for meaningful results and outcomes.

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at:

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Related, main episode:

]]><![CDATA[Chris Smith: How to think about adding AI to your product]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/chris-smith-how-to-add-ai-to-producthttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/chris-smith-how-to-add-ai-to-productTue, 12 Dec 2023 15:30:00 GMT

Chris Smith is a longtime engineering leader who has been in the trenches of building with AI & machine learning for years. He’s led the development of data systems & strategies at tech giants like early Google, Yahoo, and Sun; S&P 500's like Live Nation; and a wide variety of startups.

In this conversation, we dive into a key topic that I’ve avoided until now: AI. AI is an enabling technology that’s essential to develop a baseline understanding of so you can be informed enough to reason about it.

We talk about:

  • what AI really is (versus machine learning, or applied statistics)

  • how to build a mental model so you can reason about AI options

  • how to think about incorporating it into your product and/or operations

We also recorded a short, bonus episode on a simple way to think through the level of investment needed to figure out what AI might do for your product.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(00:00) AI industry at inflection point, causing chaos

(09:05) Machine learning, neural nets, and generative AI

(14:03) Generative AI: LLMs + broad understanding

(21:56) Open source models improve specialized problem solving

(25:06) Access to data leads to competitive advantage

(32:53) AI training improves productivity and learning speed

(42:51) Reduced investment in GPT models speeds results

(48:47) Expectation mismatch leads to brand perception risks

(53:54) Non-technical work is crucial for AI product success

(57:30) Building a computer vision product from scratch

(01:03:14) A strategic approach to refining and testing prototypes

(01:08:04) Closing learning loops

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/chris-smith-how-to-add-ai-to-product/#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Product ROI & expected value]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/product-roi-and-expected-valuehttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/product-roi-and-expected-valueTue, 05 Dec 2023 16:39:41 GMTOriginally published here.

Most of us have been through the wringer this planning season. On the back of a strange and difficult fifteen months in tech, hard questions are being asked about the value that product teams generate. I've been in many difficult planning, ROI, and forecasting conversations with clients over the last six weeks, and want to share some lessons learned.

One common question from non-product execs is: "what's the ROI of this ‘product discovery’ thing? Why do we need it?”

TL;DR: investing in your product culture can 9X+ your ROI and expected value (EV), if not more.

Here's why… 👇

My current favorite way to answer this question is by looking at it through the lens of expected value (EV).

The EV of product work can be thought of as: size of outcome * likelihood of outcome.

In the product context, this equates to: product strategy quality * product discovery quality.

The base rates for successful ideas are very low. Industry-wide, among the strongest product cultures, it might be as high as 30% of ideas that deliver the intended value.

If you aren't in one of the best product cultures in the world, I suggest you set a baseline assumption of 10%.

This means that even if you are right on the money in terms of choosing the problem to solve (strategy), only 1/10 ideas is likely to work for that problem in a way that delights customers and works for the business.

This is why we need product teams that are good at discovery: they can efficiently find the small fraction of ideas that can actually work to solve the problem and drive our intended outcome. Because the base rates say that our pet ideas from the exec team—while worth considering—are unlikely to be the ones that actually work in the end.

A related question is, "what's the ROI of improving our product practices?" (Whether via coaching, training, communities of practice, or other approaches.)

This is simple: this investment increases the likelihood of achieving your outcomes, and the size of those outcomes.

Establishing world-class discovery practices can 3X your expected value (EV) by bringing your likelihood term up to world class levels.

Building a real company and product strategy—which the majority of companies do not actually have—can easily 3X the size of your outcomes, and likely far more (the upside of real strategy can be far, far higher).

Therefore, investing in your product culture can 9X+ your ROI and expected value (EV).

This isn't the only way of looking at the ROI, but I like that this approach links product strategy and discovery, quite literally showing that strategy—which determines the size of outcomes—is a force multiplier on execution.

]]><![CDATA[Nacho Bassino: How to build your first product strategy]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/nacho-bassino-build-your-first-product-strategyhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/nacho-bassino-build-your-first-product-strategyWed, 01 Nov 2023 12:09:00 GMT

Nacho Bassino is a veteran product leader and the author of Product Direction, one of my go-to books on how to actually generate a product strategy. There are many excellent books out there on strategy as a whole, but surprisingly few that specifically cover product strategy, and Nacho’s work fills a real gap in this critical area of product leadership.

In this conversation, we make the strategy process concrete and actionable, taking on questions like:

  • how much time & effort does this actually take to build and evolve over time?

  • when should we be prescriptive in strategy, and how prescriptive should we be?

  • which part of this whole thing am I, as a product leader, specifically accountable for?

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(00:02:12) Nacho's journey into product leadership

(00:09:23) How leaders can adapt to others' communication and cross-cultural preferences

(00:10:50) Strategy: defining problems and prioritizing solutions

(00:19:44) Painful, but typical; a fake strategy

(00:24:20) Time and team needed for first big strategy creation

(00:30:17) Three key aspects of quarterly reviews: OKRs, roadmaps, and Opportunity Solution Trees

(00:35:33) Connection between impact, outcomes, and initiatives with revenue generation

(00:40:11) Empowerment: teams' accountability and autonomy

(00:51:36) Nacho's hard product leadership call

(00:58:15) Strategy for startups vs larger companies

(00:59:02) How the opportunity space expands with company growth

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/nacho-bassino-build-your-first-product-strategy/#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Pam Fox Rollin: Growing Groups Into Teams]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/pam-fox-rollin-growing-groups-into-teamshttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/pam-fox-rollin-growing-groups-into-teamsTue, 10 Oct 2023 13:11:00 GMT

Pam Fox Rollin is an executive coach and strategist with extensive experience in senior team development, especially in healthcare and tech. I’m delighted to bring her back to your ears—she was last here on the show in summer of 2020, in episode 22.

This is a conversation about the conversations that leaders are not having. These conversations are underneath all of the performance and the trust issues between departments. These conversations are THE difference between building a truly committed team that delivers the future you care about… and having a group which is a team in name only.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(00:03:55) Writing a book about teams as a team.

(00:11:41) Teamwork failure due to individual mindset silos.

(00:14:51) Telling the difference between hard work and commitment

(00:18:40) OKRs align and drive team objectives.

(00:20:54) Incentive structures and team behaviors

(00:24:02) Shared promise vital for effective team; align goals and coordinate efforts.

(00:28:25) Leaders build futures that matter through conversations.

(00:33:08) Finance team doubts engineering's budget needs.

(00:36:23) Trust: vulnerability in actions and five dimensions.

(00:38:21) Dimensions of trust

(00:42:23) Design conversations as a leader to level up.

(00:46:01) Challenges of remote work and trust.

(00:49:05) Missing conversations hinder team building efforts.

(00:53:44) Collaboration needed in achieving desired outcomes.

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/pam-fox-rollin-growing-groups-into-teams/#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Eisha Armstrong: Pragmatic Strategies for Managing Change]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/eisha-armstrong-pragmatic-change-managementhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/eisha-armstrong-pragmatic-change-managementTue, 26 Sep 2023 23:54:21 GMT

Eisha Armstrong has long experience in building and launching new data businesses, and in helping service companies to transition to selling products instead of time.

In this conversation, we zoom in on three specific sticking points when changing how your organization works and its business model:

  • forecasting

  • managing role transitions

  • departmental power dynamics

If you're ready to be a little more fearless in the face of change, drop in with Eisha Armstrong.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, or Youtube.

Topics discussed

(00:03:01) Companies transforming into product organizations

(00:05:01) Revenue shift: smaller now, longer-term impact

(00:08:30) Practical topics: forecasting, transition, change management

(00:10:04) Identifying leading measures and assumptions in forecasts

(00:14:25) Seeking tech-enabled scale, revenue visibility, innovation

(00:20:29) Power shifts in organizations impact staffing and funding

(00:22:12) Evolving organizational model for product-centric strategy

(00:27:23) Key considerations for acquiring a company: purpose, integration, impact

(00:31:18) Leaders modeling simple mental health practices shift organizations. Organizational change requires supporting structures and models

(00:35:38) Quieting the mind to connect and trust

(00:37:33) Organizations need specific change management for success

(00:40:40) "Name fears, tame them; face personal insecurities."

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript here: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/eisha-armstrong-pragmatic-change-management-strategies/#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Last call: help me shape the show]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/last-call-help-me-shape-the-showhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/last-call-help-me-shape-the-showTue, 15 Aug 2023 18:19:24 GMTThis one is short and sweet: please click here and tell me what you want to see more of in this show going forward. The survey closes in 24 hours and takes 5 minutes.

Your feedback is critical to this show helping you achieve your goals and make things that matter—to you, your career, and to your community.

Please take 5 minutes right now to help me craft this show to really deliver value for you.

I thank you in advance for your generosity and candor. It is a true contribution.

– Andrew

]]><![CDATA[MJ Jastrebski: How to build resilience and stay buoyant as a CPO]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/mj-jastrebski-how-to-build-resiliencehttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/mj-jastrebski-how-to-build-resilienceWed, 09 Aug 2023 22:09:25 GMT
MJ Jastrebski

MJ Jastrebski is the CPO of Stylitics, a rapidly scaling retail technology company that helps retail websites automate styling and bundling for their consumers.

In this conversation, we explore how product roles and product strategy evolve over time, and zoom in on :

  • how to stay buoyant through the ups and downs

  • how your role as a product person changes as you climb the career ladder

  • how your mindset must change when you become an executive

  • and how strategy evolves as a company moves from finding PMF to scaling up

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, and Youtube.

Topics discussed

(00:07:20) Understanding product roles/levels, influence, and career growth.

(00:13:10) Product and process management at different levels.

(00:19:22) Leadership training emphasizes accountability among executive teams, prioritizing cross-functional exec peer relationships & alignment.

(00:28:27) The importance of buoyancy.

(00:36:17) How mindfulness and empathy are important for effective leadership.

(00:43:41) What Stylitics is doing and how it's scaling up

(00:47:12) Expanding internationally and into new verticals. Emphasis on shipping and team muscle building.

(00:55:38) Creating product families to address pain points, setting expectations, iterating with alpha, beta, and GA stages, building retailer relationships, understanding different market needs.

(01:02:08) Changing roles, building skills, and evolving identity.

(01:11:30) Creating psychological safety is crucial for innovation. It allows people to take risks without fear of judgment or failure. This enables organizations to gather more information and make better decisions.

Links & resources mentioned

Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/mj-jastrebski-how-to-build-resilience-and-stay-buoyant-as-a-leader/#transcript

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]]><![CDATA[Thank you, and a brief update]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/thank-you-and-a-brief-update-listener-surveyhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/thank-you-and-a-brief-update-listener-surveyWed, 19 Jul 2023 20:14:51 GMT

tl;dr: I need your help—please fill out this short survey to help me reshape the show.

You may have noticed things have been a little quiet on the podcast front here lately.

That’s because I'm in deep in the creative process of reimagining this show, and I need your help.

Given the show name, it’s probably no surprise that I also want to make things that matter—TO YOU. And to do something like this, I really want to learn more about you, and learn from you. So I've created a very short listener survey—about 5 minutes—please click here and fill it out.

I want to make a show for high-integrity, intentional builders who want to make a product and company that makes everything it touches better off. Who deeply cares about making a real impact with the things we build, in addition to having it be financially successful. I want to help you build products, teams, and companies that give more life to everything they touch.

The survey takes 5-ish minutes to complete. Your help on this goes a LONG way, and I appreciate you taking the time! I am reading every response and this will directly impact the trajectory of this show.

Thank you for your support. Click and fill out the 5-minute survey now or go to https://makethingsthatmatter.com/survey.

]]><![CDATA[Donna Lichaw: The leader's journey]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/donna-lichaw-the-leaders-journeyhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/donna-lichaw-the-leaders-journeyTue, 30 May 2023 12:03:00 GMT
Donna Lichaw

Donna Lichaw is an executive coach for unconventional leaders, and the author of the newly-released book The Leader’s Journey.

Donna brings a background in design and product to her executive coaching and helps unconventional leaders take control of the story to drive impact for themselves and within their teams. We go deep on:

  • how to handle managing our own stories in healthy conflict

  • creating psychological safety

  • what it looks like to “give yourself an A” so you feel freed up to invent new possibilities

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.

Links & resources

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]]><![CDATA[Adam Thomas: Operationalizing your product strategy]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/adam-thomas-operationalizing-product-strategyhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/adam-thomas-operationalizing-product-strategyWed, 17 May 2023 12:43:00 GMT
Adam Thomas

Adam Thomas is a coach that helps product teams operationalize strategy so they spend more time focused on building the right products and less time fighting fires.

In this conversation, we discuss Adam's decision making framework, Survival Metrics, which helps product teams make better decisions and avoid both sunk costs and loss aversion. We talk about:

  • how to earn the trust of our counterparts and be better internal collaborators

  • how to make our strategy a living, breathing thing

  • key product leadership responsibilities that extend past product work

Enjoy!

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.

Links & resources mentioned

Links & resources mentioned:

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Timestamps:

[00:01:48] War gaming shaped product strategy

[00:03:22] Warhammer 40K

[00:07:11] Michael Jordan's Winning Shot

[00:11:22] The whole person equation

[00:14:15] Emotions in the workplace

[00:17:54] Survival metrics

[00:23:08] Implementing survival metrics

[00:27:26] Trust issues in product development

[00:30:05] Internal value exchange

[00:34:33] Being "Product Led" is Misleading

[00:36:26] Using survival metrics consistently

[00:39:23] Focusing on important outcomes

[00:45:12] Complying with regulations in finance

[00:50:13] Questions to ask yourself

]]><![CDATA[Introducing: The Rest of the Iceberg]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/introducing-the-rest-of-the-iceberghttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/introducing-the-rest-of-the-icebergMon, 08 May 2023 12:49:46 GMTLast week, I kicked off a new experiment called The Daily ROI: a 2-minute-per-weekday newsletter to help tech leaders get better and handling the hard stuff, e.g. people, culture, ambiguity, tough calls, the inner game.

It’s a snackable daily dose to level up your thinking, focused on all the hard, messy stuff “below the waterline” that you can’t copy/paste or turn into a template.

Here were the posts from the first week, to see if it’s your kind of thing:

The Rest of the Iceberg
The Daily ROI is a 2-min weekday newsletter to help tech leaders get better at the hard stuff: people, culture, hard calls, ambiguity, the inner game.
By Andrew Skotzko

Make Things That Matter will continue as the home for long-form articles and the podcast, and there will surely be crossover between the two publications over time. Everyone on this list is also added to the Daily ROI list, but absolutely unsubscribe if you don’t like the sound of short dailies.

]]><![CDATA[Mike Saloio: Leadership, meditation, ego, and ubuntu]]>https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/mike-saloio-leadership-ubuntuhttps://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com/p/mike-saloio-leadership-ubuntuTue, 11 Apr 2023 12:43:00 GMT

Mike Saloio is the CEO and cofounder of Huddle, a startup that brings together fractional swat teams of expert builders to help startups generate real momentum on their most important projects within a week.

This is a candid conversation about leadership and how our egos, sense of identity, and personal practices shape our company cultures. In particular, I think you’ll find practical benefit from our discussion about decoupling the concepts of morality and integrity to have healthier team dynamics.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.

Links & resources mentioned

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