Lessons Learned from INDUSTRY Virtual 2024

Earlier this month, we presented our Virtual edition of INDUSTRY: The Product Conference, featuring some of our favorite product leaders worldwide. There were seven great keynote presentations, live Q&As with our speakers, interactive discussions, 1:1 virtual networking, and much more. 

There was a lot to learn from this year’s INDUSTRY Virtual, so we’ve captured the highlights to cover everything discussed.

Embracing Storytelling as a Powerful Design Tool

Petra Wille, author of “STRONG PRODUCT PEOPLE,” showcased the transformative power of storytelling in product management. Her session, “Don’t Convince—Inspire,” resonated deeply, revealing how storytelling is not merely a method of communication but a crucial design tool embedded within the human experience from childhood.

Petra opened her talk with a captivating example: a child’s imaginative plea for winter boots in summer, purely to enhance their role-play as a character from “Frozen.” This seemingly simple story underscored a fundamental insight—storytelling is innate and powerful, capable of profoundly influencing decisions and emotions. This narrative skill, Petra argued, is one that product managers can leverage to inspire, unite, and drive collective action toward shared goals.

She explained how often product teams get caught in the cycle of routine tasks—discovery, development, shipping—without making a significant impact. The root cause? A lack of storytelling. Petra shared a personal anecdote where a coach pointed out that her struggles with a product were due to a failure to connect the customer’s pain with the solution in a narrative that resonated with the team and stakeholders.

To address this, Petra emphasized the importance of viewing storytelling as a design tool that is both easy to use and cost-effective. She outlined the basic structure of effective storytelling in product management: beginning with a challenge, navigating through the process, and concluding with a desirable future state. Using this structure, product managers can craft compelling narratives that align internal teams and engage and convince stakeholders of the value being created.

Petra also touched upon the “hero’s journey,” a narrative framework that product managers can adapt to frame their products as heroes overcoming obstacles to deliver value to customers. She proposed starting with a simple template to structure stories: “We want to [action] to [objective] because if we don’t, then [consequence].”

Furthermore, Petra provided practical tips for product managers to refine their storytelling skills:

1. Diversity in Format: She encouraged creating stories in various formats—written, spoken, and visual—to cater to different organizational audiences. This approach helps ensure that the message resonates across different departments and stakeholders.
2. Iteration and Feedback: Like any good design, stories should be iterated based on feedback. Petra stressed the importance of testing stories within small groups before broader dissemination to refine the narrative and ensure it achieves the desired emotional impact.
3. Authenticity and Relevance: Avoiding buzzwords and focusing on genuine, relatable content is crucial. Stories should not manipulate but rather enlighten and motivate by connecting deeply with real human emotions and needs.

By the end of her session, Petra Wille had convincingly illustrated how integrating storytelling into product management is about conveying information, inspiring action, and fostering a profound connection with teams and customers alike. As she concluded, she encouraged all product managers to embrace storytelling, not as a supplementary skill but as a central element in their strategic toolkit, capable of transforming mundane product features into compelling narratives that drive innovation and success.

Harnessing Emotional Intelligence in Product Management

Kate Leto, an executive coach for product leaders, delivered a compelling session titled “Emotional Intelligence: The Missing Skills in Your Product Stack.” Her presentation dove deep into the often-overlooked soft skills crucial for successful product management, revealing that success in this domain is about much more than technical prowess.

Kate opened her talk with a provocative question: “What really defines success in product management?” Drawing from extensive research, she revealed a surprising statistic: success comprises 85% soft skills and only 15% hard skills. Based on a comprehensive study of over 30,000 graduates, this revelation underscored the critical importance of what Kate referred to as “character knowledge” over mere technical abilities.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is not new, but its application in product management is groundbreaking. Kate explained that EQ encompasses a range of skills, including self-awareness, adaptability, empathy, and conflict resolution. She highlighted that individuals with higher EQ not only perform better but are also known to earn significantly more—up to $29,000 annually.

Focusing on the practical application of EQ in product management, Kate argued that many of the challenges faced by product teams—such as the tension between stakeholders and conflicts during roadmap planning—can be mitigated through the effective use of emotional intelligence. She illustrated this with examples from her coaching experiences, where product managers who honed their EQ skills were better equipped to navigate the complex dynamics of their organizations.

Kate stressed that unlike IQ, which is mainly static, EQ is a dynamic skill set that can be developed over time. She outlined a three-step process for improving one’s EQ:

1. Self-Awareness: Begin with honest self-reflection. Understand your strengths, weaknesses, and emotional triggers.
2. Acceptance: Seek feedback from trusted peers and mentors. Accept and use this feedback to better understand how your behaviors affect others.
3. Improvement: Implement changes based on feedback and continuously assess your progress.

During her session, Kate also discussed the importance of integrating EQ into hiring processes. She noted that while technical skills are often the focus of interviews, incorporating assessments of a candidate’s EQ could lead to better hiring outcomes. Emphasizing the value of EQ in team dynamics, she encouraged leaders to prioritize these skills when building their teams.

In closing, Kate offered a powerful takeaway: the secret to success in product management—and indeed in any leadership role—lies in our ability to connect with, understand, and effectively manage our emotions and those of others around us. She posited this is the true essence of leadership in the modern business world, making emotional intelligence an indispensable skill for any aspiring or established product leader.

Navigating Uncertainty with Adaptive Product Strategy

Nadya Zhexembayeva, founder and Chief Reinvention Officer at Reinvention Academy, delivered a thought-provoking session titled “Adaptive Product Strategy: How to Plan When All Plans Keep Flying Out of the Window.” Her presentation addressed the increasing volatility in the business world and proposed a radical shift in how organizations approach product strategy to stay competitive and resilient.

Nadya began by describing the current business landscape, characterized by rapid changes and unprecedented uncertainty. She noted that traditional strategic planning methods, which tend to assume a stable and predictable environment, need to be updated. To thrive in today’s dynamic market, companies must adopt what she terms an “adaptive product strategy.”

The crux of Nadya’s message was the need for organizations to shift from a Deliberate Strategy framework, which focuses on long-term planning based on predictable outcomes, to an Emergent Strategy framework. This approach is about being agile, responsive, and capable of making quick pivots based on real-time data and changing circumstances. Nadya emphasized that the ability to adapt is now a crucial competitive advantage.

To illustrate her points, Nadya provided compelling statistics: 88% of the Fortune 500 companies from 60 years ago are no longer in business, and projections suggest that 50% of today’s S&P 500 companies will be replaced within the next decade. These figures underscore the harsh reality that no company is immune to the forces of change and disruption.

Nadya proposed three practical “hacks” to help product managers and their teams transition to an Emergent Strategy mindset:

1. Goals in Ranges: Instead of setting fixed targets, define success in ranges. This flexibility allows teams to adapt their goals as they learn and conditions change, reducing pressure and fostering a culture of innovation.
2. Budgets with Flexibility: Encourage experimentation by setting budgets that are not overly restrictive but provide clear guidelines within which teams can operate. This approach promotes creativity while maintaining financial accountability.
3. Short-Cycle Planning: Replace traditional long-term planning with strategic
   planning cycles of 3-6 months. This allows teams to react to changes quickly and stay aligned with the market and consumer needs.

In closing, Nadya stressed the importance of viewing strategy not as a static set of directives but as a living framework that evolves. She challenged the audience to rethink their strategic approaches, advocating for a mindset that embraces change and uncertainty as opportunities for growth and innovation.

Leveraging Emotional Intelligence in Product Leadership

Quincy Olatunde, Vice President of Product at NBCUniversal, delivered an insightful session on “Leveraging Emotional Intelligence in Product Leadership.” Quincy’s presentation illuminated how emotional intelligence (EI) can significantly enhance product leadership, profoundly impacting team dynamics, customer understanding, and stakeholder management.

Quincy started by defining emotional intelligence as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. He emphasized that EI is especially crucial in the context of product management, where leaders must navigate complex cross-functional dynamics and continuously align their efforts with the needs of customers and stakeholders.

Throughout his talk, Quincy illustrated how EI acts as a unique accelerator in a product leader’s career. He shared personal anecdotes and examples from his own experience at NBCUniversal, showing how a deep understanding of EI enabled him to foster better team collaboration, enhance customer-centricity, and manage stakeholder expectations effectively.

One of the core aspects of Quincy’s session was the application of EI in various scenarios encountered by product managers:

• Team Dynamics: Quincy explained how EI can help product leaders enhance team collaboration and performance. Leaders can create a more positive and productive work environment by understanding and managing their emotions. This is particularly vital in cross-functional teams where diverse perspectives and potential conflicts can hinder or enrich product development.
• Customer Understanding: Another critical application of EI is understanding and meeting customer needs. Quincy emphasized that empathy allows product managers to step into their customers’ shoes and deeply understand their experiences and pain points, which informs better product decisions and innovations.
• Stakeholder Management: Effective stakeholder management is crucial for securing buy-in and resources for product initiatives. Quincy detailed how EI enables product leaders to navigate organizational politics and align diverse groups with the product vision and goals, thus ensuring project success.

Quincy also highlighted several key EI components that are particularly beneficial for product leaders:

• Self-Awareness: Understanding one’s emotional triggers and how they affect behavior and decisions.
• Self-Regulation: The ability to control emotions and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Motivation: Utilizing emotional factors to pursue goals with energy and persistence.
• Empathy: Recognizing, understanding, and considering other people’s feelings, especially when making decisions.
• Social Skills: Managing relationships to move people in desired directions, whether leading change, building consensus, or persuading others.

Toward the end of his presentation, Quincy provided practical tips for product leaders looking to develop their EI skills. He suggested regular self-reflection, seeking feedback from peers and mentors, and consciously practicing emotional awareness in daily interactions. He also advocated for training programs that focus on developing these soft skills alongside the hard skills typically emphasized in product management roles.

Quincy’s core takeaway: By integrating EI practices into their professional routines, product leaders can improve their leadership effectiveness and drive their teams and products toward greater success.

Navigating the Challenges of a First-Time Head of Product

Gabrielle Bufrem, product leadership coach and advisor, shared her experiences and insights in her session titled “Confessions of a First Head of Product.” Gabrielle’s presentation revolved around the key lessons she learned when she took on her role as the first head of product at a tech company, emphasizing the unique challenges and opportunities of such a position.

Gabrielle began by outlining the context of her entry into the role, emphasizing that stepping into a newly created position often means navigating uncharted waters. She highlighted that on her first day, she faced many broken processes and systems. However, she quickly pointed out that this apparent disarray is not only typical but also an opportunity—it’s precisely why a company brings in a head of product: to fix what’s broken and guide the product to new heights.

She then talked through the eight critical lessons she learned, which provided the framework for her talk:

1. Accepting Brokenness: Gabrielle emphasized that finding things in disarray is normal. The key is to be calm and to see this as an opportunity to make impactful changes.
2. Educating on Role Clarity: She faced challenges in defining the role of a head of product to others in the company. Educating her colleagues about her responsibilities and how her role would integrate with existing teams was crucial.
3. Managing Control Dynamics: Transitioning into a role where previously others had control can create tension. Gabrielle shared how important it is to navigate these dynamics delicately and ensure everyone feels valued.
4. Prioritizing Customer Engagement: She stressed that the best onboarding process involves direct interaction with customers to understand their needs and the market landscape truly.
5. Weighing Your Words: As a head of product, your words carry weight and can be seen as directives. It’s vital to communicate clearly and ensure that your team understands the context of your statements.
6. Building for Now: Particularly in a startup, it’s important to focus on immediate and practical solutions rather than perfect ones. This approach helps maintain momentum and deliver value quickly.
7. Balancing Scrappiness with Process: Gabrielle discussed the challenge of instilling processes without stifling the scrappy, entrepreneurial spirit that often drives startups.
8. Decision-Making Under Pressure: She concluded with insights on making strategic decisions under pressure, emphasizing that only some decisions have the same weight and should only be rushed if necessary.

Gabrielle’s session candidly examined the highs and lows of being a first-time head of product. Her honest reflections and practical advice provided a roadmap for others to follow, emphasizing resilience, continuous learning, and the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership.

Managing AI Products: Lessons from the Frontier

Zane Van Dusen, Global Head of Risk & Investment Analytics Products at Bloomberg, shared his deep insights in a session titled “Managing Products with a Mind of Their Own: Lessons Learned from Managing AI Products”. His talk highlighted the unique challenges and strategies involved in overseeing AI-driven products, a field that requires a distinct shift in mindset from traditional product management.

Zane began by outlining the landscape of AI product management, which differs significantly from managing conventional software products. He emphasized that AI products are inherently unpredictable due to their ability to learn and adapt independently. This unpredictability requires product managers to adopt a new role—that of a mentor, coach, or even a parent to their AI products, guiding them rather than controlling them.

Drawing from his decade-long experience at Bloomberg, Zane shared several guiding principles for AI product managers:

1. Adopt a Mentor Mindset: Zane stressed the importance of guiding AI products through their lifecycle, helping them learn from real-world data and interactions without imposing hard constraints that stifle their potential.
2. Understand Where AI Adds Value: He highlighted the necessity of identifying the right problems for AI to tackle. AI is not a one-size-fits-all solution and works best when applied to tasks that benefit from its unique capabilities, such as pattern recognition, prediction, and personalization.
3. Focus on Data Quality Over Model Complexity: Zane pointed out that the success of AI products often hinges more on the quality and relevance of the data they are trained on than on the algorithms’ complexity.
4. Narrative is Crucial: He noted that the ‘right’ answer in AI isn’t always the one that satisfies statistical criteria but rather the one that best serves the user’s needs, which requires building stories around the data.
5. Empathy Towards the Machine: Understanding how an AI product ‘thinks’ and ‘feels’ can lead to better design decisions, making it crucial for product managers to empathize with their AI systems.

Zane shared anecdotes of challenges faced by his team, such as dealing with AI models that performed unexpectedly either due to unseen data or changes in external variables. These stories illustrated the necessity of maintaining a flexible and responsive approach to AI product management.

One of the central themes of Zane’s presentation was the concept of “learning to lose control.” He elaborated that unlike traditional products, where features and behaviors are tightly specified and controlled, AI products require a looser grip, allowing the AI to explore and learn within defined boundaries. This approach fosters innovation and aligns with the inherent nature of AI systems.

Furthermore, Zane discussed the importance of building a team equipped to handle AI challenges. He emphasized looking for team members who are not just technically skilled but also curious, adaptable, and capable of thinking from the perspective of both the data and the end-user.

Zane’s session underscored the importance of adaptability, a deep understanding of AI capabilities, and the right team dynamics to successfully manage products that can, quite literally, think for themselves.

Overcoming the Five Deadly Sins of Strategy

Product Leader Adam Thomas discussed “Overcoming the Five Deadly Sins of Strategy.” Adam explored the pitfalls that often undermine strategic initiatives within organizations, providing clear insights and actionable advice on avoiding these common errors and crafting more effective strategies.

Adam began by asserting that while many teams believe they have a strategy, they often possess poorly designed plans that fail to inspire action or align efforts. He emphasized that an effective strategy is not just a plan but a cohesive set of actions designed to tackle significant problems. According to Adam, so many strategies fail due to what he terms the “Five Deadly Sins of Strategy,” which are hiddenness, ambiguity, untrustworthiness, selfishness, and staleness.

1. Hiddenness: Adam highlighted that many strategies fail because they are not visible or understood by those expected to implement them. Strategies often reside in the minds of executives or within rarely-read documents. To combat this, Adam advised ensuring that strategies are transparent and continuously communicated across all levels of the organization. 
2. Ambiguity: This stems from a lack of clarity about what the strategy aims to achieve and who it is for. Adam stressed the importance of defining clear, actionable goals and communicating them so everyone involved can understand and embrace them. 
3. Untrustworthiness: This sin deals with skepticism towards the strategy, often due to past failures or a lack of clarity about decision-making processes. Adam recommended building trust by aligning strategies with organizational values and demonstrating commitment through consistent actions and open communication. 
4. Selfishness: Strategies that disproportionately benefit certain departments or individuals can lead to internal conflict and reduced cooperation. Adam urged leaders to develop strategies collaboratively, ensuring that they deliver widespread benefits and foster an inclusive environment. 
5. Staleness: Strategies that do not adapt to changing external conditions or internal feedback can cause staleness. Adam argued for regularly revisiting and revising strategies to keep them relevant and responsive to new information and trends.

Throughout his presentation, Adam used a mix of theoretical frameworks and real-world examples to illustrate how these sins manifest in business settings and how they can be addressed. For instance, he suggested regular strategy refresh sessions and open forums where team members can ask questions and provide feedback to address hiddenness. He also recommended using storytelling techniques to connect strategic objectives to everyday actions and decisions to combat ambiguity.

Adam’s session concluded with a strong call to action for leaders and individual contributors alike to be vigilant against these sins and actively work on creating dynamic, transparent, and inclusive strategies. By focusing on these critical areas, Adam Thomas provided a roadmap for overcoming common strategic pitfalls, aiming to enhance the effectiveness of strategic planning and execution across diverse organizational landscapes.