Beyond Product Management

Heather Miller (PDRM Consulting)

Beyond Product Management is a podcast that explores the unexpected intersections of product management with other disciplines, industries, and ideas. We go beyond the usual frameworks to uncover fresh perspectives, unconventional insights, and the skills that truly set great PMs apart.

  1. 21h ago

    Delegation Isn't Losing Control

    Heather gets honest about the last few weeks of band camp season — and what it actually took to be present for it. Rather than repeating last year's pattern of "present in theory, still doing everything in the background," she delegated research for upcoming blog posts to her kids, Ash and Josh. The work came back great — and that surprised her less than the hesitation she noticed in herself before handing it off. This episode digs into that hesitation: the quiet, common founder belief that control means doing it yourself. Heather unpacks why that's actually exhaustion wearing control's clothing, what real control looks like instead (a good handoff, built on trust and actual capability), and pushes past tasks into the harder version of this conversation — the small decisions that still quietly funnel through you every week because it's faster, not because they need you. PDRM Consulting's mission is to help businesses reduce risk, specifically in the fields of Cybersecurity and Product Management. Heather bridges the professional development gap in the corporate space by empowering growth-driven product managers to transition into strategic, results-oriented leaders. By focusing on enhancing key skills and decision-making capabilities, she helps them accelerate their leadership journey, achieve measurable outcomes more quickly, and excel in driving product success. Her approach ensures they thrive in their roles and unlock their full potential as impactful servant leaders within their organizations. You can follow us for more daily content: Instagram: @pdrmconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pdrm-consulting Join our Newsletter:https://solitary-block-17987.myflodesk.com/ofo6k6a0f9

  2. Aug 6

    You're Not Too Small to Get Hacked — You're the Exact Right Size

    "We're too small to get hacked." Heather hears it almost every week, said a little dismissively, a little tired — like it's obvious, like it's settled. And it might be the most expensive sentence she's ever watched a founder say, because it's usually the last thing they believe before something goes very wrong. In this solo episode, Heather takes that sentence apart: where it comes from, why the logic is backwards, and what it actually costs founders when it turns out to be wrong. Attackers don't care about revenue — they care about access. Most attacks aren't a person deciding your company is worth their time; they're automated scripts scanning thousands of small businesses a day, looking for the door that's unlocked. Small businesses aren't ignored. They're targeted, specifically because they usually have the fewest defenses. Heather walks through a composite story (details changed, shape all too familiar): a five-person marketing shop that brought on a contractor for six months, never turned off their login when the project wrapped, and got quietly breached eight months later through that forgotten credential. The cost wasn't just financial — it was weeks of the founder's time, uncomfortable calls to clients, and trust built over years spent all at once cleaning up a mess one closed-off login could have prevented. This is where Heather's bodyguard-versus-alarm-system framework comes in. An alarm system is reactive — it sits quiet until something's already gone wrong. A bodyguard is proactive — closing the gaps before the bad thing gets the chance to happen. Turning off that contractor's login the day the project ended? That's bodyguard thinking. Heather is clear this episode isn't about scaring anyone into believing they need enterprise-grade security. Small businesses don't need what a bank has — they need what's right-sized for a business their size: a handful of deliberate decisions about who has access to what, what happens the day someone leaves, and where the actual vulnerabilities are in plain language. If you've got that itch — that wait, do I actually know who has access to what in my business feeling — Heather offers a Critical Services Security Assessment built exactly for founders in that position. No jargon, no scare tactics, just a clear, founder-sized look at your actual gaps and what to do about them. PDRM Consulting's mission is to help businesses reduce risk, specifically in the fields of Cybersecurity and Product Management. Heather bridges the professional development gap in the corporate space by empowering growth-driven product managers to transition into strategic, results-oriented leaders. By focusing on enhancing key skills and decision-making capabilities, she helps them accelerate their leadership journey, achieve measurable outcomes more quickly, and excel in driving product success. Her approach ensures they thrive in their roles and unlock their full potential as impactful servant leaders within their organizations. You can follow us for more daily content: Instagram: @pdrmconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pdrm-consulting Join our Newsletter:https://solitary-block-17987.myflodesk.com/ofo6k6a0f9

  3. Aug 4

    From Debate Team to the C-Suite: Saying Yes to AI (Carefully), with Jordan Mazur

    In this episode, Heather sits down with an old friend — she and Jordan Mazur competed together on their high school speech and debate team, and two decades later they're both running fractional practices, just on opposite sides of the product and legal divide. Jordan is the founder of Fourth Rock Counsel PLLC, where after years as in-house counsel for regulated software and fintech-healthcare companies, he now supports emerging companies as fractional general counsel. The conversation kicks off with a LinkedIn post Jordan wrote about AI, and the deeper theme running through it: the difference between lawyers (and leaders) who say no and those who find a path forward. Jordan traces this back to the early GDPR era, when he watched a split emerge between people who took the time to understand both the regulation and the technology — and came up with creative solutions — and people who defaulted to blanket refusal. He and Heather dig into what it actually takes to be a legal or compliance partner rather than a gatekeeper: getting looped in early, before the product doc is finished, so trust gets built before there's a crisis to manage. From there the conversation turns to AI's effect on all of this. Jordan makes the case that AI has "10X'd" the pace at which small and big decisions get made — and made without anyone pausing to ask if they should. Heather and Jordan talk through where AI genuinely helps (drafting, admin, first passes) versus where it can't replace the judgment that comes from years of pattern recognition — whether that's legal risk, regulatory nuance, or knowing which questions a founder didn't think to ask. Heather shares the story of Ash finally giving AI a real shot while debugging PDRM Protect's login page, and the two riff on the now-famous idea that writing code with AI is cheap, but debugging it is where the real cost lives. They also unpack a distinction Heather picked up at Pittsburgh Product Camp: vibe prototyping versus vibe coding — and why mistaking one for the other is how "ready for beta" apps end up very much not ready. The episode closes on where it started: debate. Heather and Jordan talk about what four years of speech and debate actually gave them — not the skill of arguing, but the skill of listening, reading a room, and staying composed when someone disagrees with you in a room full of stakeholders. It's a big part of why, all these years later, a product strategist and a fractional GC can have this conversation at all. Connect with Jordan: Jordan Mazur is the founder of Fourth Rock Counsel PLLC. Find him at fourthrockcounsel.com or on LinkedIn under the vanity URL JD Mazur — and note, he's not the other Jordan Mazur on LinkedIn (spelled with an "e"), who's a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, or the fuel and recovery nutrition coach for the 49ers. Just this one. PDRM Consulting's mission is to help businesses reduce risk, specifically in the fields of Cybersecurity and Product Management. Heather bridges the professional development gap in the corporate space by empowering growth-driven product managers to transition into strategic, results-oriented leaders. By focusing on enhancing key skills and decision-making capabilities, she helps them accelerate their leadership journey, achieve measurable outcomes more quickly, and excel in driving product success. Her approach ensures they thrive in their roles and unlock their full potential as impactful servant leaders within their organizations. You can follow us for more daily content: Instagram: @pdrmconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pdrm-consulting Join our Newsletter:https://solitary-block-17987.myflodesk.com/ofo6k6a0f9

  4. Jul 30

    Managing It All (When You Actually Can't)

    Band camp starts August 3rd. Josh starts his senior year August 18th. I'm co-president of the band boosters. We're deep in Scouts. Ash is home finishing their last college classes while commuting. And work is actually hitting a real stride right now. All of that, at once — that's just August. In this episode: Why a full calendar shows commitments, not what you actually have left in youHow "doing well" and "at capacity" can both be true without canceling each other outWhat I'm actually doing about it this month (not a new productivity system)Why my personal calendar and my professional capacity are two different tanks — and what I did in July to protect August for client workWhere I have room this month: 2 Fractional CPO spots open for AugustCapacity for ~3 new Critical Services Security Assessments/weekSecurity Besties Community open for new members — founder pricing ends July 31stIf you've been holding off because you assumed I was too busy — I'm not. Clients don't compete with band camp for my attention. Connect on LinkedIn or Instagram. See you in the next episode. PDRM Consulting's mission is to help businesses reduce risk, specifically in the fields of Cybersecurity and Product Management. Heather bridges the professional development gap in the corporate space by empowering growth-driven product managers to transition into strategic, results-oriented leaders. By focusing on enhancing key skills and decision-making capabilities, she helps them accelerate their leadership journey, achieve measurable outcomes more quickly, and excel in driving product success. Her approach ensures they thrive in their roles and unlock their full potential as impactful servant leaders within their organizations. You can follow us for more daily content: Instagram: @pdrmconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pdrm-consulting Join our Newsletter:https://solitary-block-17987.myflodesk.com/ofo6k6a0f9

  5. Jul 23

    The Bodyguard, Not the Alarm: Why Cybersecurity Is a Business Protection Strategy (Not a Compliance Checkbox)

    Most founders treat cybersecurity like a next-quarter problem — invisible, technical, easy to push to the bottom of the list, underneath "hire," underneath "launch," underneath "figure out Q4." In this episode, Heather makes the case for why that's exactly backwards: cybersecurity isn't a compliance checkbox or an IT problem. It's a business protection strategy. Using the story of two identical-looking houses — one with an unlocked door, one locked and watched — Heather unpacks why "nothing's gone wrong yet" isn't the same as being protected. It just means no one's tried the handle yet. She also shares a real story from years of consulting: a hacker who quietly planted a backdoor and waited, undetected, before ever exploiting it — a reminder that the scariest breaches aren't always loud ones. From there, Heather reframes what security should actually feel like: not a big, scary initiative, but a habit — as automatic and low-lift as putting on a seatbelt. And she offers a mindset shift that changes how you act on all of it: stop thinking of security like an alarm that only matters in a worst-case scenario, and start thinking of it like a bodyguard — quietly, actively working on your behalf every ordinary day, so the dramatic day never comes. The episode closes with a clear, no-pressure next step: the Critical Services Security Assessment, a fast, affordable way to find out what's actually locked in your business, and Security Besties, a standby support community so you're never figuring this out alone. As Heather puts it: the question isn't if an incident happens — it's when. So — is your business running like house one, or house two? Learn more: Critical Services Security Assessment — link in show notes [insert link]Security Besties Community — link in show notes [insert link] PDRM Consulting's mission is to help businesses reduce risk, specifically in the fields of Cybersecurity and Product Management. Heather bridges the professional development gap in the corporate space by empowering growth-driven product managers to transition into strategic, results-oriented leaders. By focusing on enhancing key skills and decision-making capabilities, she helps them accelerate their leadership journey, achieve measurable outcomes more quickly, and excel in driving product success. Her approach ensures they thrive in their roles and unlock their full potential as impactful servant leaders within their organizations. You can follow us for more daily content: Instagram: @pdrmconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pdrm-consulting Join our Newsletter:https://solitary-block-17987.myflodesk.com/ofo6k6a0f9

  6. Jul 16

    Me, You, and a Cup of Coffee: Inside Security Besties Community

    For years, Heather said no to building a community — even when everyone told her she should. In this raw, unscripted episode, she explains why her first attempt (built right after launching PDRM Consulting) fell flat, what she got wrong about why it fell flat, and why Security Besties Community is a completely different thing. Heather talks through: Why the first community she built didn't work — and why it wasn't the idea's fault, it was burnoutThe decade-plus of security and compliance experience she's quietly built alongside John, and why she finally decided to become the face of PDRM Cyber instead of staying behind the marketingThe moment in Charlotte where the idea for Security Besties crystallizedHow joining Power Table this year showed her what community should feel likeWhat Security Besties actually is: small, capped, hands-on — "me, you, and a cup of coffee" — with Heather, John, and Ash all directly involvedWhat it's explicitly not: general business coaching, a replacement for a full security audit, or a forum where the same five people ask the same rehearsed questionsWhy the moment right after a security audit — the "okay, now what?" moment — is exactly what this community is built to answer PDRM Consulting's mission is to help businesses reduce risk, specifically in the fields of Cybersecurity and Product Management. Heather bridges the professional development gap in the corporate space by empowering growth-driven product managers to transition into strategic, results-oriented leaders. By focusing on enhancing key skills and decision-making capabilities, she helps them accelerate their leadership journey, achieve measurable outcomes more quickly, and excel in driving product success. Her approach ensures they thrive in their roles and unlock their full potential as impactful servant leaders within their organizations. You can follow us for more daily content: Instagram: @pdrmconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pdrm-consulting Join our Newsletter:https://solitary-block-17987.myflodesk.com/ofo6k6a0f9

  7. Jul 14

    No Soft Landing: Sprinting to $100K Before Band Camp Takes Over

    In this solo episode, I'm doing something I don't usually do until after it's already over — talking through a sprint while I'm still in the middle of it. In five days I drop my youngest off for Boy Scout camp. Then band camp. Then senior year hits and it doesn't let up. There's no soft landing this fall — so instead of pretending that's not true, I'm planning around it. I talk through: Why I moved my personal $100K goal from December to October, and what that says about capacity planning, not just hustleThe real difference between future-proofing and scaling — and why fall should be about delivering on what you already sold, not selling something newThe three offers I'm putting my full focus behind this sprint, and why I picked these three and not ten:Critical Services Security Assessment — sign this week, start next weekSecurity Besties Community — founding rate ($50/mo or $500/yr) available through July 31 or the first 25 members, whichever comes firstFractional CPO — two spots open, full stopWhy saying what you're not doing right now is just as important as saying what you areThis one's a little more direct than usual — it's part update, part invitation. If any of these three have been sitting in the back of your mind, this is your sign. Connect / Get Started: Follow the real-time build-in-public updates: Road to 100K on TikTokSecurity Besties Community + founding rateCritical Services Security AssessmentFractional CPO inquiriesFree security self-assessment PDRM Consulting's mission is to help businesses reduce risk, specifically in the fields of Cybersecurity and Product Management. Heather bridges the professional development gap in the corporate space by empowering growth-driven product managers to transition into strategic, results-oriented leaders. By focusing on enhancing key skills and decision-making capabilities, she helps them accelerate their leadership journey, achieve measurable outcomes more quickly, and excel in driving product success. Her approach ensures they thrive in their roles and unlock their full potential as impactful servant leaders within their organizations. You can follow us for more daily content: Instagram: @pdrmconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pdrm-consulting Join our Newsletter:https://solitary-block-17987.myflodesk.com/ofo6k6a0f9

  8. Jul 9

    Why Security Belongs on a Product Management Podcast (And Why Nothing Here Is Changing)

    You might have noticed something shifting over here — more security content, more direct conversation about protecting the business you've worked so hard to build. In this episode I'm talking about why, and why this podcast name is not changing. Beyond Product Management was never just for people with "product" in their title. Security is just the next intersection — and it might be one of the most important ones yet. 60% of small businesses close within six months of a cyber attack, not because they didn't care, but because they never thought of it as a business decision. That framing gap is exactly what we're here to fix. PDRM Community — Our brand new community specifically for female founders who want to stop guessing about security and start asking the right questions. Spots are limited, it's a closed community, and members get: Direct access to ask me security questions10% off any remediation, assessments, or auditsPriority scheduling with our team→ Join the PDRM Community PDRM Consulting's mission is to help businesses reduce risk, specifically in the fields of Cybersecurity and Product Management. Heather bridges the professional development gap in the corporate space by empowering growth-driven product managers to transition into strategic, results-oriented leaders. By focusing on enhancing key skills and decision-making capabilities, she helps them accelerate their leadership journey, achieve measurable outcomes more quickly, and excel in driving product success. Her approach ensures they thrive in their roles and unlock their full potential as impactful servant leaders within their organizations. You can follow us for more daily content: Instagram: @pdrmconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pdrm-consulting Join our Newsletter:https://solitary-block-17987.myflodesk.com/ofo6k6a0f9

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About

Beyond Product Management is a podcast that explores the unexpected intersections of product management with other disciplines, industries, and ideas. We go beyond the usual frameworks to uncover fresh perspectives, unconventional insights, and the skills that truly set great PMs apart.

Information

  • Creator
    Heather Miller (PDRM Consulting)
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    82
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 PDRM Consulting All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    Beyond Product Management