One Knight in Product

Transforming companies & instilling a product mindset (with Dave Martin, founder of Right To Left)

An interview with Dave Martin. Dave is a product leader with a strong history of transforming companies into effective product-focused organisations. Most recently, he's co-founder of consultancy Right to Left, where he takes some of his past learnings and pays them forward to the next generation of product-hungry companies.
We speak about a lot, including:
How he works with early to mid stage companies to transform them
The Product Management Health Check
How Product Managers must not be seen as mere requirements gatherers
The difference between different types of Product Manager, even within successful organisations
The challenges of moving from product management into product leadership
The importance of evidence in decision making

Avoiding the agency trap & ADHD in Product (with Janna Bastow, CEO ProdPad, co-founder Mind the Product)

An interview with Janna Bastow. Janna is co-founder of ProdPad and Mind the Product, and inventor of the Now/Next/Later roadmap. We talk about a few things:
How ProdPad started as an idea to solve a problem for Janna in her Product Management job and became a company serving thousands of Product Managers
How date-based roadmaps are the devil and how to tackle management wanting false security
The perils of building features for clients, falling into the trap of being an agency instead of a product company, and never getting the chance to solve big problems
How Mind the Product started out and how they've pivoted to run successful events even in the middle of a pandemic (and how she misses a good flat white)
Janna's recent ADHD diagnosis, what that meant to her, how she's managing it, and some of the advantages and disadvantages the condition brings to Product Management

Lifelong learning & the perils of time-based roadmaps (with Andrea Saez, Product Growth & Education @ ProdPad)

An interview with Andrea Saez. Andrea works in Product Growth & Education for ProdPad. She's a lifelong learner, educator and advocate, looking to help Product Managers make good decisions. We talk about her journey into Product Management, why certifications aren't all that they cracked up to be and how Human Psychology helps make good product decisions. We talk about:
How Andrea got into Product Management after being the first person to ask her boss "why?"
Why Customer Support staff are ideally placed to become Product Managers
How Andrea stays motivated during all of her social media product management advocacy, and how she loves Mondays
Why date-based roadmaps are the devil and why management want them because of Previous Product Trauma
How Product need to take more responsibility when Sales make a commitment
Why certifications aren't really worth much without follow on experience
And much more!

Managing Tension in Product Management (with Marc Abraham, author & Head of Product @ ASOS.com)

An interview with Marc Abraham. Marc is the Head of Product - Engagement for ASOS.com, author of two books on Product Management and co-curator with Mind the Product. I originally picked up Marc's first book, My Product Management Toolkit as I was looking for a good primer for people transferring into my Product team from elsewhere in the business. I found the book a great primer and guide to product management. I was excited to see his new book come out, which covers a lot more around the psychology of Product.
 
I spoke to Marc about his journey into Product Management, his new book 'Managing Product = Managing Tension', and some great advice about navigating a career in Product. Marc also gives some excellent advice for Product Leaders (or aspiring Product Leaders) and ways that they can create psychological safety for their teams. As a keen boxer, Marc is also a massive advocate for using exercise to help work out some of the tensions of product management.
 
Further show notes here: https://www.oneknightinproduct.com/s1e21
 

Product Processes & the Importance of Work / Life Balance (with Busayomi Omotosho, PM @ Softcom)

An interview with Busayomi Omotosho, Product Manager at Softcom. Busayomi speaks to me about Softcom's mission to connect consumers to businesses across Africa, her past working in LegalTech, how you need to apply efficient processes to Product Management, the importance of work / life balance and much more.
Catch up with Busayomi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omotosho-busayomi-1ab461b0/ or Twitter: https://twitter.com/Buu_buu10 

Growing a PM career & the importance of side hustles (with Victoria Tkatch, Senior PM @ Sonos)

An interview with Victoria Tkatch, Senior Product Manager at Sonos. Victoria is an ambitious, driven professional, operating at a million miles an hour, and she's definitely going to be your boss one day. We talk about her journey to Sonos via her own nutrition startup, her plans for the future and how she manages to keep 3 side hustles going.
You can catch up with Victoria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriatkatch/ or on her YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCym4-hlfCs0M1iitZ9xSDWw 
UPDATE: She is also soliciting feedback for her new idea, a book for PMs! https://techforpms.online/ - so that's *4* side hustles
 

Technical Product Management & the importance of mentorship (with Mark Yamashita, Technical PM @ Sensibill)

An interview with Mark Yamashita, Technical Product Director at Sensibill, a fintech company that means you never have to worry about expense forms again. Mark moved into Product Management from working on supercomputers and compilers, via an MBA. We talk about how technical PMs should keep away from solutioneering, how education & mentoring are so important for PMs, as well as why "Singin' in the Rain" is basically the Lean Startup.
 
Catch up with Mark here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-yamashita/

API Product Management & mountain climbing as a metaphor (with Elina Sokolovska, PM @ Flux)

An interview with Elina Sokolovska, Product Manager at Flux, an exciting fintech startup working with some big retailers via their API. Elina talks about how she loves integrations and API Product Management, as well as her addiction to startup culture, and how mountain climbing has taught her strength in the face of adversity. 
Catch up with Elina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elina-sokolovska-17560b32/ or https://twitter.com/ElinaSokolovska