Product Talk

Worthy Read: How One Company Got Employees to Speak Up and Ask for Help by Joe Brown "When they were asked a tricky question by a financial advisor or an assistant, all too often, they would give a right-sounding answer instead of saying, 'I don't know,' and asking someone for help." ?? Learn how Fintona Financial transformed their call center culture by creating a safe space for employees to admit when they don't know something. Through creative experimentation with "Bat signals" and chat channels, they discovered that normalizing help-seeking across all experience levels was the key to solving their three-call problem. See how their iterative approach led to an 80-conversation-per-day solution that improved customer service and created a valuable knowledge base. Read the article: https://buff.ly/tjOEJZd ?? Have you ever given a "right-sounding answer" instead of admitting you don't know? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

"Anytime you say yes to one task, it means you're saying no to—or at least postponing—several others." ?? This insightful case study shows how continuous discovery helped transform a PM's approach from building random features to thoughtful, iterative development. Learn how Helena: ?? Used discovery to evaluate stakeholder requests ?? Started small and validated before building big ??? Evolved a simple notification system into a full chat feature ?? Got stakeholder buy-in through showing, not telling ?? Reduced mental load by making smaller, informed decisions The story demonstrates how continuous discovery gives you the confidence to say "no" - or "not yet" - and helps you make better product decisions through small, validated steps. Read the article: https://buff.ly/cHHvi0p ? What's your process for evaluating stakeholder feature requests? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Worthy Read: How Our Company Learned to Make Better Predictions About Everything by Danny Hernandez "We all make bets about the future, whether we call them that or not. We select a career based on perceptions about its prospects; we take on projects based on what we think we can accomplish; we hire employees based on how we predict they will perform." ?? Learn how Twitch created a company-wide program that teaches employees to become better forecasters regardless of their background or role. The article explains how they implemented forecasting training, overcame skepticism, and used numerical predictions to make "high-quality, high-velocity" decisions that Jeff Bezos calls for. See real examples of how this approach helped Twitch successfully launch features and align teams. Read the article: https://buff.ly/hivyjD3 ?? Do you make numerical predictions when planning projects at work? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

"On day one, your product outcome doesn't have to be measurable. It just has to be directional." ?? In this illuminating conversation between me and Hope Gurion, learn about the critical mistakes teams make when setting product outcomes: ?? Disguising outputs as outcomes ?? Not linking to business value ?? Setting outcomes outside team's control ?? Over-focusing on traction metrics ?? Creating too many dependencies ?? Measuring actions vs value ?? Relying solely on sentiment metrics ?? Neglecting accountability models The discussion emphasizes that good outcomes should balance learning with performance and connect directly to customer value. Check out the article: https://buff.ly/RdbutyJ ? Which of these 8 mistakes have you experienced most often in your organization? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Worthy Read: This VP is Doing Things Differently in the Product Org—Here’s His Playbook by Tyler Hogge "Whether or not you take anything else from our approach, the most crucial point is that you need to shift your mindset from PMs acting as project managers to becoming outcome-driven" - Tyler Hogge, VP of Product at Divvy Learn how Divvy transformed their product team by making PMs true General Managers who: ?? Own actual revenue numbers and business outcomes ?? Have compensation tied to hitting those goals ?? Actively participate in sales calls and demos ?? Lead product reviews like board meetings ?? Focus on customer onboarding and success metrics Their approach shows how product teams can deliver real business results while staying focused on delighting customers. The article breaks down exactly how they implemented this system and avoided common pitfalls. Check out the article: https://buff.ly/JlLOiPE ?? Do you think more companies should tie PM compensation to business outcomes? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Can you assumption test live features? Learn more about assumption testing: https://buff.ly/fml8Pek Have you ever assumption tested live features? What did you learn? Please share your experiences in the comments. #ContinuousDiscoveryHabits #AssumptionTesting

"Customer interviewing is one of the most valuable activities a product team can do. It's simply the easiest, most sustainable way of learning about your customers and what they need." ?? This comprehensive guide breaks down everything you need to know about customer interviews: ?? Who to interview and who should conduct them ?? Why weekly interviews matter ??? How to ask the right questions ?? Best practices for synthesis ?? Ways to automate recruiting The article emphasizes a key insight: don't ask about general behavior - collect specific stories about past experiences to understand what customers actually do (not what they aspire to do). Check out the article: https://buff.ly/XYgAxl0 ? What's your biggest challenge when it comes to interviewing customers regularly? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Worthy Read: General James Mattis: Arm Yourself With Books by Shane Parrish Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed (successfully or unsuccessfully) before." - General James Mattis ?? This article explores how reading extensively prepares you for life's challenges by learning from others' experiences. You'll discover why General Mattis considers books essential tools for decision-making, how historical knowledge prevented him from "winging it" in critical situations, and why building your knowledge repository through reading creates a compound effect over time. ?? Read the article: https://buff.ly/axlY9dd ?? What book has taught you a valuable lesson that helped you navigate a difficult situation? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Keeping track of evolving assumptions Learn more about assumption testing: https://buff.ly/TqdOyf0 How do you keep track of new assumptions as your ideas evolve? Share your thoughts in the comments. #ContinuousDiscoveryHabits #AssumptionTesting

"If you are going to ignore your experiment results, you might as well skip the experiment in the first place." ?? Learn why common hypothesis formats aren't good enough and how to design product experiments that your whole team will trust. See how testing assumptions (not just ideas) leads to faster learning and better outcomes. Key points: ?? Test specific assumptions before building features ?? Get team alignment on experiment design upfront ?? Define clear success metrics and thresholds ?? Address stakeholder concerns before, not after testing Read the article: https://buff.ly/foRaRBb ?? What's the most surprising insight you've gotten from a product experiment? Share your thoughts in the comments below.