Guest Appearance on The Product Manager Podcast: How I Survived the Past 3 Years in Product Leadership
Thursday, July 31, 2025
In this episode of The Product Manager Podcast (now part of The CPO Club), I returned as a guest to speak with the current host, Hannah Clark. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the significant shifts in product leadership and the craft of product management since I originally hosted the show back in 2022.
Hannah and I discussed my experiences navigating the constant change, drawing on my time leading product transformation at Float and lessons from working across 50+ products. We explored the practical realities of adapting strategies, systems, and team structures in a rapidly evolving landscape driven by remote work, AI, and shifting market dynamics.
We explored:
- The move from rigid processes (like SAFE or pure Scrum dogma) towards more adaptive, context-specific product systems chosen by high-performing teams.
- Lessons learned from both failed and successful transformation initiatives, emphasizing the critical role of culture change, stakeholder alignment, and patience.
- Practical approaches to AI integration beyond chatbots, focusing on designing agent flows that augment user experience in intuitive ways.
- The essential balance product managers must strike between strategic thinking (“mini-CEO” trap) and effective execution (“glorified project manager” trap).
- How async practices, like design sprints adapted for distributed teams, can foster deeper collaboration and thoughtful contribution.
- How personal projects and even parenting (like building AI games with my son) inform product thinking and leadership approaches.
This conversation captured a snapshot of the intense evolution our field has undergone and underscored the systems-thinking approach I believe is crucial for navigating what’s next — a core theme I’m exploring further during my current sabbatical.
This episode features my return as a guest to The Product Manager Podcast (2021-Present), which I founded and hosted from 2021-2022. The show is now part of The CPO Club and has reached over 100,000 downloads.