Don’t Worry About Being Cool with Petra Wille [Rebroadcast]

We’re taking a short break from releasing new episodes for the month of August. We’ll be back with new interviews in September. But don’t despair! We’ve asked a few friends to pick some of their favorite episodes to re-broadcast in the meantime. This week’s pick comes from Mind the Product co-founder, Martin Eriksson.
Martin Eriksson’s Pick
Like Marty Cagan, I’m a huge fan of Petra Wille and her work, and her Product Experience interview was a great reminder of one of the most important principles in product – letting go of your ego. It’s far too easy to think that the product we’re responsible for is the most important thing in the world (after all, it is to us) when in reality it’s only one of many in our user’s lives. Understanding that, and the context our product exists within, let’s us let go of our ego, ignore how cool our brand is, and focus on whether we’re actually adding value to our customers’ lives or not.
Quote of the Episode
You are never alone in a room with your user – we’re just one of 60 apps on average… If you don’t make the user’s life better, easier… then maybe you’re just not that relevant for them. Even if your brand is cool.
Hosts
The Product Experience is hosted by Lily Smith and Randy Silver.
Lily enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. Lily has spent 13 years in the tech industry working mainly with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She has worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank in Bristol, the Product Managers’ meetup with regular events and talks on Product now with 800+ members and growing. This year Lily will be launching Productcamp in Bristol and she joins the MTP team as co-host of  The Product Experience podcast.
A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy has been working as an interactive producer and product manager across the US and UK for nearly 20 years. After launching Amazon’s music stores in the US and UK, Randy has worked with museums and arts groups, online education, media & entertainment, retail and financial services. He’s held Head of Product roles at HSBC and Sainsbury’s, where he also directed their 100+-person product community. He’s also spoken at Mind the Product Engage (Hamburg), at a number of ProductTanks (London, Zurich, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Oxford,  & Brighton… so far!) and at conferences across the US and Europe.

Music
Our theme music is from Hamburg-based Pau, featuring ProductTank Hamburg’s own Arne Kittler on bass. Listen to more on their Facebook page
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