How can product teams lead strategic integration? In episode #13 of our CPO rising series, Products That Count CPO Renee Niemi meets with Life360 CPO James Selby for an insightful conversation on the intricacies of product development and integration following a company acquisition. With a focus on three diverse brands—Jiobit, Tile, and Life 360—offering GPS devices, Bluetooth trackers, and freemium experiences, James shares his experiences and strategies for aligning cultures, driving growth, and maintaining product quality. Discover how to prioritize high-impact initiatives, foster collaboration, and create a psychologically safe environment for your product teams.
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Show Notes
- James Selby is the Chief Product Officer at Life 360.
- He leads product development for three brands: Jiobit, Tile, and Life 360.
- These brands offer diverse products, including GPS devices, Bluetooth trackers, and freemium experiences.
- The discussion centers on the challenges of strategic integration these three companies culturally after Tile’s acquisition.
- Prioritizing unified cultural values and development processes was a key focus during integration.
- The team emphasized human-to-human connection points and speed over perfection to operate as one unified team.
- Navigating economic uncertainty involved prioritizing shipping and embracing chaos.
- Focus on high-impact initiatives aligned with the company’s values.
- Product quality and core experience improvements were prioritized over non-essential projects.
- Prioritize high-impact projects with adjustable roadmaps.
- Product-led growth involved collaboration with retail partners and marketing/sales teams.
- Prioritize long-term relationships with members over transactional experiences.
- The company focused on maintaining a high-quality bar and building lasting member relationships.
- Team structure should be organized by domain, with separate teams for devices, core experience, and systems.
- Product managers evolved to think more broadly and collaboratively.
- Creating a safe space for constructive dissent and improving design through regular “Friday product jams” was important.
- Volunteer-led product jam sessions with founder attention facilitated idea sharing and feedback.
- Set up team members for success with the right skills and resources.
- Create a psychologically safe environment for team members to challenge ideas and take risks.
- James emphasized the importance of understanding departmental strategic initiatives to prioritize engineering resources effectively.
About the speaker
I am a seasoned product executive with a passion for building and scaling consumer subscription businesses. As the Chief Product Officer at Life360, I lead the product, design, analytics, insights, customer care functions with GM responsibilities over our subscription P&L. I oversee the strategy, development, and execution of innovative products and services that enhance the safety of >50M global MAU. Throughout my career, I have demonstrated expertise in driving revenue growth, improving product engagement, and fostering customer success and monetization across pioneering companies, such as Tile, Ancestry, GoPro, and EA. I have also played key roles in mergers and acquisitions, leading the integration of Tile's product portfolio and team into Life360, and launching new products and features that leverage the synergies and complementarities of both platforms. My mission is to create impactful and delightful customer experiences that solve real-world problems and deliver lasting value.