Best of LinkedIn: Digital Products & Services CW 34/ 35

00:00:00: Provided by Thomas Allgaier and Frennis, based on the most relevant posts on LinkedIn about digital products and services in CW three, four, three to five.

00:00:08: Frennis is a B to B market research company working with enterprises to optimize their campaigns with account and executive insights far beyond AI.

00:00:17: Welcome to the deep dive.

00:00:19: This time, we're plunging into the top digital products and services trends, the ones really making ways across LinkedIn and Calendar Weeks, thirty-four and thirty-five.

00:00:27: You'll hear directly from some of the sharpest minds shaping the future of tech.

00:00:31: It's a really compelling collection, I think, packed with actionable insights for anyone in the ICT and tech industry, really.

00:00:37: We'll be unpacking how AI is genuinely transforming product development, the strategic rise of product operations, and the evolving art of continuous customer discovery.

00:00:46: Exactly.

00:00:47: Consider this your express range to being exceptionally well-informed on some, well, pretty crucial shifts.

00:00:55: Let's just jump right in.

00:00:57: First up, let's unpack how AI is truly changing digital products, moving beyond the buzzwords and more into practical execution.

00:01:05: It's fascinating how teams are finally sort of closing that gap between the big business ideas and what the technology can actually deliver.

00:01:13: Yeah, what's particularly striking here is the focus on precision.

00:01:16: You had Annie Wang, for instance, talking about translating business problems into actionable product requirements.

00:01:22: This problem-first translation is such a critical bridge.

00:01:26: It helps prevent those technically brilliant AI projects from becoming, well, commercially irrelevant.

00:01:30: It sounds fundamental, doesn't it?

00:01:32: But it's often overlooked.

00:01:34: I can definitely see that, yeah.

00:01:35: And it connects perfectly with what Remy Tekhang was saying.

00:01:37: He echoed this idea that AI should really be a tool for solving real problems, not just something we add for show, you know, it's about delivering genuine value, not just what some people are calling AI washing.

00:01:48: Right, slapping AI onto something without a true purpose.

00:01:51: Absolutely.

00:01:52: And sometimes, you know, the best AI strategy is actually not to use AI at all.

00:01:56: Basik Gupka shared this kind of counterintuitive truth, the most overlooked skill in AI product development, knowing when to ignore the AI completely.

00:02:04: She highlighted cases where simple solutions, maybe like basic thresholds or just clearer file names, solve problems much faster.

00:02:11: and cheaper than these complex machine learning pipelines.

00:02:14: That's

00:02:14: such a powerful point.

00:02:15: Start simple.

00:02:16: Stay simple.

00:02:18: Only add AI when nothing else works.

00:02:21: I know I've definitely been guilty sometimes of jumping straight to the fancy AI solution when maybe a simple spreadsheet would have done the trick.

00:02:28: It reminds me of Emma Kelly's insight, too, that product development needs to focus on current working functionality, not just hoping future AI models will magically be better.

00:02:37: Hope is not a strategy, she puts it.

00:02:39: Right.

00:02:40: Hope is not a strategy.

00:02:41: And as AI matures, it's not just about what to build anymore, but also how product managers themselves work.

00:02:47: Amy Mitchell pointed out that AI is becoming more like an augmentation for PMs.

00:02:52: It frees them up to focus on the strategic decisions, the risk assessment, ethical reasoning, instead of getting bogged down in repetitive processes.

00:03:00: And

00:03:00: we're already seeing this in action, aren't we?

00:03:02: Lizzie Maga shared how tools like GPT-V, this highly advanced AI model, are revolutionizing product management workflows.

00:03:09: I mean, think about user research without hundreds of interviews just by analyzing thousands of reviews or automating product tasks like generating change logs, release notes, in minutes, even UX tests can apparently be simulated with surprising accuracy.

00:03:24: That's

00:03:24: huge for efficiency.

00:03:25: Christof Bodenstein noted this too.

00:03:27: He sees these AI tools transforming the PM role, really enabling more focus on creativity, problem discovery, and just being customer obsessed without the usual overhead, and frankly, the risk of burnout.

00:03:36: The idea is really to empower PMs to be more human, not less.

00:03:40: Okay, so while AI brings this incredible efficiency, this powerful new capability isn't without its own set of, well, fascinating and often complex challenges, is it?

00:03:51: Indeed, not at all.

00:03:52: Building AI products means you're confronting these real-world issues, like... Context windows, you know the limited info and AI can process at once or model drift where its performance degrades over time as real-world data changes.

00:04:05: Then there's latency the response speed and of course compliance making sure it adheres to all the legal and ethical standards.

00:04:11: Jose Garcia really emphasized that mastering AI comes from actually building and shipping not just reading about prompts online.

00:04:18: because that's when you face these fundamental design constraints head-on

00:04:22: and beyond the purely technical side user trust becomes absolutely paramount.

00:04:27: Tomas Riegos underscored that trust isn't just important.

00:04:29: It's, well, it's everything in AI product management.

00:04:31: He cited examples like Cursor, Claude, NaN.

00:04:34: Their sudden pricing shifts apparently led to a full-blown trust crisis.

00:04:38: Yeah, those were rough.

00:04:39: He outlines building trust through, you know, transparent pricing, consistent communication, user-centric roadmaps, reliable support.

00:04:48: It's not just about the tech anymore.

00:04:49: It's the new rules of engagement.

00:04:51: Exactly.

00:04:51: And those examples Riegos used, they really highlight why trust is uniquely paramount for AI.

00:04:57: Unlike traditional software, AI's inherent sort of unpredictability and its black box nature mean users are already a bit on edge about control and their data.

00:05:07: So a sudden pricing shift isn't just a business decision, it shatters that fragile confidence built around these systems.

00:05:13: It underscores that for AI, every user interaction is a trust signal.

00:05:18: That's a great point.

00:05:19: So unlike a traditional calculator that always gives two plus two cool for an AI might give slightly different answers over time, right?

00:05:26: Lenny Rachitsky pointed this out that AI products are inherently non deterministic.

00:05:30: You can't build them like traditional software.

00:05:32: This unpredictability means we need something different, like a continuous calibration, continuous development or CCCD framework, constantly adjusting, constantly refining rather than just a fixed build and maintain model.

00:05:43: That's a fundamental shift, wouldn't you say?

00:05:45: Absolutely.

00:05:46: A huge shift.

00:05:47: And it's probably why many AI products fail to deliver real business value, as Niels Humbeck and Diebekaya explored.

00:05:53: Often it's down to unrealistic expectations and just hitting these hurdles.

00:05:58: Aldenitam also highlighted scalability and compliance is crucial for successful AI product adoption, not just the initial launch.

00:06:06: Getting it out there is one thing, making it stick is another.

00:06:08: Right.

00:06:09: This certainly adds another layer of complexity for product managers then.

00:06:12: Sabrina Gomez shared that a new discovery skill for PMs in this AI era isn't just validating customer problems, but also validating beta context.

00:06:22: which means ensuring models behave correctly, honor privacy, avoid bias.

00:06:27: That's a significant ethical consideration baked right into product design now.

00:06:31: A critical point, definitely.

00:06:32: We also saw George Harris raising an important question about responsible design, specifically in digital health.

00:06:37: He was urging product leaders to dial up honest communication of limitations.

00:06:42: Avoid overselling health capabilities when consumer products start to look and feel like medical devices.

00:06:47: It's about setting realistic expectations, building integrity.

00:06:50: Okay, but looking at the sheer opportunities though, Raj Goodman and And noted that AI is a powerful accelerator for rapid prototyping, helping teams test, fail, refine ideas without burning months of budget.

00:07:03: That speed to market potential is incredible.

00:07:06: It really is.

00:07:07: And for those looking at the bigger picture, a Fannie Sars sees these AI-powered digital products as a potentially lucrative and accessible online business opportunity.

00:07:15: come twenty twenty five signaling maybe a new frontier for entrepreneurship.

00:07:20: Interesting.

00:07:20: And if you're looking to dive even deeper into this, Diego Granados is launching the AI product playbook.

00:07:26: It's a book specifically for non-technical professionals navigating AI product management.

00:07:31: Sounds like a valuable resource.

00:07:32: Definitely sounds useful.

00:07:33: Okay, let's

00:07:34: pivot a bit.

00:07:34: Let's talk about a fascinating aspect of product development that's really stepping into a strategic role now.

00:07:39: Product operations or product ops.

00:07:41: It sounds like the sort of behind the scenes magic sometimes.

00:07:45: It

00:07:45: absolutely can be.

00:07:46: Andrea Cooper expressed it perfectly, I thought.

00:07:49: Product ops is there to, quote, keep the focus on outcomes.

00:07:53: Better products, happier teams, faster execution, rather than the mechanics of how you'll get there.

00:07:59: Michelle Hauser echoed this too, emphasizing that product ops ensure strategic alignment and basically transforms chaos into clarity.

00:08:07: It's about optimizing that entire product value chain.

00:08:10: Okay, so if product ops is delivering such clear value, how do we actually measure that impact?

00:08:16: What does success look like?

00:08:17: Is it just things running smoother?

00:08:18: Well, it's more concrete than that, actually.

00:08:20: Hugo Froze highlighted that product ops leaders emphasize measuring ROI through efficiency gains, business outcomes, and customer impact.

00:08:28: Graham Reed even developed a time-saving framework showing how a product ops salary can literally pay for itself through efficiency alone.

00:08:35: And Chris Compton's stress is focusing firmly on those business outcomes.

00:08:38: So it's not just about tidying up, it's about measurable results.

00:08:41: That sounds like an obvious win, then.

00:08:44: Which raises the question.

00:08:45: Why aren't more companies prioritizing this?

00:08:48: Shraddhi Kaleppu and Amalta Schultz both observed this significant product ops gap where product managers are just bogged down by operational tasks.

00:08:58: It hinders their strategic focus, leads to burnout risks, they're spending more time operationalizing strategy than actually driving it.

00:09:05: It's a huge challenge and often frustrating for everyone involved, I think.

00:09:08: Amalta Schultz offered a simple starting point though.

00:09:12: Find an existing PM who shows an interest in product ops, promote them to maybe a part-time role initially, and just test the results.

00:09:20: Use pretty confident guarantees.

00:09:21: Actually, it will make life easier almost immediately.

00:09:24: That product ops gap really sounds like a silent killer of strategic initiatives, doesn't it?

00:09:28: Yeah.

00:09:28: Well, Malta Schultz offers that practical starting point, what's often?

00:09:31: the deep-seated cultural resistance.

00:09:34: Why don't companies address this obvious problem sooner?

00:09:37: Yeah, that's a good question.

00:09:38: Often, I think it's just a lack of understanding of product ops's true strategic value, or maybe just ingrained habits.

00:09:44: We've always done it this way.

00:09:46: But Khalid Daoud argued forcefully for moving from project-based thinking to product-centric operating models.

00:09:54: He called it a strategic imperative for sustained market leadership and value creation.

00:10:00: He points to companies like Adobe and Netflix as examples that succeeded by making this fundamental shift, really highlighting the long-term benefit of embracing product ops.

00:10:09: Right.

00:10:09: And that's essential because, as Stephanie Liu puts it so well, product strategy doesn't fail because the vision is wrong.

00:10:16: It fails because of everything around the vision.

00:10:18: You know, the bugs, the tech debt, the sudden pivots, compliance surprises.

00:10:22: She calls this her strategy iceberg.

00:10:24: Product ops helps manage all that hidden weight, allowing the strategy to actually surface and succeed.

00:10:29: I love that iceberg analogy.

00:10:31: Martin Frubert used another vivid metaphor for this dynamic environment.

00:10:35: Building digital products is like building a bobsled track while your team is already racing down it.

00:10:40: It's all about navigating that uncertainty and delivering value, no matter how fast the track changes.

00:10:46: And ProductOps is kind of like the team helping keep that track maintained and safe.

00:10:50: So given all this, this constant motion in the icebergs, what does a successful product organization actually look like?

00:10:59: amidst all this.

00:11:00: Ed Biden offered a helpful checklist, actually.

00:11:02: He emphasized things like clear goals, well-defined roles, strong leadership, a really deep understanding of the problem space, and, crucially, effective communication across squads, tribes, the whole organization.

00:11:14: It's about more than just individual talent.

00:11:16: It's about building a cohesive ecosystem where product ops can thrive.

00:11:19: Okay, great.

00:11:20: Let's talk about the bedrock now.

00:11:21: The foundation of good product development, truly understanding your customer.

00:11:24: It seems like this topic never gets old and it's always evolving.

00:11:27: It

00:11:27: really doesn't.

00:11:28: And discovery is so much more than just, you know, a research phase you do at the beginning.

00:11:32: Thomas Bowles and Chantal Botana both emphasize that it's fundamentally about testing your assumptions, using small, rapid experiments to reduce the risk of building the wrong thing.

00:11:43: Chantal even used this great example from a podiatrist's waiting room just to show it applies everywhere, not just in software.

00:11:49: It's a universal problem-solving mindset, really.

00:11:53: That's such a fantastic real-world analogy.

00:11:55: And Paul Hearn reinforced this.

00:11:57: product discovery is the number one area, even for an AIPM.

00:12:00: His point, cool tech and fast delivery are basically worthless if you're not solving the right problem for somebody.

00:12:06: Exactly.

00:12:07: It's about managing those risks, value risk, usability, viability, feasibility, and now ethical risks too, making sure we build what actually matters.

00:12:15: And this isn't a one-off event, right?

00:12:18: Tim Newbold highlighted that while things like design sprints are valuable for introducing discovery culture, continuous discovery is what's really essential.

00:12:26: He advocates strongly for the product trio.

00:12:28: that's a PM, a designer, and an engineer meeting with customers weekly, constantly learning, constantly testing ideas, embedding discovery right into the rhythm of work.

00:12:38: It really does come down to constant listening, doesn't it?

00:12:41: Yashdaftery stressed that if you want to build a product that actually sells, you just have to start listening to the people you sell to.

00:12:48: Whether they're existing customers or potential ones, that direct feedback is the only reliable way to add features people actually want and will pay for.

00:12:56: Dr.

00:12:57: Bart Taworski took it even further talking about customer obsession.

00:13:00: He outlined six ways product managers can adopt this mindset, things like making feedback, gathering a regular habit, solving the underlying problems, not just feature requests, empathizing deeply, being willing to say no to short-term gains sometimes, and measuring success through customer outcomes.

00:13:17: Rina Kogan similarly noted that market validation avoids building features nobody wants, essentially saving huge amounts of time and resources.

00:13:26: So with all this focus on discovery and understanding the customer, What does this imply for how teams actually work together?

00:13:33: Serenity Thompson clarified that effective cross-functional collaboration in digital design isn't necessarily broken, it's just often misunderstood.

00:13:40: It requires a culture of clarity, respect, transparency, and broad access to information.

00:13:46: Ensuring, as she put it, we're building the table together.

00:13:49: not just assigning tasks.

00:13:51: That's an important consideration.

00:13:53: Jayzabur Bratsata brought up the often intangible nature of product management work itself, noting that much of a PM's crucial work ensuring value, ensuring viability, leaves no physical trace until the product is actually out in the world, which can make it harder for PMs to prove their contributions to stakeholders.

00:14:11: It's a common challenge.

00:14:12: That's a real pain point for many PMs, I imagine.

00:14:15: So this raises an important question.

00:14:18: How do PMs prove their worth when so much of their impact is indirect or delayed?

00:14:23: David Pereira suggested that PMs shouldn't just be pushing tickets over the fence to engineers.

00:14:28: Instead, they should empower engineers to drive value by prioritizing the problems and trusting them with the context.

00:14:34: It's about shifting from task management to more collaborative problem solving, giving engineers ownership.

00:14:40: Yeah, that makes sense.

00:14:41: Now, looking at growth strategies, Mauricio Cardenas called product-led growth, PLG, you know, the strategy where the product itself drives acquisition, conversion expansion called revolution.

00:14:53: He highlighted its key truths, things like why onboarding is essentially your real sales pitch now, how freemium needs a proper strategy behind it, engineering virality, and aligning sales teams correctly within a PLG model.

00:15:07: Okay, and here's where it gets really interesting, I thought, on the customer experience front.

00:15:12: Jeff Lesson shared this compelling personal story about how disruptive tech services, things like peer-to-peer car rentals or streaming platforms, can sometimes devolve from disruption to disappointment when the actual customer experience starts to deteriorate.

00:15:27: Ah, yeah, we've all been there.

00:15:29: Right.

00:15:29: He argued that the experience itself is the product.

00:15:32: and that product leaders have to take accountability for what their product enables the whole journey, not just the bits they technically own in the code.

00:15:39: That felt like a profound thought.

00:15:41: That's a crucial takeaway.

00:15:42: Absolutely.

00:15:43: It highlights how the best technology is only ever as good as the human experience it ultimately creates or fails to create.

00:15:50: German chairman Sanchez reminded us that industrial design principles that focus on usability and ergonomics are really the foundation for digital product design.

00:15:59: Ensuring digital products feel natural, intuitive, it's this continuous pursuit of seamless interaction.

00:16:06: And building on that, Thorder Arneson and Lena Thorsmalem presented something called the AX Manifesto.

00:16:12: ten principles for designing digital products specifically in this probabilistic AI age.

00:16:17: They emphasize aspects like model first empathy, designing for probability, which means acknowledging that AI isn't always one hundred percent accurate and designing around that and making trust and ethics core features of the experience itself.

00:16:30: That's fascinating.

00:16:31: Yeah, it's a whole new way of thinking about user interaction when AI is involved.

00:16:34: Okay, so Beyond the immediate product trends, there's always this continuous need for product leaders to sharpen their skills and navigate their careers effectively.

00:16:42: What did our sources reveal about that this time?

00:16:44: Well, Nils Davis shared a pretty hard truth about the current competitive job market.

00:16:49: He said, no one hires a PM based on potential, not in this market.

00:16:54: Experience is the only currency.

00:16:58: It sounds stark, maybe a little brutal, but it really underscores the need for continuous professional development and demonstrable achievements.

00:17:05: that certainly puts the pressure on.

00:17:09: That doesn't mean setbacks or failures, right?

00:17:11: Experiencing includes learning from things that don't work out.

00:17:14: Exactly right.

00:17:14: James Gunaka offered a really powerful perspective on this.

00:17:17: He said, product sunsetting, you know, shutting down a product isn't a failure.

00:17:21: It's more like a rite of passage and a massive learning opportunity.

00:17:24: He stressed that those core PM skills, understanding user needs, building stakeholder alignment, making decisions with incomplete data, they're remarkably portable.

00:17:32: They build on themselves.

00:17:34: Every experience, good or bad, adds to that experience currency, Nils Davis mentioned.

00:17:38: That's a much more constructive way to look at it.

00:17:40: And this brings us to a key insight from Jenny Wenger.

00:17:44: Stop waiting for a promotion to be strategic.

00:17:46: Start doing yourself.

00:17:49: She says, strategy isn't some job title you wait for.

00:17:51: It's a practice.

00:17:53: It's embedded in how you execute every day from deciding what not to build to telling the compelling story behind a roadmap.

00:18:00: It sounds like taking initiative is absolutely key.

00:18:03: Totally agree.

00:18:04: And Shrutia summarized nicely what every PM kind of needs to keep in mind.

00:18:08: Stay ahead of trends, constantly question assumptions, and build with purpose.

00:18:12: She highlighted things like incorporating AI into product discovery, favoring those micro experiments over huge, risky bets, and seeing ethical design not as a constraint, but as a core strategy.

00:18:22: It's about being proactive and thoughtful in your approach.

00:18:25: And for that continued growth and learning, we saw Nikolai Golo share a list of the top fifteen blogs to level up product management skills.

00:18:32: Nail Stotz curated a list of nine must-watch videos, specifically on product strategy for product leaders.

00:18:39: There's just so much community momentum, isn't there?

00:18:42: With podcasts, conferences, like those highlighted by Jurgen Bueller, Graham Reed, Boucher, Koos Kooner, and Amir Rezai, they're offering these practical discussions and learning resources.

00:18:51: It's clear the appetite for growth in this field is absolutely huge.

00:18:54: It really is vibrant.

00:18:55: So wrapping this all up, what does this all mean for you listening?

00:18:59: In this rapidly evolving landscape where AI is augmenting our capabilities, product operations is streamlining our processes, and continuous discovery is shaping our products, how can you ensure that you're not just keeping pace?

00:19:12: But truly leading with impact and foresight, something to perhaps mull over until our next deep dive.

00:19:17: Indeed.

00:19:18: If you enjoyed this deep dive, new episodes drop every two weeks.

00:19:22: Also, do check out our other editions covering ICT and tech, artificial intelligence, cloud and sustainability, and green ICT.

00:19:29: Thank you so much for joining us.

00:19:30: Don't forget to subscribe.