Sometimes we need to be reminded of what's needed to be a successful product manager. In this episode, Steven Haines reinforces the key constructs required to be a successful product manager.

Product Management, by its very nature, is collaborative and cross-functional. On a daily basis, we work closely with engineering, marketing, sales, finance, operations, etc. Product Managers have many partners, and we need them all to be successful.

Episode 37 - How to Use Soft Skills to Influence Others: It’s amazing how often the topic of influencing and using soft skills comes up. As most of us know, product managers are supposed to influence those who don’t work for them, yet they’re accountable for so much! This episode is geared to those who need a little extra advice on how to influence…

Episode 36 - Riding High - a Conversation with Ruth Zukerman - Co-Founder of Flywheel: Product managers can learn a lot from entrepreneurs. In this episode, Steven Haines talks with Ruth Zukerman, author of the upcoming book “Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye and Co-Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I Always Wanted.” Ruth shares her re…

Episode 35 – How Product Managers Can Think About Mobile Users: We are a mobile, on-the-go society and our devices are glued to our hands. Product managers who deal with mobile users must understand how user needs change with each step they take. Keeping track to stay ahead of the curve is a challenge. Amazon’s Kabir Bedi shares some of his thought…

Episode 34 – How to Influence Product Teams with Karl Sluis: Every product manager knows that their job is to influence people who don’t work for them. At the core is effective communication. This episode features a conversation between Steven Haines and Karl Sluis. They’ll discuss challenges and solutions so that you can improve the effectiveness …

Episode 33 – Product Management vs. Project Management with Steven Haines: Product managers are often confused with project managers, and sometimes, product managers have to do the work of a project managers. However, the discipline and purpose of each role serves a unique purpose. In this episode, Steven Haines explains the difference –simply and …

Episode 32 – How to Interview Customers with Teresa Torres: In order to ensure that a product’s features hit the mark, product managers and their teams must become exemplary interviewers. This is a vital skill for teams who have to be inspired to continuously learn and fine-tune the value of their products. In this episode, Steven Haines speaks wit…

Episode 31 – The Importance of Good Record Keeping with Steven Haines: Even with cloud-based storage, you’d be surprised that documents and artifacts are scattered across the organization. Wouldn’t be easier if we had access to documents, tools, and other artifacts and evidence of our work? In this episode, Steven Haines discusses the value of good…

Episode 30 – How Product Managers Act Like Entrepreneurs One of the things that separate good product managers from great ones is their ability to think and act like entrepreneurs. It so happens that Bob Caporale, president of Sequent Learning Networks, and Tate Tegtmeier who’s in charge of marketing at Sequent, are hosts of their own podcast calle…

Episode 29 – The Importance of Mindset with Steven Haines: To be effective as a product manager, your mind has to be attuned to, and make sense out of a dynamic stream of disconnected signals. In this show, Steven Haines talks about why it’s so important for product managers to sometimes just step back and think about goings-on with the business in…

Episode 28 – Nurturing Your Product with Tara Newboult: Everyone likes new things. New products are more fun to work on and continuous development can be intoxicating. However, a product is still a business that needs to be evaluated from multiple standpoints. In this episode, Steven Haines speaks with Tara Newboult to share perspectives on how to …

Episode 27 – Understanding User Feelings in User Stories with Steven Haines: Most product managers utilize a template or framework to capture user stories and associated features. However, many user stories are not completely linked to the emotional side of the user. The result could be features that don’t really solve the customer’s problem. In th…

Episode 26 – Adapting to Agile with Steven Haines: All companies want to act with agility and compete more aggressively in the battle for the hearts and minds of customers. Yet, large companies that are shifting to rapid or agile development continue to struggle with complexity, role definition, and adaptation to agile methods. In this episode, Ste…

Episode 25 – What is Product Management? With Steven Haines: Everyone knows what product management is. Right? Maybe not. Based on the research done at Sequent Learning Networks, there are a lot of different definitions. When many people have a different definition for the same term, confusion abounds. In this episode, Steven Haines, author of The …

Episode 24 – Using the “Jobs to be Done” Model to Create Innovative Products: As product people, we all want to create that unique product that solves a customer’s problem better than anything available. This episode features a conversation with renowned author Tony Ulwick where Steven and Tony talk about how you can apply the ‘jobs to be done’ mod…

Episode 23 – How to Validate Product-Market Fit: To bring your product strategy to light, every product must be validated for product-market fit, prior to launch, and through successive iterations. In this episode, Nadar Balata and Steven Haines talk how products can be validated – from the fulfillment of strategic intent, to overall usability. Hos…

Episode 22 – How Use Design Sprints to Speed Your Innovations: It stands to reason that if you don’t validate a product concept, your chances of achieving product success is limited. In this episode, Dave Zasada and Steven Haines talk about how to plan and carry out a design sprint so that you can improve the chances that your product innovation wi…

Episode 21 – How to Understand the Customer Ecosystem to Produce Better Results: So many people talk about the customer experience, but all experiences don’t always result in a positive outcome. In this episode, Sam Aborne and Steven Haines discuss the importance of understanding the customer ecosystem to uncover insights and produce better outcome…

Episode 20 - Leveraging Cross-Functional Teams When Agile is Used: The proliferation of intangible digital products and services has enabled many companies to use rapid development to operate more efficiently. While results are mixed, it is possible to hasten time to market using cross-functional product teams. In this episode, Steven Haines shares…

Episode 19 - Enabling Product Management Success: Product managers and product management leaders must move in lock-step in order to produce optimal outcomes. “Re-orgs” and other organizational shifts can, unfortunately, cause people to take their eyes off the ball. This episode provides insights to help product leaders to lead, and product manager…

Episode 18 - How to Deliver a Better User Experience: As the need for speed and agility continues, product managers need to make high-velocity decisions that move faster than the speed of the market. At the same time, products must achieve competitive advantage through the delivery of a compelling value proposition and a rewarding customer experien…

Episode 17 - How To Be Effective Without a Product Leader: Many product managers operate in an environment where there is an absence of a product leader or chief product officer. Alternatively, you may work remotely and operate without a solid management anchor. Regardless, this show discusses the challenges and opportunities for product managers t…

Episode 16 - Product Management Best Practices in Action: Product management in any company is a work in progress. In this podcast, Steven Haines interviews Mark Lehmann from Watlow Electric where they discuss Watlow's initiatives to fine tune their Product Management organization. Hosted by Steven Haines of Sequent Learning Networks.…

Episode 15 - How To Be a Better Competitor: Steven Haines reports from the road on action steps and strategies to overcome the competition and boost your success in Product Management. Hosted by Steven Haines of Sequent Learning Networks.