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Episode Transcript
0:00 I have a company that's like standing up, rethinking his entire experience, standing up a prototype on it to show to customers. So excited about it. I also think it's so easy to build a bunch of crap now. Right. And this used to be an argument I got into with people when I would try to 0:13 teach them in like early days of teaching.
I would teach about like MVPs and how we could do concierge testing and lightweight stuff. And they would go, code is so cheap now. I don't need to do any of this. I should just build it and put it out there and see if anybody uses it. And I'm like, 0:25 once again, the whole point of experimenting is to be close to your customers to get that feedback.
And if we're just building a bunch of crap and lovable and bold and never doing that, being really close to them, it's still not going to work. 0:42 And you're going to have all of this broken code, all of this. And let's be honest, like those things do not write a small amount of code. It's like long and lengthy and you don't need all that. 1:00 Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Supra Insider.
This time, Mark and I sat down with Melissa Perry. Melissa has spent the last 15 years coaching product managers and product leaders, advising CEOs and VCs and investors on how to really level up the product leadership functions of the companies that they work with. 1:21 She's actually been a product manager, product designer. She's an instructor who's I spent time at Harvard and a couple other institutes.
Melissa is as legit as it gets when it comes to product leadership experts. In this conversation, Mark and I went into a few really meaty topics with Melissa. We started by talking about what strategy 1:42 product strategy really means, something top of mind for her and for a lot of people these days.
And why we often skip the hard part of product strategy, which is not just focusing on the 1:57 tactics, but really focusing on the business outcomes. We also talked about the difference between a VP of product and a CPO, and how to make that transition. And what are the things that product leaders should be focusing on when they're making that transition. 2:13 We also talked about the relationship between a founder CEO and a product leader, and how to make that relationship work.
And what are the common mistakes that founders make when they're hiring product leaders. And why CPO tenures are so short. 2:28 And what are the things that product leaders can do to proactively level up and scale with their company. And finally, we talked about the double edged sword of AI in product development.
And where AI accelerates product work and where human judgment still matters. 2:46 This is a really meaty conversation. I hope you enjoy it. And if you do, please share it with a friend or colleague. 2:54 And now, without further ado, here's our conversation with Melissa Perry. 3:00 Melissa, welcome to the show. 3:01 Thank you for having me. 3:02 So, I want to start with a topic that's near and dear to your heart, which is strategy.
And you've been talking about this for a long time. And I think it's still something that product leaders and product managers struggle with. And I think there's a lot of confusion about what strategy really means. 3:19 So, let's start there. What is product strategy? 3:22 Yeah, I think this is a great question because I've been doing this for 15 years and I still see people struggling with it.
And I think the reason why is because it's not taught well. 3:33 And I think a lot of people think of strategy as a plan, right? Like, I'm going to build this thing, then I'm going to build this thing, then I'm going to build this thing. And that's my strategy. 3:41 And that's actually not strategy.
That's a roadmap. And that's a plan. 3:45 And strategy is really about how you're going to win. 3:49 So, if you think about it, it's like, how are we going to achieve our business goals? And what are the things that we're going to do to get there? 3:57 And it's not just about the features you're going to build.
It's about the market you're going to target, the customers you're going to serve, the problems you're going to solve, and the unique value proposition that you're going to bring to the market. 4:11 And I think that's the part that people miss. They focus too much on the tactics and not enough on the strategy. 4:17 And I think that's why a lot of product strategies fail. 4:21 So, let's dive into that a little bit. Why do you think product strategies fail? 4:25 I think they fail because they're not connected to the business outcomes. 4:30 So, a lot of times, product teams are just building features without really understanding why they're building them and what the impact is going to be on the business. 4:40 And I think that's a huge mistake. 4:42 Because if you're not connected to the business outcomes, you're just building stuff for the sake of building stuff. 4:48 And that's not product management.
That's just project management. 4:52 And I think that's the big difference between a good product manager and a great product manager. 4:57 A great product manager is always thinking about the business outcomes and how their product is going to contribute to those outcomes. 5:04 And I think that's the mindset shift that product leaders need to make. 5:08 It's not just about building features. It's about driving business results. 5:13 And I think that's the hard part. 5:15 Because it requires a lot of cross-functional collaboration, a lot of communication, and a lot of alignment with the executive team. 5:23 And I think that's where a lot of product leaders struggle. 5:26 They're not able to effectively communicate the value of their product to the executive team and get the buy-in they need to execute their strategy. 5:35 So, let's talk about that. How can product leaders better communicate the value of their product to the executive team? 5:41 I think it starts with speaking the language of the business. 5:45 So, instead of talking about features and functionality, talk about revenue, talk about customer acquisition, talk about customer retention, talk about market share. 5:57 Those are the things that the executive team cares about. 6:00 And if you can connect your product strategy to those business outcomes, you're going to have a much easier time getting buy-in and getting the resources you need to execute your strategy. 6:11 And I think that's the key. 6:13 It's not just about having a good product strategy.
It's about being able to effectively communicate that strategy and get the buy-in you need to execute it. 6:23 And I think that's the difference between a good product leader and a great product leader. 6:27 A great product leader is a great communicator and a great influencer. 6:32 And they're able to align the entire organization around their product strategy. 6:38 And I think that's the ultimate goal. 6:40 It's not just about building a great product. It's about building a great business. 6:45 And I think that's the mindset shift that product leaders need to make. 6:49 It's not just about the product. It's about the business. 6:53 And I think that's the key to success. 6:56 So, let's talk about the transition from VP of product to CPO.
What are the key differences between those two roles? 7:04 I think the biggest difference is the scope of responsibility. 7:08 A VP of product is typically focused on a specific product or a specific product line. 7:14 A CPO is focused on the entire product organization and the entire product portfolio. 7:21 And I think that's a huge shift. 7:23 Because it requires a different mindset, a different skill set, and a different level of strategic thinking. 7:31 A CPO is essentially the CEO of the product organization. 7:36 And they're responsible for setting the product vision, the product strategy, and the product roadmap for the entire company. 7:45 And I think that's the biggest difference. 7:47 It's the scope of responsibility and the level of strategic thinking that's required. 7:53 And I think that's the transition that product leaders need to make. 7:57 It's not just about managing a product. It's about leading a product organization. 8:02 And I think that's the key to success. 8:05 So, let's talk about the relationship between a founder CEO and a product leader. What are the common mistakes that founders make when they're hiring product leaders? 8:15 I think the biggest mistake is hiring a product leader who's not a good fit for the company culture. 8:21 So, a lot of times, founders are looking for a product leader who's going to come in and fix all their problems. 8:27 And that's a huge mistake. 8:29 Because a product leader is not a magician.
They're not going to come in and magically fix everything. 8:35 They need to be a good fit for the company culture, and they need to be able to work effectively with the founder CEO. 8:43 And I think that's the key. 8:45 It's not just about hiring a product leader with the right skill set. It's about hiring a product leader with the right mindset and the right cultural fit. 8:55 And I think that's the biggest mistake that founders make. 8:58 They focus too much on the skill set and not enough on the cultural fit. 9:03 And I think that's why a lot of CPO tenures are so short. 9:07 Because there's a misalignment between the founder CEO and the product leader. 9:12 And I think that's the key to success. 9:15 It's about having a strong relationship between the founder CEO and the product leader. 9:20 And I think that's the ultimate goal. 9:23 It's not just about building a great product. It's about building a great partnership. 9:28 And I think that's the mindset shift that founders need to make. 9:32 It's not just about the product.
It's about the partnership. 9:36 And I think that's the key to success. 9:39 So, let's talk about the double-edged sword of AI in product development. Where does AI accelerate product work, and where does human judgment still matter? 9:49 I think AI can accelerate product work in a lot of ways. 9:53 It can help with data analysis, it can help with market research, it can help with customer feedback analysis. 10:01 And I think that's where AI can really shine. 10:04 It can take away a lot of the tedious and time-consuming tasks that product managers have to do. 10:11 And it can free up product managers to focus on the more strategic and creative aspects of their job. 10:18 And I think that's the key. 10:20 It's not about replacing product managers with AI. It's about augmenting product managers with AI. 10:27 And I think that's the mindset shift that product leaders need to make. 10:31 It's not about AI taking over.
It's about AI helping. 10:36 And I think that's the key to success. 10:39 So, where does human judgment still matter? 10:42 I think human judgment still matters in a lot of ways. 10:46 It matters in setting the product vision, it matters in setting the product strategy, it matters in making tough trade-offs. 10:54 And I think that's where human judgment is irreplaceable. 10:58 AI can help with data analysis, but it can't make the tough decisions. 11:03 And I think that's the key. 11:05 It's not about AI making the decisions. It's about AI informing the decisions. 11:11 And I think that's the mindset shift that product leaders need to make. 11:15 It's not about AI taking over. It's about AI helping. 11:20 And I think that's the key to success. 11:23 So, let's talk about the future of product management.
What do you see as the biggest trends and challenges in the next few years? 11:31 I think the biggest trend is the rise of AI. 11:35 AI is going to fundamentally change the way we build products and the way we manage products. 11:42 And I think that's the biggest challenge. 11:44 It's adapting to that change and figuring out how to leverage AI to our advantage. 11:51 And I think the biggest opportunity is the ability to focus on the more strategic and creative aspects of our job. 11:59 AI can take away a lot of the tedious and time-consuming tasks. 12:03 And it can free up product managers to focus on the things that really matter. 12:08 And I think that's the key to success. 12:11 It's not about AI taking over. It's about AI helping. 12:16 And I think that's the ultimate goal. 12:19 It's not just about building a great product. It's about building a great business. 12:24 And I think that's the mindset shift that product leaders need to make. 12:28 It's not just about the product.
It's about the business. 12:32 And I think that's the key to success. 12:35 Melissa, thank you so much for joining us. 12:38 Thank you for having me. 12:39 And that's it for this episode of Supra Insider. 12:42 If you enjoyed this conversation, please share it with a friend or colleague. 12:46 And we'll see you next time.
