We’ve had many incredible guests on the Product Talk podcast so far in 2020. If you’re not already listening to Product Talk, or would like to revisit some great episodes, we’ve put together a list of our most popular episodes of 2020 to date.
EP87 of Product Talk – fmr Amazon Product Head on Interviewing for Product Management Jobs
Most Product Managers say they accidentally found themselves in their role or that it wasn’t planned. Others talk about their passion for creating products that help people and solving problems. But how do you find, prepare, and interview for PM jobs? As part of our Tech du Jour series, Product Talk host and Product Exec, Mark Pydynowski, interviews Mark Tan, fmr Amazon Sr. Product Manager, and current Wyze Labs Director of Product, on interviewing for product management jobs.
“So one thing that I realized about interviewing is, there’s a lot of subjectivity around it. Make sure that you focus on the results. Make sure that you add more context before jumping straight into the day to day tasks.
It’s helpful to have products in mind that you like and dislike. Just try to break that apart and see ‘what can you do to actually make it better? And what do you love about the product?’ So, answering these questions ahead of time will help you prepare for future interviews. These are common questions that are asked by many different companies.”
EP93 – fmr Credit Karma VP Product Management on the Evolution of Product Management
The role of a product manager isn’t the same today as it was as recently as 10 years ago. Similarly, the role of a PM is different as a company grows. How does the role of a PM change? As part of our The Feature is Now the Operating System series, Product Talk host and product exec, Christina Lucey, interviews fmr Credit Karma VP of Product Management and current GP at a16z, Anish Acharya on how product management has evolved over time and within companies.
“There was a world maybe ten years ago when product was really, I don’t know if clean is the right word, but it was a narrow domain where it was really the business of product people and engineering people. Everything now, most of the best products are created by joining the perspectives of people in many different functions.”
EP95 – Oscar Health CPO on Healthcare Products
The healthcare system hasn’t changed much in the U.S. It’s a fairly antiquated industry. Costs are on the rise and it can feel inaccessible for many. How can we change that? As part of our Innovation in Healthcare series, Product Talk host and product exec, Samantha Scott, interviews Oscar Health CPO, Sara Wajnberg, and discusses what goes into building healthcare products.
“Trust for us is really essential, especially in something as deeply personal as healthcare. If you don’t have trust, we will not be able to do anything to help you make decisions. So we have been on this big quest to build that trust and to make people believe we have their best interests at heart. To convince them that they should come to us when they need something.
That is not an easy thing to do. Any product I see out there that has achieved that, I’m always in love.”
EP110 of Product Talk – fmr Calendly VP of Product on Customer Discovery
Many great product leaders will talk about the importance of listening to customers. It’s also essential to know how you should go about doing it. Is there a right and wrong way? As part of our series in partnership with the Product Collective, Product Talk host and Product Exec, Nikki Ahmadi sat down with Oji Udezue, fmr VP of Product at Calendly to discuss customer discovery. They also share some important insight on what it means to be a BIPOC in product.
“Customer discovery is sort of the linchpin. It feels really obvious, but a lot of product people or technologists build the ideas, and they don’t build things that solve customer problems or it takes them a long time to circle around to that.”
EP114 – Sam’s Club VP Product Management on Adaptable Retail Products
As eCommerce has become prevalent, the retail space has changed drastically for both the shopper and product managers. When faced with a changing environment, how can you ensure what you’re building is adaptable? As part of our Adaptive Product Management series, Product Talk host and product exec, Christina Lucey, interviews Sam’s Club VP of Product Management, Tim Simmons, and discusses adaptable retail products.
“How can I create a special experience that brings about an element of delight? To me, it’s a very, very fulfilling and rewarding challenge to be faced with day in and day out. And so I think that’s the main thing I really love thinking through, where are we not delivering a great experience today for both associates and members? And how can we fix that and make that something special?”
About the speaker
SC Moatti is a technology visionary, entrepreneur and investor. She is the founding partner of Mighty Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and Products That Count, one of the largest communities of product managers, leaders and founders in the world. Previously, she built products that billions of people use at Facebook, Nokia and Electronic Arts. She also serves on boards of both public and private companies, including mobile technology giant Opera Software (OPERA:Oslo). An award-winning bestselling author, Moatti frequently gives keynotes on business and technology, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, and on NPR. She lectures at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she earned her MBA and has a Master of Science in electrical engineering. Andrew Chen, one of Uber's top executives, called SC “a genius at making mobile products people love.” For more information, visit scmoatti.com.