Product Chats Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Applying the Pragmatic Framework to Internal Product Management Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

“If you look at the pragmatic framework, most of this applies to an internal product manager, just a different mindset, who you're targeting, and perhaps your approach to getting the information you need.” - Cindy Cruzado In this episode, our hosts Rebecca Kalogeris and Pragmatic Instructor Cindy Cruzado delve deep into the nuances of applying the Pragmatic Framework to internal product management. Titles are a mess when it comes to internal product management, but Cindy explains, “A product is a solution that you’re offering to many customers.” For many internal product teams, they might be product managers, project managers, operations, etc., but the work is the same. They discuss:

The myths of internal product management
The difference between internal and external product management
How leaders can empower internal product managers

Are You An Internal Product Manager? Foundations Can Help You Elevate Your Strategy. You’ll learn how to master the Pragmatic Framework, identify new opportunities, and develop criteria to determine if a problem is worth solving. Learn More & Enroll

Why Knowing When to End a Product is as Important as Knowing When to Begin Sep 15, 2023

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“We have to introduce a product with the idea that it's not going to live forever” - Paul Young In today's episode, host Rebecca Kalogeris and Pragmatic instructor, Paul Young, dive deep into a topic that often gets overshadowed by the glitz of product launches: the "sunset" or "end-of-life" phase of a product. They explore how understanding when to retire a product is as vital as knowing when to introduce one. Paul explains that every product has a lifecycle and will eventually need to be phased out. The speed of innovation in the technology industry is compressing these lifecycles, making it more critical than ever to have a plan for sunsetting products. There is no one-size-fits-all indicator for when to sunset a product, but Paul suggests several metrics to monitor. These can range from revenue and cash flow to the efficiencies a product creates or its alignment with a company's mission. Key Conversations:

Sunsetting a product is not passive; it requires investment and must be prioritized against other business activities.
Just like a product launch process, there must be a process for its end-of-life.
Metrics to monitor to know when sunsetting is the best next step.
End-of-life phases: "end of sale," "end of support," and "end of life.”

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If today's podcast on understanding when to 'sunset' or 'end-of-life' a product resonated with you, then it's time to go deeper. Pragmatic Institute's Foundations course is designed to make you a market-driven expert. What You'll Learn:

How to uncover strategic opportunities in your market.
Ways to define your product team roles and responsibilities effectively.
How to prioritize actual vs. desired business goals.
Techniques to engage with the market for win/loss analysis.
Understanding buyer and user personas for a human-centered approach.

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A New Way of Thinking About Market Segmentation Sep 08, 2023

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“At best, you can be slightly better than your competitor if you're using the same exact tools and data to segmentize your audience,” Rod Griffith You likely know the power of segmentation, but many organizations really get stuck in the “how” of segmentation. Join host Rebecca Kalogeris and industry veterans Neil Baron and Rod Griffith as they discuss rethinking market segmentation strategies. During this episode, they discuss:

Why identifying a prospect urgency is a powerful approach to segmentation
The four levels of urgency: urgent, non-urgent, currently met, and none
The role of core competencies when prioritizing segments
What whales & fire extinguishers can teach us about segmentation

Read Rod & Niel’s Latest Articles: Let the Urgency of Your Customers’ Needs Guide Your Sales Strategy
Is Your Product Channel Ready? Enroll in Our Product Marketing Course to Learn More About Segmentation
In Pragmatic’s Market course, you’ll gain a thorough understanding of your buyers and how they like to buy so you can build the product marketing strategies that deliver results. And Align across go-to-market teams by effectively sharing and leveraging your buyer knowledge to prioritize the right product marketing strategies. Learn More

PMC VIII Certified: How Completing Pragmatic Product Courses can Elevate Your Career Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

Steve Goodyear, the founder of Realizer Services, is the first person to earn a PMC VIII certification.

Rebecca Kalogeris, VP of marketing for Pragmatic Institute, and Steve discuss the variety of courses offered through Pragmatic Institute, and how each plays a role in elevating the work he does at his company.

They discuss

How the courses help Steve answer the question: "How do I turn professional services into more of a product."
His lessons from the Design course
How he uses the Pragmatic Alumni Community to build his network and talk through ideas.

Additional Resources

Foundations on Demand

Begin your product training experience with the course Foundations. Even better, this course is both live and on-demand. You’ll also gain your membership to the growing and active Pragmatic Alumni Community.

Course Overview:

Understand the market and the problems it faces
Use market knowledge to build and sell products people want to buy
Master the Pragmatic Framework and the activities needed to bring a successful product to market
Learn to listen to the market, prioritize projects and drive result

Learn More

Generative AI as a Collaborative Partner for Product Professionals: A Conversation with Will Scott Aug 25, 2023

Show notes

“I know it's going to change our jobs — the speed of innovation, both for product management and product marketing, is going to be accelerated. In a world where technology constantly evolves, integrating AI into product management and marketing is no longer a futuristic idea but a present reality." Join host Rebecca Kalogeris and Pragmatic Instructor Will Scott in this episode as they discuss the transformative impact of generative AI tools like ChatGPT on product management and marketing. During this episode, they explore:

Generative AI as a Collaborative Partner: The role of AI as a remarkable technology that assists in positioning, persona development, problem identification, and marketing language.
AI and Human Balance: A discussion on the differentiation and value addition through human expertise in the AI-driven content era.
Future Potential: The acceleration of innovation in product management and marketing and the potential risks and cautions.
Prompt Engineering: How generative AI aids in structuring questions, experimenting, and increasing efficacy in discovery processes.
Prompt Engineering and Discovery Process: Exploring how generative AI aids in structuring questions, experimenting, and increasing efficacy in discovery processes.
Workshop Highlights: An overview of AI for Product Professionals, a hands-on training workshop focusing on mastering ChatGPT and prompt engineering.

Unlock the Power of Generative AI in Your Product Lifecycle – Join the Workshop Today! Are you ready to dive into the world of generative AI and master the art of prompt engineering? Pragmatic Institute’s newest hands-on training, AI for Product Professionals: A Comprehensive Workshop on ChatGPT and Prompt Engineering, will transform your approach to product management. What you’ll gain in this course:

An understanding of AI and its capabilities and limitations.
Strategies to streamline workflows
Advance prompt engineering tactics to apply in practical scenarios

Learn More & Enroll

The Evolution of Pragmatic and Product: A Reflective Conversation with Rebecca Kalogeris Aug 18, 2023

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"What continues to be the biggest struggle for product people is the amount of time spent on the day-to-day that does not enable them to spend the time on the strategy… Unfortunately, we are just often bogged down by the tyranny of the urgent," - Rebecca Kalogeris Join host Charles Topping in this reflective episode as he talks to Rebecca Kalogeris, the former Vice President of Product at Pragmatic Institute (and the current Product Chat Podcast host). Rebecca shares her unique insights into the world of product management and Pragmatic Institute's evolution. During this episode, they explore:

Pragmatic's Legacy: The transformation from a small visionary idea into a global institution, driven by consistency, passion, and deep knowledge of a market problem.
Challenges in Product Management: The ongoing struggle to balance daily operations with strategic thinking and the consistent issue known as the "tyranny of the urgent."
Reflections on Career and Industry: From the rise of agile and SaaS to personal career decisions, reflections on changes, growth, and the intersection of product and brand.
Pragmatic's Alumni Connection: The powerful alumni base makes Pragmatic's community unique and engaging.
The Art of Writing: Rebecca's journey as a head copywriter, the secret to good copy, and the joy of crafting precise positioning statements.

Unlock Your Product Potential with Pragmatic Institute's Courses With a history of shaping product professionals and fostering team alignment through consistent training, Pragmatic Institute offers a suite of courses and an ecosystem of resources to elevate your product management skills. Dive into market-driven decision-making, value-based pricing, and more. Learn from an institution is passionately committed to product excellence. Learn More

Let’s Talk Pricing Fences: A Chat with Mark Stiving, the Pricing Pro Aug 11, 2023

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“Pricing fences are the implementation methodology around how we do price segmentation,” Mark Stiving In this episode of Pragmatic Product Chat, host Rebecca Kalogeris and pricing expert Mark Stiving, founder of Impact Pricing, explore the multifaceted concept of pricing fences. Together, they delve into the importance, practical application, and nuances of pricing fences. Key Takeaways:

Understand the role of pricing fences in implementing price segmentation
Learn how pricing fences can be applied in different scenarios
Discover the underlying principles, various methodologies, and real-world applications

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Ready to dive deeper into pricing strategies? Pragmatic's Pricing Course (PRICE) offers hands-on lessons in value-based pricing, subscription models, market differentiation, and more. In just 7.5 hours, you'll gain the skills to align pricing with your corporate strategy, optimize revenue, and outpace the competition. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the experts. Learn more and enroll today!

AI for Product Innovation: Promise and Pitfalls Aug 04, 2023

Show notes

"You do not just want to copy and paste what you're taking out of AI and use it as the final product” - Dan Corbin In this Product Chat, host Rebecca Kalogeris sits down with Pragmatic Institute Instructor Dan Corbin for an in-depth look at how AI can transform product management and design. Dan explains how AI tools like QoQo, Kraftful and ChatGPT can help accelerate early-stage product processes like building provisional personas and ideating features. However, he cautions that human oversight is critical to validate AI outputs for inaccuracies. Key insights:

AI can synthesize data and automate repetitive tasks, but isn't a replacement for user research or specialists.
Use AI to collaborate with cross-functional partners, not circumvent them.
Balance the opportunities of AI with thoughtful human validation to boost innovation while ensuring quality.

Learn How to Apply AI in Your Product Strategies In Pragmatic’s intensive 1-day workshop, AI for Product Professionals, you’ll develop a comprehensive understanding of generative AI and how to apply it for product advantage. Learn more and enroll

Transform Your Product Strategy with AI Jul 28, 2023

Show notes

“When you're using AI, it's not magic. It's a tool. Ultimately you are still in charge, and you are still responsible and accountable for what's being produced,” - Jasmine de Gaia In this Product Chat, we sit down with Jasmine de Gaia, Head of Customer Data Strategy at Wells Fargo, for an in-depth look at how AI revolutionizes product strategy and development. Jasmine shares tangible examples of how organizations can utilize AI to increase margins, reach new markets, enhance existing products, and develop new transformative offerings. In this fireside chat, she discusses:

How AI influences the way product executives and C-suite leaders think about product strategy and new product development
The pros and cons of using a trained model versus public models
How to stay a step ahead in AI

Learn How to Use AI in Your Product Strategies
In this intensive 1-day session taught by industry experts Nils Janse and Will Scott, you'll develop a comprehensive understanding of generative AI and how to apply it for product innovation and strategic advantage. Through hands-on exercises and real-world examples, you'll learn proven techniques for prompt engineering to drive meaningful outcomes. Learn More & Enroll (But hurry, seats are limited)

Stop Using These Phrases Today Jul 21, 2023

Show notes

I think elevator music exists for a reason, but isn't really what you should strive for” - Kirsten Butzow What do the phrases “thinking outside the box,” “give 110%,” and “new normal” have in common? Answer: They. Mean. Nothing.We’ve overused these phrases so much that they, at best, mean nothing and, at worst, harm your messaging.
In this episode, our host, Rebecca Kalogeris, interviews Kirsten Butzow, Senior Vice President at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, about the problems these phrases cause and why we should stop using them. They discuss:

What to say instead of common corporate jargon
Why corporate speak drifts out to the marketplace
Why you shouldn’t work 110%

Want to Improve Your Efficiency as a Product Manager? Enroll in Foundations
Our battle-tested framework helps product professionals learn how to listen to the market, prioritize projects and drive results. Take your first step to becoming truly market-driven by enrolling today.

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