What do PMs need to consider when building B2B products? In this episode of the Product Divergence series with Nacho Andrade, Peridot Financing CPO Gary Hall speaks about his background transitioning from mechanical engineering to product leadership roles. Gary discusses the importance of listening to others, embracing humility, and hiring smart people. Examples of Gary’s past experiences and current work at Peridot provide insights into building effective B2B products. The conversation also touches on surprising technologies like GPT-3 and what makes for truly exceptional products that solve user problems in innovative and valuable ways.
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Show Notes
- Peridot provides working capital financing solutions for large companies.
- Gary discusses his background in mechanical engineering and transition to product management,
- He emphasizes the importance of listening to others, being humble, and hiring smart people.
- Gary sees diplomacy as a key skill for navigating complex stakeholders.
- Effective executive communication is an important ability.
- GPT-3 is an example of surprising technology.
- Aim to building products that solve problems better than expected.
- Legos are an example of a product that delivers exceptional value.
- Gary’s experience in management consulting helped prepare him for stakeholder engagement.
- Product managers must understand the business problem fully before proposing solutions.
- Respecting different team roles and expertise is important for collaboration.
- Business stakeholders often propose solutions before understanding the full problem.
- Frictionless and seamless experiences are necessary for B2B products like Peridot’s.
- Adaptability, flexibility and compromise are important product manager skills.
- Early career experiences like fixing machines taught Gary valuable troubleshooting skills.
- Large organizations require navigating many complex and opinionated stakeholders.
- Executive communications training can help product managers advance their agendas.
- AI technologies like GPT-3 are achieving step changes in capabilities.
About the speaker
Gary started his career as a mechanical engineer and worked on highly engineered products (e.g., aerospace structures, magnetic storage, etc.) before business school. After business school, he has worked in a mix of consulting and industry roles, all with a technology and digital focus. Most recently, he has focused on product management in B2B and B2C self service.
About the host
Nacho is an Evangelist for all things product, advocating for innovation, diversity, and building amazing products. Nacho has spent over 10 years in product roles ranging from startups to enterprise in industries like education, healthcare, finance and gaming.