Make Things That Matter Andrew Skotzko

Nacho Bassino is a veteran product leader and the author of Product Direction, one of my go-to books on how to actually generate a product strategy. There are many excellent books out there on strategy as a whole, but surprisingly few that specifically cover product strategy.
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Topics discussed:
(00:02:12) Nacho's journey into product leadership
(00:09:23) How leaders can adapt to others' communication and cross-cultural preferences
(00:10:50) Strategy: defining problems and prioritizing solutions
(00:19:44) Painful, but typical; a fake strategy
(00:24:20) Time and team needed for first big strategy creation
(00:30:17) Three key aspects of quarterly reviews: OKRs, roadmaps, and Opportunity Solution Trees
(00:35:33) Connection between impact, outcomes, and initiatives with revenue generation
(00:40:11) Empowerment: teams' accountability and autonomy
(00:51:36) Nacho's hard product leadership call
(00:58:15) Strategy for startups vs larger companies
(00:59:02) How the opportunity space expands with company growth
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Links & resources mentioned
Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/nacho-bassino-build-your-first-product-strategy/#transcript
• Send episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email
• Nacho Bassino: Website, LinkedIn
• Book: Product Direction
• Podcast: 100 Product Strategies
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Related episodes:
• #68 Adam Thomas: Operationalizing product strategy
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Books:
• Product Direction
• The Culture Map
• Playing to Win
• Product Roadmaps Relaunched
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Other resources and articles:
• A product strategy acid test
• What is "strategy"?
• Burnout as a strategy problem
• Should leaders be prescriptive about strategy?
• Product strategy: focus vs prioritization
• Does strategy matter before product-market fit (PMF)?
• Execs care about revenue. How do we get them to care about outcomes?


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Pam Fox Rollin is an executive coach and strategist. This is a conversation about the conversations that leaders are not having. These are THE difference between building a truly committed team that delivers the future you care about… and having a group which is a team in name only.
Topics discussed:
(00:03:55) Writing a book about teams as a team.
(00:11:41) Teamwork failure due to individual mindset silos.
(00:14:51) Telling the difference between hard work and commitment
(00:18:40) OKRs align and drive team objectives.
(00:20:54) Incentive structures and team behaviors
(00:24:02) Shared promise vital for effective team; align goals and coordinate efforts.
(00:28:25) Leaders build futures that matter through conversations.
(00:33:08) Finance team doubts engineering's budget needs.
(00:36:23) Trust: vulnerability in actions and five dimensions.
(00:38:21) Dimensions of trust
(00:42:23) Design conversations as a leader to level up.
(00:46:01) Challenges of remote work and trust.
(00:49:05) Missing conversations hinder team building efforts.
(00:53:44) Collaboration needed in achieving desired outcomes.
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Links & resources mentioned
Find the full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/pam-fox-rollin-growing-groups-into-teams/#transcript
* Send episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email
* Pam Fox Rollin: LinkedIn, Altus Growth Partners
* New book: Growing Groups Into Teams
* Altus’ Growth podcast: Missing Conversations
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Related episodes:
* #22 Pam Fox Rollin: Be a leader who helps people come alive
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People & orgs:
* Bob Dunham - Institute for Generative Leadership
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Books:
* Growing Groups Into Teams
* The Thin Book of Trust - Charles Feltman
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Other resources:
* IBM study: “Augmented work for an automated, AI-driven world”
* Paper: On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.makethingsthatmatter.com

Zooming in on three common change management issues: forecasting, role transitions, and departmental power dynamics.
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Topics discussed
(00:03:01) Companies transforming into product organizations
(00:05:01) Revenue shift: smaller now, longer-term impact
(00:08:30) Practical topics: forecasting, transition, change management
(00:10:04) Identifying leading measures and assumptions in forecasts
(00:14:25) Seeking tech-enabled scale, revenue visibility, innovation
(00:20:29) Power shifts in organizations impact staffing and funding
(00:22:12) Evolving organizational model for product-centric strategy
(00:27:23) Key considerations for acquiring a company: purpose, integration, impact
(00:31:18) Leaders modeling simple mental health practices shift organizations. Organizational change requires supporting structures and models
(00:35:38) Quieting the mind to connect and trust
(00:37:33) Organizations need specific change management for success
(00:40:40) "Name fears, tame them; face personal insecurities."
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Links & resources mentioned
Full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/eisha-armstrong-pragmatic-change-management-strategies/#transcript
* Send episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email
* Guest: Eisha Tierney Armstrong - LinkedIn
* Book: Fearless: How to Transform a Services Culture and Successfully Productize
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Related episodes:
* #2 Barry O’Reilly: Unlearning and creating culture change
* #9 Amy Edmondson: Building teams where people feel safe
* #59 Kenny Borg: Identity transformation and embodying fulfillment
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Books:
* Fearless: How to Transform a Services Culture and Successfully Productize (Eisha’s book)
* "Leading Change" by John Kotter
* “Managing Transitions: Making the Most of the Change” by William Bridges



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.makethingsthatmatter.com

MJ Jastrebski is the CPO of Stylitics, a rapidly scaling retail technology company that helps retail websites automate styling and bundling for their consumers.
Click here to fill out the MTTM listener survey form by August 16, 2023: https://makethingsthatmatter.com/survey
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:07:20) Understanding product roles/levels, influence, and career growth.
(00:13:10) Product and process management at different levels.
(00:19:22) Leadership training emphasizes accountability among executive teams, prioritizing cross-functional exec peer relationships & alignment.
(00:28:27) The importance of buoyancy.
(00:36:17) How mindfulness and empathy are important for effective leadership.
(00:43:41) What Stylitics is doing and how it's scaling up
(00:47:12) Expanding internationally and into new verticals. Emphasis on shipping and team muscle building.
(00:55:38) Creating product families to address pain points, setting expectations, iterating with alpha, beta, and GA stages, building retailer relationships, understanding different market needs.
(01:02:08) Changing roles, building skills, and evolving identity.
(01:11:30) Creating psychological safety is crucial for innovation. It allows people to take risks without fear of judgment or failure. This enables organizations to gather more information and make better decisions.
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Links & resources mentioned
• You can end episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email
• Guest: MJ Jastrebski & Stylitics
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Related episodes:
• Mike Saloio: Leadership, meditation, ego, and ubuntu
• Amy Edmondson: Building teams where people feel safe
• Kenny Borg: Identity transformation
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People & orgs:
• Stylitics
• Carlota Perez
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Books:
• Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages
• The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership
• Multipliers
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Other resources:
• Give away your legos
• How to craft your product team at every stage, from pre-PMF to hypergrowth
• The 3 lenses of innovation


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.makethingsthatmatter.com

It's been quiet around here because I'm in deep in the creative process of reimagining this show, and I need your help. Podcast analytics are terrible, and I want to know more about YOU.
Please fill out this short, 5-ish minute survey. Your help on this goes a LONG way, and I appreciate you taking the time!
Click here to complete our listener survey
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.makethingsthatmatter.com

Donna Lichaw is an executive coach for unconventional leaders, and the author of the newly-released book The Leader’s Journey.
Donna brings a background in design and product to her executive coaching and helps unconventional leaders take control of the story to drive impact for themselves and within their teams. We go deep on:
* how to handle managing our own stories in healthy conflict
* creating psychological safety
* what it looks like to “give yourself an A” so you feel freed up to invent new possibilities
Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.
Links & resources
* Send episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email
* Donna Lichaw: website, LinkedIn, Twitter
* Donna’s new book: The Leader’s Journey
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Related episodes:
* Mike Saloio: Leadership, meditation, ego, and ubuntu
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People & orgs:
* Neuroleadership Institute
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Books:
* The Art of Possibility
* Rethinking Positive Thinking
* The Upside Of Your Dark Side
* Nonviolent Communication
* Radical Candor
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Other resources:
* Donna’s toolkit
* The SCARF model (psych safety)
* 3F model


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.makethingsthatmatter.com