Products That Count Podcast

In this podcast episode, the third in the 2022 Product Awards series, Optimizely VP of Product Thilo Richter speaks with Wayfair Product Leader Nacho Andrade about why PMs should do more exploratory testing, why actually understanding your customer’s problem is the most important thing, and why a great PM might have a few things in common with a scientist.

In this ever-changing world, it is part of the product leader’s responsibility to navigate their teams toward continuous improvement and success. This can include a few methodologies and strategies to create a system that teams can rely on. How can a product leader build a systematic approach while giving room for flexibility? American Express VP of Product Development Penelope Madry shares how to lead through change and align successful product teams. (The views expressed by Penelope Madry in this podcast episode are her own and do not represent American Express.)

Change is the only constant in life. And in the world of product, digital transformation over the past 2 years has effected everyone from the largest corporation down to the individual remote freelancer. Few companies are as plugged in to that reality as Upwork, “the world’s work marketplace.” In this conversation, the seventh in our CPO Rising series, Upwork Chief Product and Experience Officer Samuel Bright talks about leading his teams to navigate that transformation. It starts, he says, with a culture of making the customer win big.

As product managers, we are told to be curious. There are many books, guides, and resources explaining how to create a product management framework that can be used to achieve success. Is it truly one size fits all or different frameworks for different problems? In this episode, Product Talk host and ALTR Product Lead, Neha Shah, interviews Zoopla Product Head Yanislava Petrova who talks about the craft and context of PM frameworks and how PMs can create their own.

In this podcast episode, the second in the 2022 Product Awards series, Heap VP of Product Rachel Obstler sits down with Wayfair Product Leader Nacho Andrade to give insights into how Heap built its Product Award-winning analytics tooling. A major key, says Rachel, is not only listening to what customers are saying, but also to what they are not saying.

We are seeing people from all types of work backgrounds and cultures becoming a part of product. It is a critical shift as you build products for a emerging global market. How do PMs empower diversity in thought leadership and product management? PayPal Senior Product Leader Ronke Majekodunmi shares insights about diversity within roles and customer relationships for successful PMs.

As product leaders, you probably have seen the evolution of your product teams. It hasn’t been an easy transition as of late, with talent spread all over the world, hybrid working environments, and massive growth in product marketplaces. How can you align your product teams to fit your company’s mission? Next Insurance CPO and 2022 Global CPO 20 winner Effi Fuks Leichtag shares some truths about hiring talent and scaling product teams for accelerating growth.

A product leader’s strategy and vision are naturally ingrained in the development process. However, it boils down to a team’s talent and execution, which can be complicated by our increasingly remote-working world. How do product leaders maintain culture when building a hybrid team? The Infatuation and Zagat CPO Janko Bazhdavela shares the best practices for setting up a great team to make strategy come to life.

In this podcast episode, the first in the 2022 Product Awards series, Sprig Product Lead Rachel Wang sits down with Wayfair Product Leader Nacho Andrade. Rachel shares how 2022 Product Award winner Sprig aims to reach more people through research, helping to gather the qualitative data to drive decisions that product teams can be confident about.

Many organizations don't always start with a culture of product management. Sometimes there are unclear definitions and undetermined boundaries on who are product managers and what it actually takes to manage products. How can PMs bring the fluidity of product processes to their companies?  In this episode, Product Talk host and ALTR Product Lead, Neha Shah, interviews Metron Aviation Product Leader Marcus Lowther who discusses what it takes to transition to a product management culture in an established industry.

Building a good team is not just the individual leaders but the team as a whole. CPOs should manage through efficient delegation but also give their product managers the freedom to execute. What are some best practices to hire and retain the best product teams? Box CPO and 2022 Global CPO 20 winner Diego Dugatkin shares his insights into creating the best product teams, embracing the vision, and building the next generation of product leaders.

It might seem like it is the dawn of digital transformation, but there have been certain players – good and bad – who have thrived in the digital environment for quite some time. Digital security has always been top of mind for many companies, most especially as Internet access has gone wireless. How can PMs be at the forefront of secure digital transformation? Fmr Illumio Product Leader Matthew Glenn shares the dynamics of cybersecurity and explains the zero trust model.

A manager can run a department, but the truly great product leaders have a secret sauce that makes them stand out from the rest. Many Chief Product Officers are at the forefront of steering change within many companies, including healthcare. What skills and qualities are necessary to make an impact on product leadership? Included Health CPO and 2022 Global CPO 20 winner Nupur Srivastava shares the attributes of great product leaders and how to set priorities while enabling innovation.

Wouldn’t it be easy to just pull from a list of B2B customers and know how they get value out of your product? While that database doesn’t exist, value is a huge component in any product’s monetization strategy. How can B2B companies not run in circles figuring this out? Software Pricing Partners Managing Partner Chris Mele shares insights into value and how a pricing strategy is important to product development.

Chief Product Officers face many challenges while managing both team motivation and product innovation, especially with pandemic-related workplace changes. There also are constant priority interrupts that can affect the cadence of product innovation. How does a CPO facilitate the right culture to keep up the innovative pace? Nubank CPO Jag Duggal shares insights into creating rhythm, hiring a great team, and maintaining innovation.

With the growing importance in a digitally connected world, the role of Chief Product Officer (CPO) is being elevated. There are companies, like Capgemini, whose intelligent product and services offering helps product leaders to accelerate their product innovation journey. What are the best practices for current and future CPOs to further define their roles? Capgemini Invent Executive VP Lisa Mitnick shares ways CPOs can be successful and how Capgemini is a leader for product leaders.

Good customer experience or CX spans across the entire customer journey. To do that, a product leader needs to try to bring together the technology side and the human side. How can product managers utilize CX at every part of product iteration? CX thought leader Lorraine Schumacher shares how CX adds value to product teams and listening to customer voice brings success.

As more companies aim to be product-led, there are higher-level priorities for product leaders. Product managers are rising through the business ranks and gaining seats at C-suite tables, as well as the title of Chief Product Officer. How have the leadership dynamics changed as we see the rise of the CPO? Products That Count CPO Renee Niemi sits down with our founder SC Moatti to showcase the inaugural Global CPO 20 and discuss observations from the best CPOs.

As product management evolves, so do the teams around it. With product leading the way in all aspects of an organization, the effects have also shifted product operations and project management. These changes bring a question to the forefront: Why are we doing things the way we're always doing them? Contentsquare Product Leader Danny Carvajal shares his answer and demystifies the role of product excellence and enablement.

Jim Gray, former Chief Product Officer of Products That Count, interviews PTC founder SC Moatti about the history of the Product Awards in advance of the 2022 Awards, our 5th celebration.