Episode 183: Building a Team Culture of Ownership and Collaboration with Todd Wilkens

In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, Vishal Kapoor, Senior Vice President of Product at Affirm, joins Melissa Perri to dive into the intricacies of building and scaling products in the fintech space. Vishal shares his journey through 15+ years of product management. The episode offers deep insight into not just what Affirm is up to, but into the very bones of the culture that drives their product development. For instance, Vishal lets us in on how the company balances customer-centric innovation with the complex regulations of the financial sector. Tune in to learn how Affirm is shaping the future of fintech and get practical advice for building adaptable product strategies in complex industries.

Robin Daniels is on the Product Thinking Podcast to discuss how it’s possible to transform working cultures through the careful construction of a supportive community atmosphere. Robin, Chief Business and Product Officer at Zensai, explains to Melissa Perri how his remarkable journey through product management and marketing across leading tech companies like Salesforce and LinkedIn has led him to where he is today. The pair ponder the question of what sparks joy in a corporate setting, and they discuss how a weekly check-in system that promotes self-reflection among employees is a far more functional system than the outmoded annual performance review method of performance management. Tune in to discover Robin’s insights on driving growth through product-led strategies and the evolving landscape of product management.

Mercedes Chatfield-Taylor, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Artico Search, Inc. and a top recruiter specializing in leadership roles for scale-up companies, returns to chat with Melissa Perri on this episode of Product Thinking. Together, they discuss the evolving CEO landscape, particularly the increasing importance of collaboration across functions in lean organizations and the growing demand for leaders focused on profitability and sustainability. Mercedes shares insights into the typical paths to becoming a CEO, including from product leadership roles, and the skills needed to transition successfully. What is the path to CEO from CPO? Tune in to find out.

In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, Melissa Perri speaks with Sean Solme Kim, former head of product at TikTok and previously at Amazon Prime. They discuss key insights from his time at both companies, including how Amazon's metrics-driven approach influenced his work at TikTok and the development of the Stitch feature. Sean shares his perspective on empowering product teams, fostering ownership among product managers, and navigating the challenges of hypergrowth environments like TikTok. They also explore the importance of creating frictionless user experiences and scaling product features to drive engagement and retention.

Host Melissa Perri enjoys a far-reaching conversation with Brian Fugere in this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast. Brian is the Chief Product Officer at Symplr, with extensive experience in transforming businesses through AI-powered automation and robotics. They discuss the impact of AI and automation on supply chain innovation, the balance between operational efficiency and creativity in product leadership, and how to scale product teams effectively. Brian also shares insights into aligning teams with business outcomes, fostering innovation while managing risk, and navigating the challenges of working with cutting-edge technology.

Host Melissa Perri sits down with Blake Morgan, in this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast. Blake is a seasoned expert in customer experience, best-selling author, and someone with a career spanning major companies like Coca-Cola and AT&T. They discuss the evolution of customer experience, the key principles of customer-focused leadership, and how to effectively measure success beyond mere metrics. She also shares insights on avoiding common pitfalls, the power of storytelling in advocating for customer-centric practices, and best practices for gathering valuable customer feedback.

In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, host Melissa Perri welcomes Shruti Patel, Executive Vice President and CPO Business Banking at U.S. Bank, to share her expertise on navigating the complexities of product development within large financial institutions. Shruti delves into the intricacies of balancing innovation with legacy systems, the importance of focusing on high-impact products, and strategies for aligning teams around customer-centric goals.

Vijay Pitchumani is the esteemed guest of Melissa Perri on this episode of the Product Thinking podcast. Tune in to hear Vijay, a renowned expert in product strategy and Director of Product at Okta, share his insights on the essential role of product managers in platform teams and the unique challenges they face. The discussion covers the importance of defining success metrics, experimenting with API-first approaches, and balancing short-term experiments with long-term goals. Vijay also highlights strategies for innovating within platform teams and managing PM rotations to foster diverse experiences and drive impactful outcomes. Listen now to explore how platform PMs can effectively navigate the complexities of scaling and evolving their products.

In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, Melissa Perri sits down with Tamar Yehoshua, President of Product and Technology at Glean, to explore the transformative role of AI in modern enterprise search and productivity. Tamar shares her journey from leading product teams at Google to driving innovation at Glean, discussing how AI and retrieval-augmented generation are reshaping how organizations access and utilize information. She dives into the challenges of scaling AI-driven products in a fast-paced startup environment and the strategies her team employs to maximize impact and drive user adoption.

Melissa Perri welcomed Vrushali Paunikar, Chief Product Officer of Carta, to this episode of the Product Thinking podcast. In this engaging conversation, Vrushali delves into the dynamic world of product management and innovation, sharing insights on how to balance subject matter expertise with fresh perspectives. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of building a custom general ledger from scratch and how her team's approach to innovation and validation has led to significant business growth.