The Product Porch

By: Ryan Cantwell Todd Blaquiere Joe Ghali
  • Summary

  • On The Product Porch, every topic is a product topic. Dive into casual conversations on product management and career growth, woven with pop culture and real-life insights. Each episode offers actionable takeaways as the hosts tackle pressing questions and challenges in the product field. Settle in with Joe Ghali, Ryan Cantwell, and Todd Blaquiere!
    2024 The Product Porch
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Episodes
  • Clarifying Unclear Product Manager Requests
    Nov 12 2024

    1:42 - Meet Jeff and his big question for product managers: "How can we ensure we have the right understanding from our leaders?"

    4:30 - Ryan emphasizes the importance of focusing on outcomes over outputs to clarify product manager responsibilities.

    7:35 - Todd jokes about where their "outputs over outcomes" tattoo should go.

    9:20 - Ryan urges product managers to seek clarity when they don’t understand the "why" behind a request.

    10:30 - Todd shares a story from his LA Times days on asking for clarification from his boss.

    15:12 - The group discusses how product managers can overcomplicate unclear requests.

    16:00 - Joe suggests playing the "New Guy" card when in doubt.

    19:00 - The team highlights that asking questions is a strength for a product manager, not a weakness.

    23:35 - Ryan poses the question: Is there ever a time when product managers shouldn't ask for clarification?

    24:28 - Joe shares a story about when he had to "bite his tongue" as a product manager.

    26:30 - Todd adds that timing is everything; knowing when to ask is part of the product manager job.

    30:00 - Joe discusses the role evolution from order-taker to partner for a product manager.

    33:26 - Todd revisits Jeff’s story to highlight the importance of avoiding wasted time and resources on misaligned products.

    34:30 - Joe shares a product manager tip: develop internal personas to better manage stakeholders and understand their goals.

    35:20 - A lightning round on common requests that product managers initially misunderstood.

    36:40 - The infamous "JIRA-slinging ticket monkey" term makes an appearance. Shoutout to Dean Peters!

    38:46 - Key takeaways (and some friendly teasing of Joe for his wording choices).

    Help keep the Product Porch lights on by giving at Patreon.com/TheProductPorch.

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    41 mins
  • Understanding Your PM Spikes
    Oct 29 2024

    Episode Description

    1:00- Meet Nils Davis

    2:47- Nils reminds us that Product Managers are really “Unicorns” in the workforce

    7:00- Nils shares his favorite phrase as a Product Manager “Your obvious is your art”

    8:47- Nils shares the pros/cons of understanding your “spike”

    10:03- We discuss how it's difficult to share our superpower with the people that surround us

    12:08- Nils shares the different ways we can discover our PM spike/superpower

    15:45- Todd shares the struggle with asking for feedback to identify your PM spike/superpower

    17:52- Nils shares one of his PM spikes

    20:15- Todd shares the PM spike he wishes he had

    22:12- Todd compares Joe’s PM spike to that of a Golden Retriever

    25:20- A new word is introduced to the Product Porch- “Pragmatic Empathy”

    28:15- Todd asks the question of whether or not the PM role has a unique set of capabilities

    33:19- We review the stable of “Product” Unicorns-

    36:19- Todd reminds us why he’s against Annual Performance Reviews and not a coder 🙂

    39:10- We wrap up with our advice for the PM community struggling to find their “spike” (Nils-leverage Clifton Strengths Finder assessment)- people are the stars of their own movies

    40:18- Todd- Don’t feel guilty for your spike. Find that thing that you love and lean into it

    41:30- Joe- Be genuine and true to yourself (not as profound as Todd/Nils)

    42:00- Nils ends with a very profound thought- “Product Managers are amazing creatures, yet you would never know it from reading their resume”

    Help keep the Product Porch lights on by giving at Patreon.com/TheProductPorch.

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    44 mins
  • Executing Product Solutions
    Oct 15 2024

    2:15 What are the Product Management trends everyone is talking about

    4:30- Todd asks the question: Are we focusing on the problem at the expense of the solution?

    7:00- Joe explains why he believes we have over-indexed on some of the common PM themes

    10:05- We are getting paid to deliver- reality check for all PMs

    11:45- Ryan tells how this is a struggle for Type A personalities

    13:16- Todd walks us through his approach to move to execution (from high-level concepts to delivery)

    14:21- Joe’s shares an unpopular opinion about SAFe and its value for Product Leaders

    16:08- Todd shares how he uses Ryan and Joe for some very specific product needs- team bonding moment

    18:45 Todd admits that SAFe quarterly planning is awesome. Joe and Todd have a moment

    22:54- What is the Product Managers Role in Solutioning? Ryan shared his POV

    27:12- Todd shares a current situation on what to do with competing perspectives on proposed solutions-

    29:09- You need to have confidence and conviction- Ryan Cantwell- this is what a PM needs to do

    30:30- Sometimes you just make calculated risks as Product Managers- we discuss as a team

    35:03- Todd kicks off a Job title game- problem or solution. Grab your popcorn!

    39:01- Todd shares why he loves “defining the problem”

    41:04- Key Takeaways-

    Help keep the Product Porch lights on by giving at Patreon.com/TheProductPorch.

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    45 mins

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