Episodi
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In this episode ofLessons in Product Management, host John Fontenot tackles a listener's question:How can a product manager succeed in a waterfall environment? He acknowledges that while Agile is often the preferred framework, many industries and organizations still operate in waterfall models, making adaptability key.
Fontenot offers two approaches:
The Ideal Scenario – Where leadership is open to change, product managers can integrate discovery into waterfall planning by validating key assumptions upfront, treating specifications as hypotheses rather than rigid plans, and advocating for continuous learning.The Less-than-Ideal Scenario – When change is difficult, PMs should still find ways to gather feedback on in-flight projects, document assumptions, and leverage data to push for iterative improvements.His key message: Regardless of methodology, success lies in how PMs use the time between releases to refine strategies and make data-driven decisions.
If you're an aspiring PM looking to gain real, hands-on product management experience OR if you're a current PM looking to augment your current experience in other domains, come join us atPath2Product where you'll solve real problems from real users of real products.
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Do you feel constantly pressured to ship new features? Do you get the space you need for proper discovery?
Most Product Managers feel this pressure, and I was recently asked on LinkedIn why this is the case. What about our company cultures or human nature drives this desire for more new stuff? In this episode, I attempt to break down the top 3 reasons why I believe Product culture drives outputs over outcomes, even we say we want the opposite.
Linkedin Post
If you're looking to get your shot at a job in product management and not sure how to get the experience you need to make that leap, come join us onPath2Product where over 1,200 aspiring PMs are not only learning what the job is really like, but they are gaining hands-on experience and developing their portfolio to stand out in the job market.
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Episodi mancanti?
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On today's Lesson in Product Management, this one is for the perfectionists out there.
If you consider yourself a "creative" or an artist, you might be tempted to hide your work until you deem it "perfect" - but that could be hurting you more than you know. On this episode we break down why perfectionism hurts you and those around you and ultimately will set you back in your career and the progress you seek to make for customers.
If you're looking to get into product management but lack the years of experience you need to get in, look no further than Path2Product where we help you bridge the gap in product management experience, build a portfolio to prove your skills and prepare you for interviews and empower you to hit the ground running once you land that first PM job.
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It's easy to get overly focused on "doing your job" as a product manager. Unfortunately, we risk taking too narrow of a view of what our job actually is.
When it comes to working with PMMs (product marketing managers), it's no different. And it's about time we start treating them like partners rather than someone we throw releases over the wall to and expect them to make our products sell.
If you're looking to get into product management and want the training and experience you need to get there, join us at Path2Product where we bridge the gap in product management experience for aspiring product managers.
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Some of the greatest leaders and leadership authors have given the advice to "Lean into your strengths."
This idea makes sense in some instances. In other cases, it can handicap your career and growth trajectory.
If you want to get into product management and challenge yourself to gain much needed PM experience, join a growing community of 1,000+ aspiring product managers on Path2Product where we bridge the gap of product management experience for aspiring PMs.
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On today’s episode, I got to chat with Bob Ainsbury, Chief Product Officer at Granicus.
Bob is a long-time Product leader who has had a winding journey from engineering to sales and marketing leadership to leading strategy and now in the C-suite as a Product executive. For most of Bob’s career, he’s been in highly regulated spaces like Healthcare and government.
On today’s episode, we dive into Bob’s experience in leading product in regulated industries and cover a bunch of fun topics such as:
Privacy and Ethical Considerations in Government Technology AI and Machine Learning Trends in Government What it’s like Leading Product in Regulated Spaces Compliance and Product Ethics The Future of AI and ML in Government and so much moreThis episode is jam-packed and we cover a lot of ground in 30 minutes, so sit back, relax, and enjoy these lessons in product management.
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What is your relationship like with your stakeholders? If you're not treating them like partners, I can promise you it's not great.
In this episode, we share how to build great relationships with your "stakeholders" and create win/win relationships that stop making stakeholders feel like blockers to your desired progress.
If you're looking to get into product management, join us at Path2Product to get the knowledge, experience, and coaching you need to make that transition and accelerate your path to product management!
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On today's lesson in product management, John Fontenot shares a recent story about his experience working in a Scrum shop and how the rigid interpretation of Scrum almost killed his ability to ship a critical integration on time.
If you're interested in entering product management and want to gain the hands-on experience you need to make that leap, join us at Path2Product and start earning much-needed experience today.
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The difference between regular managers and product managers...
Regular manager: "Don't bring me problems. Bring me solutions!"
Product Manager: "Don't bring me solutions. Bring me problems"
It's our job to care more about the problem driving the request for a solution than the solution itself. But it can be hard navigating those conversations with large customers or senior stakeholders. On this lesson in product management, we discuss this reality and practical tips for dealing with it.
If you enjoy the episode, consider leaving a rating and a review and hit that follow or subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
If you're an aspiring PM looking to break into this challenging job market, Path2Product has you covered. We help you get the hands-on experience, coaching, and interview prep you need to land more interviews and your first role in product management.
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Key Takeaways
Side projects offer valuable experience for aspiring PMs and an outlet for creativity/ownership for employed PMs Benefits include mental health, skill development, and potential innovation Time management and prioritizing core job responsibilities are crucial when pursuing side projects Companies like Google (20% time) demonstrate the value of fostering entrepreneurial creativity in employeesTopics:
The Broken Talent Acquisition Process in Product Management Benefits of Side Projects for Aspiring PMs Advantages of side projects for Employed PMs Potential Downsides and Ethical Considerations Company Culture and Innovation -
Hello and welcome in to another episode of Lessons in Product Management, I’m your host, John Fontenot, and on today’s episode I have Paul Turaew on to talk about his journey into product management and we riff on a number of topics in research. Paul’s a long-time PM, having held a variety of Sr. IC and Director of Product Management roles in Healthcare. Some of the topics we cover on today’s episode include the tension between research and shipping products, what’s the “MVP” of research, changing the culture and perception of research inside of organizations, and so much more. This episode is longer than normal and entirely worth it, so listen to the end, hit that subscribe or follow button, and enjoy the episode!
If you're looking to accelerate your path into product management, join us on Path2Product to get hands-on experience, build a shareable portfolio project, and network with like-minded professionals.
Outline:
0:00-2:00 - Episode Intro
2:01-5:40 - Paul’s Intro and Journey into Product Management
5:41-13:40 - A big myth about product managers and being technical
13:40-23:35 - The tension between research and shipping products
23:35-27:10 - What should anchor research objectives and activities
27:11-32:20 - The “MVP of Research”
32:21-36:00 - Successfully presenting research findings and insights
36:01-39:00 - Changing the culture and perception of research
39:00-39:29 - Outro
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On today’s episode, I got to speak with Stephanie Jerome, Product Manager at Akoya. Stephanie has a ton of experience managing internal products, and that was the focus of our conversation today. Stephanie also shared how she got her start in product management and lessons she’s learned along the way.
If you’re managing or considering managing internal products or looking to get your first shot at a PM job, this is a great episode to check out!
If you're looking to get into product management, you can get credible PM experience today at Path2Product
If you need a free and powerful tool to organize and manage your research and insights, try out ResearchRepo for free today
Outline:
0:00-0:35 - Episode Intro
0:35-6:50 - Stephanie’s Path to product management
6:50-8:10 - Stephanie’s experience with internal product management
8:10-10:55 - Key differences PMing internal products vs customer-facing products
10:55-15:10 - Biases and assumptions in internal research
15:10-18:30 - Using internal tools for internal tools (meta, I know)
18:30-21:50 - GTM and Customer Success for internal products
21:50-23:16 - Stephanie’s final thoughts on research for internal products
23:16-24:16 - Outro
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On today’s episode, we have Emilia Kortrynska, Head of Marketing at UserPilot. In the discussion with Emilia, we talk about some incredibly interesting research that came out of UserPilot recently about how Sales Led Growth appears to beat Product Led Growth in many categories. Which to PLG evangelists like myself, really caught me off guard. But we discuss why quant data is only one piece of the story and why you need to balance quant with qual research and the benefits of research in general.
PLG vs SLG research data
If you're looking for a better way to tie research to your company goals, try out ResearchRepo for free
If you're trying to get into product management and need experience to accelerate your path to product, sign up at Path2Product and start getting experience today
Outline:
0:00-0:53 - Episode Introduction
0:53-2:35 - Emilia’s Background and Intro
2:35-7:48 Emilia’s Role In Research for Userpilot
7:48-10:59 Marketing’s Role in User Research and PM Collaboration
10:59-13:00 Product-Led SEO
13:00-15:25 Research Feedback loop on usage and user segmentation
15:25-16:10 The fallacy of category creation in positioning
16:10-26:54 Sales Led vs Product Led Success Rates
26:54-30:07 How can we make research matter more at our company
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It's a hotly debated topic, whether you should always pay customers for their time when sourcing and conducting interviews.
Spoiler alert! I think you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you make it a habit of paying customers for feedback.
In this episode, we unpack all the reasons why you should never pay customers for interviews and the benefits you'll see as a result.
If you're looking to get into product management or interested in up-leveling your product sense through a portfolio project, check us out at Path2Product
For the article this episode is based on, check it out at the Path2Product Blog
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There are pros and cons to preparing for user research. As they say, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. And the same is true with prepping for research.
On this episode, we break down the benefits of user interview preparation and the potential drawbacks if you let perfection become the enemy of progress.
If you're looking to get into product management but lack hands on experience, check out Path2Product where you get high-quality PM training AND the ability to put your learning into practice to get hands-on product management experience that you can show off in a portfolio project.
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After taking a year off to focus on work and life, we're back and excited to be back!
We've been building ResearchRepo for Product teams to collaborate, consolidate, and communicate research that ties back to company goals and objectives.
I've started a new role as VP of Product at Terlumina
But we're doubling down on Path2Product to help aspiring and junior product managers get the experience and practice they need to land their first job or uplevel their product sense
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This is a crazy and turbulent time in Tech. Companies are hitting financial hard times or restructuring as the economy is forcing extreme prioritization of resources. If you find yourself on the unfortunate end of these layoffs, I have someone on the show who has been through several and helped several others through this process. Don't miss the great advice on this week's episode of Lessons in Product Management!
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Dan Balcauski is a pricing expert and dropped by the pod to share key insights, hot takes, and practical advice for product teams and leaders to help unpack the pricing process, key variables, and mistakes to avoid.
Show notes:
0:00-0:30 - Episode Intro
0:30-1:55 - Dan’s Intro/Background
1:55-4:55 - From Engineer to Pricing Guru
4:55-6:42 - Biggest Pricing Pitfall
6:42-19:00 - Segmentation Myths and Realities
19:00-21:00 - defining value (3 Types)
21:00-26:35 - The Value Cascade
26:35-36:45 - How customers shape pricing
36:45-43:00 - Willingness to pay (WTP) (40:12)
43:00-47:30 - Pricing in B2B
47:30-56:50 - Freemium Good or Bad?
56:50-57:48 - Contact Dan
57:48-58:02 - Outro
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There are great frameworks for prioritizing features, but what if prioritizing features isn't the right approach? We dig into why opportunity costs are the most underrated variables in prioritizing Product decisions.
If you're looking to get into product management, come join us at Path2Product to gain the hands-on PM experience you need to land your first product role.
0:00-4:20 - Episode Intro
4:20-6:54 Opportunity Cost in Action
6:54-8:50 - Economics in Product Management?
8:50-17:52 - NFL Draft Example
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This week's lesson in product management is brought to you by Derek Osgood, Founder and CEO of Ignition. If your product launches are less than ideal, you should listen to what Derek has to say. Even if you're launches go well, there are great tips on how to optimization the success of your launches.
0:00-0:32 - Podcast intro
0:32-2:30 - Derek’s Intro
2:30-4:15 - Who is Ignition for?
4:15-4:40 - Where to find Ignition
4:40-8:40 - The PM/PMM Disconnect
8:40-10:23 - Aligning PM/PMM Teams
10:23-13:10 - Overlooked aspects of product launches
13:10-18:30 - Why Run Betas in B2B?
18:30-21:20 - How to price your new product?
21:20-24:00 - The future of software for PMs and PMMs
24:00-25:00 - Podcast Outro
If you want to connect with Derek, shoot him a request on LinkedIn
If you want to check out Ignition, go to their site
If you're looking to get into product management, get your hands dirty and gain real experience on Path2Product
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