We explore what it really means to be a product-driven company. More than anything, it's an exercise in restraint. Don't just build because you can, or because technology allows, but because you're advancing a larger vision. Laura Roeder of Edgar shares just what that means for their company, and how it's helped them follow a guiding light to success. BIG NEWS We've officially launched the Rocketship Premium Podcast feed! Join today for $5/month or $40 annually, and get access to exclusive bonus...
Sep 26, 2019•19 min
We are in the middle of a massive shift in the way people use and buy software. It’s been well over a decade since Salesforce brought software to the cloud. Apple put digital experiences in people’s pockets back in 2009 with the first iPhone. Blake talks about how we’re in “The End User Era” -- which is a new era that we’re now living in. We may be using applications for business purposes, but even those applications are adopted not because of some procurement manager signing a contract, but ado...
Sep 19, 2019•25 min
Product Marketing. The subtle art of describing your product in a way that excites everyone around you. This isn’t just for entrepreneurs pitching investors, this is for product managers and product leaders to inspire their teams to push themselves to build the best possible solution. We walk through examples from Figure One, Facebook and Sono’s with us as we attempt to break down what makes a powerful product description and what are the elements you need to improve yours. BIG NEWS We've offici...
Sep 12, 2019•19 min
Jobs to be done will change the way you think about product. It will change the way you approach user personas and influence your product decision process. It is one of the most important developments in product thinking in our time, so today we're going to dive right in. In this episode we talk with Jeetu Patel of Box, Bob Moesta co-creator of the Jobs to be done framework, Benedikt Lehnert of Wunderlist (now Microsoft) and Eric White. The theory of jobs to be done was developed in part as a co...
Sep 05, 2019•18 min
Daria Axelrod Marmer, a Product Lead at Hubspot wrote about Killing it by Killing Features and we explore that more today. It's never fun to sunset a feature we worked so hard to bring to life, but sometimes growth comes from creating focus and removing unused features to either build something new or take a new approach to solve the problem they were meant to solve. BIG NEWS We've officially launched the Rocketship Premium Podcast feed! Join today for $5/month or $40 annually, and get access to...
Aug 29, 2019•23 min
Ryan Singer and the Basecamp team have developed their own methodology for product planning. For one, they don't do waterfall or agile or scrum. For two, they don’t line walls with Post-it notes. For three, they don’t do daily stand ups, design sprints, development sprints, or anything remotely tied to a metaphor that includes being tired and worn out at the end. No backlogs, no Kanban, no velocity tracking, none of that. What they do instead is six week product builds followed by two weeks of c...
Aug 22, 2019•41 min
Mental models are simple expressions of complex processes or relationships. These models are accumulated over time by an individual and used to make faster and better decisions. Today to explore Mental Models for Product Leadership and how to use them with your team every day. This episode is also brought to you by Airtable , which is the all-in-one platform for product managers. Rocketship listeners can receive $50 in credit by signing up at Airtable.com/rocketship. This episode is also brought...
Aug 15, 2019•21 min
Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill, because of our modern times, that is becoming increasingly more difficult to achieve. Today we outline some helpful practices for staying focused and achieving deeper concentration on the work that matters. This episode is also brought to you by Airtable , which is the all-in-one platform for product managers. Rocketship listeners can receive $50 in credit by signing up at Airtable.com/rocketship...
Aug 08, 2019•19 min
Today we bring you the story of eBay and Amazon in the early 2000s, and how their fierce competition for market share came down to two very different product approaches. There's a winner, a loser and lots of product lessons in-between. We'll also share something that Jeff Bezos does to this day to ensure the customer is always represented in product meetings. This episode is brought to you by Gusto , making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for modern small businesses. Rocketship listeners get thre...
Aug 01, 2019•22 min
A mental model is any concept that helps explain, analyze, or navigate the world. As product managers , our mental models drive our decision-making, the way we communicate and collaborate with others, and how we prioritize. Today we explore some essential mental models for Product Managers. From opportunity cost to confirmation bias to Semmelweis reflex and even key failure. There are countless mental models that are essential for Product Managers to understand. This episode is brought to you by...
Jul 25, 2019•29 min
Mental models are how we understand the world. Not only do they shape what we think and how we understand but they shape the connections and opportunities that we see. Mental models are how we simplify complexity, why we consider some things more relevant than others, and how we reason. A mental model is simply a representation of how something works. We cannot keep all of the details of the world in our brains, so we use models to simplify the complex into understandable and organizable chunks....
Jul 18, 2019•23 min
Data is powerful because it is concrete. For many entrepreneurs and product people, empirical data can trump everything else – and it’s been an important tool in helping startups solve problems in new and innovative ways. In today's episode we talk with Richard White, the CEO of UserVoice, and what it means to be "data-informed" and how to better use data inside your organization. This episode is also brought to you by Airtable , which is the all-in-one platform for product managers. Rocketship ...
Jul 11, 2019•26 min
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of where of those projects where you just go, I wish we’d seen how this would end at the beginning of the project? Often times this is the result of a build vs buy decision gone wrong. Today we discuss recognizing what isn’t your core competency. This can be difficult to admit for organizations, but getting this right could save you a ton of time, money and headache. Balancing your company’s immediate needs with its long-term growth is both paramount an...
Jul 04, 2019•16 min
Today we explore the history of the Product Manager from it's early ideation by Neil McElroy to it's growth at Hewlett-Packard thru it's maturation at Microsoft and into today. We talk with former Microsoft Project Manager, Ellen Chisa , Former Microsoft Engineer (and 55th hire), Mark Zbikowski and Matt LeMay , the Author of Product Management in Practice, about this evolution over the past 80 years. For Neil McElroy the Brand Men were essentially his manifesto on what would become a product man...
Jun 27, 2019•21 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Connie Kwan walks us through her philosophy on storytelling for Product people, teaches us the essential elements of product storytelling and gives relatable use cases. This episode is brought to you by Gusto , making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for modern small businesses. Rocketship listeners get three months free at G usto.com/rocketship . This episode is also brought to you by Airtable , which is the all-in-one platform for product managers. Rocketship listeners can receive $50 in credit ...
Jun 20, 2019•21 min
Adobe's transition into a SASS company wasn't easy. It took two painful years of losses to transition their entire business from one-time upfront pricing to a monthly subscription. For a publically traded company, this could have been the death of them. But long-term thinking and well-executed plan set them up for success into the foreseeable future. This episode is also brought to you by Airtable , which is the all-in-one platform for product managers. Rocketship listeners can receive $50 in cr...
Jun 13, 2019•20 min
Today we got a chance to sit down with Hunter Walk and discuss his career, what he looks for in founders and products that he’s investing in and, perhaps the most interesting, how he analysis someone’s career path when looking to invest in them… and it’s not exactly what you would expect. Hunter Walk is a founder and partner at Homebrew. He also has extensive experience in product development and played a key role in making YouTube one of the internet's largest websites. This episode is brought ...
Jun 06, 2019•20 min
What’s the best kind of customer? A loyal customer. Today with breakdown how theSkimm has built and maintained am excited audience of dedicated fans. Dheerja Kaur is the Chief Product Officer at theSkimm and walks us through how they keep their audience of largely female millennials (and Belsito) and the challenges of having a passionate audience scrutinizing your every decision. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We...
May 30, 2019•25 min
You may be tired of writing product stories and pitching product ideas that fall flat. Here we break down how to tell compelling product stories by understanding the basic of storytelling itself. Jack and beanstalk may not be part of your everyday standups, but its the perfect way to breakdown the essential elements of a story. From screenwriter Michael Jamin to Product Manager and former Technical Director at Pixar, Josh Anon, we show you how you can use basic story writing techniques to better...
May 23, 2019•20 min
Nobody ever looked at an empty calendar and said, The best way to spend this time is by cramming it full of meetings! or got to work in the morning and thought, Today I'll spend hours on Facebook! Yet that's exactly what we do. Why? In a world where information refreshes endlessly and the workday feels like a race to react to other people's priorities faster, frazzled and distracted has become our default position. But what if the exhaustion of constant busyness wasn't mandatory? What if you cou...
May 16, 2019•27 min
Today, we’re going to dive into the concept of Product Leadership, and specifically the differences between Product People and Product Leaders. We'll go over proven methods to move up inside of an organization and common pitfalls to watch out for once you've been given the opportunity. Here to discuss with us is Rich Mironov. Rich coaches product executives, product management teams and agile development organizations. He also parachutes into software companies as interim VP Products/CPO to addr...
May 09, 2019•24 min
Today we talk with Ash Maurya, the creator of the Lean Canvas and most recently the author of Scaling Lean. His posts and advice have been featured in Inc., Forbes, and Fortune and we're incredibly excited to share his insights with you on scaling through the lean methodology. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, ...
May 03, 2019•32 min
On today's show we talk with Clive Thompson, the author of "Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World." We discuss why Coders were such a focus for him, and given all the recent news about Facebook and our personal data, it wasn't hard to figure out why he has such an intense focus on them. Data and surveillance are one of the biggest issues of our time. Product teams, product leaders, coders, designers, data scientists - these are the people that can help fix it. They are ...
Apr 24, 2019•25 min•Season 7Ep. 9
As we drive along this nondescript suburban street -- dotted with your standard fare of KFC’s and Pizza Hut’s and CVS Pharmacies, it seems like most other main suburban neighborhood thoroughfares here in Northeast Ohio. But as we pull in to the Mercedez Benz of North Olmstead dealership, I wonder to myself if everybody else knows that there’s something a little special to this place. I don’t mean the shiny glass structure itself or the ambient waterfall that cascades inside. That’s probably par ...
Apr 16, 2019•20 min•Season 7Ep. 7
Today we’re going to let the skeptics speak. Today we’re going to hear from people who are doubting the initiative. People who have questions. People who may not be buying into all that Blockland has to sell. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate tr...
Apr 11, 2019•24 min•Season 7Ep. 6
As we're sitting here taking in the first ever Blockland Solutions conference, it’s pretty wild to see what’s unfolding. To many, it might not be that mind-blowing. It really seems like… plenty of other professional conferences. It’s in a nice convention center. The coffee and snack stations scatter abound. There are panels… and main-stage speakers. And a mix of suit-and-tie types and hoodie-clad, beard-faced technologists wandering around. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a ...
Apr 09, 2019•22 min•Season 7Ep. 5
In the first few episodes of the Blockland series, we learned a bit about what the Blockland initiative was all about, why it started and who started it, and even rewound a bit to learn a bit more about Blockchain in general… and its impact on businesses. But today, we dive into Blockland, the initiative. There are so many tentacles to this so… it’s best you just buckle up and get ready… to enter… Blockland. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distribute...
Apr 04, 2019•24 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Everpedia is the world's largest encyclopedia on the blockchain. It's decentralized, democratic, censorship-resistant and offers a financial incentive for those participating in creating and editing content. It also has a secret weapon. Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger joined the company in 2017, nearly 3 years after it's formation after spending much of his life pursuing a high-quality crowdsourced database of knowledge. Sanger said, "Everipedia is the encyclopedia of everything, where topics ...
Apr 02, 2019•31 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Blockchain is a system in which a record of transactions that are maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network. It’s a database or public ledger that can be used in a whole multitude of ways. And along with this overview of what it is, it’s probably useful to have a brief primer on the history of blockchain. Blockchain technology was first developed by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the unknown person or people who developed...
Mar 28, 2019•17 min•Season 7Ep. 3
By now you’ve heard all the buzz, and criticism, of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies. The constant fluctuations of the Bitcoin market. One minute it’s going to the moon, the next it’s tanking and will never come back. This isn’t a story all about Bitcoin, because as Bitcoin and it’s siblings Litecoin, Etherium and the thousands of other alt-coins that have come and gone over the years, the underlying technology, Blockchain, is becoming the real star of the show with Banks and Financial institutio...
Mar 21, 2019•21 min•Season 7Ep. 2
