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Published by Charlotte Bian, Kiet Truong
Welcome to Product Pals. This is a space where product people come together to talk honestly about the work, the challenges, and everything in between. We share stories from our own journeys and from others in the product world. The moments that felt uncertain, the lessons that stuck, and the shifts that changed how we think and build. Product Pals is also a community. A place to feel supported, to learn from each other, and to remember that you are not navigating this alone. Whether you are experienced, just getting started, or somewhere in the middle, you are very welcome here. ☕️🍵🧋
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How to make a good decision? How to define a good decision? Why does this question matter? In this episode of Product Pals: Beyond the Build, Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Gareth Holebrook — author, former Royal Navy weapons engineer, product and technology leader, executive coach and endurance athlete with more than 30 Ironman-distance races behind him. Across a career spanning engineering, physical products, startups, banking, Agile and leadership, Gareth has become fascinated by one question: how do we make better decisions when everything around us is moving faster? Gareth shares a powerful idea: a decision isn’t a moment in time. It has a lifecycle. A decision can be right when we make it, then become wrong as the context changes. The challenge is knowing when to persist, when to rethink — and when to stop. Together, we explore: → Why good decisions can still have bad outcomes → How to govern decisions without slowing teams down → How to say yes to the right thing, and no to everything else → The impact of AI on how we think and make decisions → Why Intent-Based Leadership still matters as teams and technology change → The evolving role of Product This is one for product people navigating AI, uncertainty and the growing pressure to move faster, while still making thoughtful decisions. A few of the books, thinkers and ideas Gareth references in this conversation: 📚 David Marquet — Turn the Ship Around! and Leadership Is Language Gareth has worked with David Marquet on Intent-Based Leadership since 2020 and credits his work with influencing how he thinks about leadership, agency and moving decisions closer to the people doing the work. 📚 Annie Duke — Quit Gareth references the idea of “resulting”: judging the quality of a decision based on its eventual outcome rather than the information available when the decision was made. 📚 Daniel Kahneman — Thinking, Fast and Slow System 1 vs System 2 thinking comes up as Gareth, Charlotte and Kiet explore deliberate decision-making and whether AI risks pushing us towards more automatic thinking. 📚 Eliyahu Goldratt — Beyond the Goal / Theory of Constraints Gareth references Goldratt’s idea that we don’t necessarily remove a constraint — we relocate it. As AI accelerates delivery, could decision-making become the next constraint? 💡 Anders Ericsson — Deliberate Practice Referenced in Gareth’s thinking around practice, continuous improvement and intentionally getting better rather than simply repeating the same behaviour. 💡 One-Way vs Two-Way Door Decisions Gareth references the idea of reversible and irreversible decisions: understanding whether we can easily change direction later, or whether a decision will become increasingly difficult and expensive to reverse. 💡 Kaizen, Kanban, Kata & Hansei Ideas that have shaped Gareth’s thinking across engineering, Agile, endurance sport and leadership — from continuous improvement and flow to deliberate practice and reflection. 💡 Intent-Based Leadership & Mission Command Creating clarity around what we are trying to achieve while giving the people closest to the work greater agency to decide how to achieve it. Ishi: The Discipline of Determined IntentGareth’s work on personal self-governance, determined intent, persistence, reflection Amazon: amazon.com/dp/1067285512Leanpub: leanpub.com/ishidodi Kaizen of the Day 100 improvements and practices based around the phases of Gareth’s Ishi Spiral. leanpub.com/KOTD100 Kettei: The Discipline of Governed IntentGareth’s work explores how organisational decisions can be treated as living, governable objects, with ownership, boundaries and a lifecycle. leanpub.com/kettei-dogi Ishi + Kaizen Bundle leanpub.com/b/ishikaizen ✍️ Ishi Dodi Substack: ishidodi.substack.com 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garethholebrook 🎥 YouTube: @garethholebrook 🎙️ Product Pals: Beyond the Build Stories of product thinkers becoming outcome owners. 🧠 Knowledge Snacks📖 Explore Gareth’s Work
Do Product Managers still need to know how to code? And with AI changing the way we work, what skills will actually matter in the next few years? In this episode of Product Pals, Kiet and Charlotte are joined by Deepika Pandhi, Principal Product Manager at Oracle , joining us from Silicon Valley. With nearly 18 years in tech, Deepika's career has taken her from software development to customer engineering, and eventually into product management. Today, she works on cloud database platforms supporting some of the world's most critical systems. We chat about her career journey, what being a technical PM actually looks like, and how AI is changing her everyday work. One of the more interesting parts of our conversation was how Deepika uses AI to build working prototypes in hours rather than days. She also shares why she treats AI like a junior PM — incredibly useful, but still needing plenty of context, guidance and validation! We also get into what it's like growing into a Principal PM role, influencing without authority, managing competing priorities, and why staying close to customers is still one of the most important things a PM can do. And of course, we ask the big question: Is product management still a good career to pursue in the age of AI? Whether you're looking to break into product, progress in your career, or figure out how AI fits into your workflow, we hope you enjoy this conversation! Connect with Deepika Deepika Pandhi — Principal Product Manager at Oracle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpandhi/ Resources & Recommendations Deepika shared a few of her favourite learning resources and some additional recommendations for our listeners: Product Management & AI Courses Marily Nika — AI Product Management https://maven.com/marily-nika Shreyas Doshi — Product Sense https://maven.com/shreyas-doshi/product-sense Lenny's Newsletter — Product Management & Growth https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/ AI Podcasts & Channels Andrej Karpathy https://www.youtube.com/andrejkarpathy Dwarkesh Podcast https://www.dwarkesh.com/ NVIDIA AI Podcast https://blogs.nvidia.com/ai-podcast/ Personal Finance Recommendations A few personal finance videos Deepika recommended: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoeQUNASmTU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFhlibQJvYM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TsjAaFZG20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPe-d8oKGoc Product Pals — Where Product People Get Real. Hosted by Kiet Truong and Charlotte Bian, Product Pals is a podcast and community for Product Managers, aspiring PMs, and anyone involved in building digital products. Through our PM Spotlight and Beyond the Build series, we share real conversations about career journeys, challenges, lessons learned, and life in product. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the episode, follow Product Pals on Spotify and share it with a fellow product person.
What does innovation really look like inside a huge government organisation? In this episode of Product Pals Live at Signal Not Noise 2026, we sit down with Adam Reitsma, former Senior Manager of Innovation and Capability at Transport for NSW. Adam shares how a five-person team worked across AI, VR, experimentation and organisational capability to create impact at scale — often without a large budget or a traditional delivery team. We talk about what makes a proof of concept actually useful, how GitHub Copilot grew to more than 500 active users across Transport for NSW, why good innovation is often about reducing risk rather than chasing novelty, and how internal communities can help great ideas spread across a massive organisation. Adam also reflects on more sensitive innovation work, including at-risk behaviour detection and suicide prevention, and what changes when the stakes are much higher. A practical conversation about constraints, experimentation, scaling, and one simple definition of innovation: Any change that creates value. 🎙️ Recorded live at Signal Not Noise 2026. Content note: This episode includes a discussion about suicide prevention, at-risk behaviour on the transport network, and the impact of these incidents on individuals, families and frontline staff. Links & resources mentioned in this episode: • TrackSAFE Foundation — rail safety, suicide prevention and employee wellbeing • Black Dog Institute — mental health and suicide prevention research and resources • TrackSAFE Suicide Awareness Training — free training for the rail workforce
Heshan Jayavardhana shares how 15-plus years across enterprise, scale-ups, startups, and platform products shaped the way he thinks about product management, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The conversation centers on the changing role of product managers in an AI-assisted world, plus the lessons behind his current venture, PyFi, and his broader “Project Freedom” mindset. projectfreedom.xyz https://pifiproperty.com https://linktr.ee/productpalspodcast
How does product work in a non-product/ content organisation? At the ABC, Paru Madhavan works in a world where customer value is created not just by Product, Design and Engineering, but by Content, Marketing and teams with decades of audience knowledge. Recorded live at Signal Not Noise 2026, we explore what product thinking looks like when you don’t have all the authority, and why that might actually make you a better product person. Paru shares how the ABC has experimented with a different kind of product trio, bringing Product, Content and Marketing together around customer problems. We get into prioritisation, strategic bets, working within constraints, building trust across very different teams, and why putting everyone into Jira is definitely not the answer. And perhaps the biggest reflection: great product practice doesn’t have to look like the Silicon Valley textbook and we can all be pragmatic and creative! Sometimes the best product thinking starts with understanding the organisation you’re actually in. Hope you enjoy this episode #ProductManagement #ProductThinking #ProductLeadership #ProductStrategy #ProductPals
It’s one of the biggest questions product teams are asking right now. If anyone can generate prototypes, build interfaces, and ship ideas faster than ever… what happens to the role of design? In our latest Product Pals Live episode, recorded at Signal Not Noise 2026 , we sat down with Emma Carter , Head of Design at MYOB and author of three books on design leadership. One idea from our conversation has really stayed with me: AI will make building easier. But it won’t replace the need to deeply understand people, ask better questions, or know whether we’re solving the right problem. That shift changes the conversation. Design is not just about creating screens. It’s about connecting customer needs, business goals, technology, and human judgement. In this episode we also explore: 🎨 Why design is much more than UI and aesthetics 🤝 How Product, Design, and Engineering can become better partners 🗣️ Why engineers should spend more time talking to customers ⚖️ When to move fast with AI—and when slowing down creates better outcomes 🔮 How AI may reshape the future of product teams and specialist roles This was one of our favourite conversations from Product Pals Live , and we hope it sparks as much discussion for you as it did for our live audience. 🎧 The episode is out now! Search Product Pals on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform. 💬 I’m curious what do you think? As AI becomes better at creating, do you think the roles of Product Manager, Designer, and Engineer will become more specialised… or begin to merge?
AI isn’t just changing how we build products—it’s changing how product organisations work. Recorded live at Signal Not Noise 2026, Herry Wiputra, Chief Product Officer at hipages, shares his vision for the future of product management in the AI era. We discuss why leaders should think like system owners, how Product, Design, and Engineering roles may evolve, why judgement is becoming more valuable than execution, and how AI could replace traditional handoffs with rapid experimentation. We also cover AI “slop”, hiring Product Managers, Claude, Figma Make, and the practical changes Herry is already making inside his teams. A thought-provoking conversation for anyone building products in the age of AI.
In this episode of Product Pals: Beyond the Build , Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Justin Homer , Partner and Co-founder of Be Luminous , to explore what it really means to create meaningful change through collaboration, design and play. Justin shares the journey from social policy and homelessness support to building world-class collaborative design practices across global consultancies and now Be Luminous. Together, they unpack why great work requires vulnerability, why creativity needs messiness, and why leaders must design systems that help people do their best work , not just manage change after the fact. This conversation is for product thinkers, founders and leaders who care about craft, systems, people and the courage it takes to keep pushing for the last 5%. 🧠 Knowledge Snacks Here’s a curated list from Justin’s learning library. Matt Taylor David Snowden & the Cynefin Framework Dieter Rams Too Good To Go, Reducing food waste one surprise bag at a time. Substack and the following subscriptions: Fix The News- A newsletter focused on positive progress and solutions from around the world. The Citerini Project- AI futures and emerging technology discussions. Michael Burry- Investor and author known from The Big Short and his commentary on markets and economics. Vikings: War of Clans , Justin’s current gaming obsession. A fashion-focused podcast hosted by Bella Freud (fashion designer and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud), which Justin describes as surprisingly intimate, thoughtful and full of unexpected conversations.
Product Pals is going live! In this special episode, Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Ed Wong, founder of LAST Conference and creator of Signal Not Noise,to announce the very first Product Pals LIVE podcast event happening in Sydney this June. Together, we explore the evolution from LAST to Signal Not Noise, why authentic communities matter more than ever, and how product and tech professionals are navigating an industry shaped by AI, uncertainty, and constant change. Ed shares the story behind building one of Australia’s most loved grassroots product communities, what it takes to sustain a community for over a decade, and why “finding your tribe” still matters in a world full of noise and hot takes. In this episode, we discuss: The future of product management in the age of AI Why titles matter less than the value you bring Cross-functional careers and evolving roles Building meaningful communities in product and tech The vision behind Signal Not Noise What to expect from the upcoming conference 🎙️ Product Pals LIVE will be hosted at Signal Not Noise in Sydney on 25 June at the NSW Teachers’ Federation Conference Centre in Surry Hills. 🎟️ Product Pals listeners can also enjoy 10% off tickets using the code: PRODUCTPALSLIVE Find out more here: Signal Not Noise Sydney If you’re curious about the future of product, community, and meaningful work — this episode is for you.
In this episode of Product Pals, we sit down with Kurt Yang to explore why every PM needs a stronger commercial mindset. Kurt shares his journey from finance into product, unpacks the difference between commercial and digital product management, and reflects on how AI may reshape the future of the PM role. We also discuss: commercial mindset in product AI and the future of PMs ownership, accountability, and product leadership startup lessons and common mistakes frameworks, substance, and career growth A thoughtful conversation for product managers navigating change, ambiguity, and what comes next. About Product Pals Product Pals is where product people get real — exploring product craft, career growth, and the human side of building in tech. Follow and leave a review for more honest conversations with product leaders, builders, and operators navigating the real world of product management. Contact ProductPalsPodcast@gmail.com if you’d like to be part of the show. Guest enquiries, sponsorship opportunities, and feedback are always welcome.
In this episode of Product Pals, Charlotte and Kiet sit down with John Cutler — one of the most distinctive voices in modern product thinking and operating model design. For many in the product community, John needs no introduction. But for those newer to the space, he is a seasoned product leader, educator, and systems thinker with over two decades of experience across product management, user research, enablement, and frontline roles. He is currently Head of Product at Dotwork, where he explores how operating systems and decision frameworks can help teams build better products with greater clarity and intent. John is widely respected for his thoughtful writing, practical mental models, and ability to surface the messy realities of product work — challenging cargo-cult agile and simplistic takes on what “good” looks like. In this rich and energising conversation, we explore: • John’s career journey into product • How he writes so consistently (without over-optimising for algorithms) • What operating models actually do inside organisations • How product thinking translates beyond tech and “pure” product companies • AI’s real impact and use cases • The future of product management Along the way, John shares many insightful stories and powerful mental models in product. This episode is thoughtful, sharp, inspiring — and weirdly comforting. If you’re navigating product, leadership, or operating change in this evolving world, this conversation will leave you thinking differently. If this conversation sparked new thinking for you, here are a few deeper dives we recommend: 1. John Cutler – What does it means to be Product Led? (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/posts/johnpcutler_i-have-been-thinking-a-lot-about-what-it-activity-7405101035184128002--e5K/ 2. TBM #406 – Seeing Everything, Understanding Nothing (The Beautiful Mess) John’s Substack piece exploring AI’s use cases across different contexts https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-406-seeing-everything-understanding 3. Product Operating System – Jobs To Be Done Our interpretation of John’s Operating System Jobs framework discussed in this episode - breaking down what a product operating system must actually do. https://medium.com/productpals 4. Leadership Personality Persona Spectrum (Product Pals) Our interpretation of John’s 2 by 2 framework to illustration how leadership personality shapes operating design. https://medium.com/productpals 🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube — search Product Pals Podcast . 🥨 Knowledge Snacks
In this heartfelt episode of Product Pals , Charlotte and Kiet sit down with design lead James Riddell and product leader Ines Goluza , the inspiring team behind Rare Journey — an AI-powered health companion app built to support families navigating rare diseases. After the birth of his son Felix and his diagnosis with the ultra-rare Myhre Syndrome, James, along with his partner Ivana and sister-in-law Ines, channelled their personal experience into building Rare Journey and co-founding the Myhre Syndrome Foundation Australia . What began as a family crisis quickly became a bold mission to support others through empathy-driven tech. 💡 What you’ll hear: Felix’s diagnosis and the origin of Rare Journey Why community knowledge is a superpower in healthcare Building under pressure: hospital rooms to MVP in 6 months Applying product and design thinking in the real world Reflections on scaling, funding, and staying mission-led To find out more about their stories visit: Myhre Syndrome Foundation Website: https://myhresyndromeaus.org/ Rare Journey: https://www.therarejourney.com/ Other Resources: Ronald McDonald House Foundation https://rmhc.org.au/
This is the final episode of 2025 — and it’s really just us saying thank you 💛 Just Charlotte and Kiet back where it all started — the two of us on a video call, coffee in hand ☕️, reflecting on a year that flew by faster than we expected. Somewhere between recording episodes, replying to messages, running events, and figuring life out, Product Pals quietly became a community. And this episode is our little pause to acknowledge that. In this conversation, we chat about: The stories, people, and moments from 2025 that stayed with us Conversations that went beyond “product” and into being human A few things we’re learning to let go of as the year closes And what we’re gently hoping for in 2026 — for the podcast, and for ourselves If Product Pals has been something you’ve listened to on a walk, during a commute, while cooking dinner, or in a quiet moment — this episode is for you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening, sharing, and supporting in big and small ways. 💛 Product Pals Podcast works best when you’re part of it. We hope you’re getting some real rest, spending time with people you love, and stepping into 2026 feeling a little lighter and hopeful — just as we are! We’ll be back in the new year with more stories, more connection, and the same heart. Enjoy the last few days of 2025, see you in 2026 💛 👋 Quick heads-up! You might notice a small Descript watermark on this video. We’re experimenting with a few new podcast tools at the moment and are currently on the free trial while we evaluate whether this platform is right for us (and whether we’ll move from our existing setup). It shouldn’t affect the listening experience — but if it’s distracting or gets in the way, please let us know. Your feedback really helps us improve 💛 Thanks so much, and we hope you enjoy the episode!
In this PM Spotlight episode of Product Pals , Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Dipa Rao , Senior Product Manager at Culture Amp, for a refreshingly honest conversation about what product management really looks like behind the job title. With a career spanning Agile coaching, software delivery, consulting, and product leadership, Dipa shares a grounded view of the PM craft - from the difficult shift between delivery and strategy, to how great PMs build trust, create space for deep thinking, and stay genuinely close to customer needs. She also brings a thoughtful perspective on how context shapes product work, including the differences between B2B and B2C environments, team dynamics, and the growing expectations placed on PMs as the role continues to expand. This is a candid and reflective episode for PMs at any stage — especially those navigating senior roles, complexity, and the future of the product craft. 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Product Pals — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🍪 Knowledge Snacks (Mentioned in the Episode) 🎙 Nikhil Suresh — AI Skeptic & Writer 🔗 Substack: https://nihils.substack.com 📚 John Cutler — Product Evanglist and thought leader 🔗 CutleFish Newsletter: https://cutlefish.substack.com 🧠 Richard Feynman — Physicist & Educator 🔗 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman 🎬Geeta (Documentary) — Co-produced by Dipa Rao An award-winning documentary exploring gender and social justice. 🔗 https://www.geetafilm.com/ 🤖 AI Tool Glean — Internal search and knowledge tool connected to Slack, Confluence, and GitHub, used to quickly answer product and organisational questions. 🔗 https://www.glean.com/
If you’ve ever transitioned (or wanted to transition) into a Product role, this episode will feel like someone finally saying, “Yes, I get you”This week on PM Spotlight, we sat down with Diane Aung — a Senior B2B SaaS Product Manager whose journey began in customer support and grew into a full end-to-end product career. Diane brings warmth, humour and a refreshingly honest take on what PM life actually looks like behind the job title.In this episode, we explore:✨ Why moving from customer support into Product is an underrated superpower✨ What servant leadership really looks like in fast-moving SaaS teams✨ How Diane navigates alignment, disagreements, and “too many opinions in the room”✨ The mindset shifts and unlearning that helped her level up as a PM✨ How she thinks about the future of product, learning, and designing a career that grows with youWhether you’re new to Product or deep in the craft, Diane’s reflections hit home in all the right ways.🎧 Listen now and follow the Product Pals Podcast for more real stories, messy moments, and bright ideas from PMs who are figuring it out as they go. 🍪 Knowledge Bites (from the episode) Jobs to Be Done: Theory to Practice — Anthony Ulwick What You Do Is Who You Are — Ben Horowitz Amazon Leadership Principles — Jeff Bezos Quick Note ❤️ You may notice a couple of small video and audio bumps in this episode - we had some internet drops and background noise during recording (the joys of remote podcasting 😅).Huge thanks for your patience, and an even bigger thanks to Diane for rolling with it. The conversation was too good not to share.
In this episode of Product Pals Podcast , Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Paru Madhavan , Product Coach at the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), wine nerd, and systems thinker. Paru has led teams across travel, fintech, and media, and now focuses on creating environments where people thrive and customers’ problems actually get solved. Together, we unpack the craft and calling of product coaching — what it means, how it differs from managing, and why curiosity might be the most underrated skill in modern product teams. 🔑 What you’ll hear: 1️⃣ Curiosity beats certainty. If you only remember one question, make it “Why though?” It’s the fastest route to clarity and the cheapest form of user research. 2️⃣ Coaching and managing have a lot of similarities. Her MotoGP analogy nails it — a great coach is the crew chief, not the rider. They don’t steer the bike; they tune the system so others can win the race. 3️⃣ Balance the doing and the being. There’s no “perfect role.” If your day job doesn’t feed every part of you, side projects and creative hobbies can restore the spark. ( Love this advices!)And ,Why coaching can be a fulfilling path for PMs who want impact without people management 💭 A thoughtful, human conversation that reminds us good coaching isn’t about answers — it’s about asking better questions. 🍪 Knowledge Snacks (from the episode) John Cutler – reflections on organisational learning and systems thinking ( The Beautiful Mess ) Marty Cagan – writing on leadership and the role of product managers as coaches ( svpg.com ) Lisa Adkins –Book<< Coaching Agile Teams>> and the “four stances” framework Karen Hao – The Empire of AI (book) and Youtube interview Akash Gupta – newsletter The Neuron (daily AI + PM updates) 🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube — search Product Pals Podcast .
From public transport design to YouTube stardom, engineer-turned-creator Ting Ting Hu has built a one-person company of creativity, strategy, and heart. In this episode, she joins Charlotte and Kiet to unpack what it means to treat your craft like a product — balancing art, analytics and authenticity. 🔑 What you’ll hear: How Ting Ting plays three roles at once: CEO, PM and talent of her own brand Her viral learning loop — what creators can teach PMs about feedback and product-market fit Why she left “safe” public service to follow joy and meaning The lesson behind huo ren gan (活人感) — the feeling of being alive — and why every product needs it How AI quietly powers her reflection, resilience and creativity 💭 “You only create half of a product — the other half belongs to your audience.”
In this episode of the Product Pals Podcast, Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Cheryl Saw — Fractional Product Growth & GTM Strategist at Revvy, with over a decade of experience across SaaS (Adobe, Audible), FMCG (Kimberly-Clark), Health/Edu-Tech, and digital agencies. Cheryl’s journey into growth wasn’t planned - it found her. Over the years, she’s built a career solving hard problems in consumer SaaS, from pricing strategy to retention to building product growth teams across Asia Pacific. In this conversation, she shares candid reflections on her path, leadership, and what it means to create sustainable growth. 🔑 What you’ll hear: Why pricing isn’t the silver bullet for growth — and how to really test value The psychology behind retention and why “cheaper” doesn’t always mean “stickier” Lessons from growing products like Adobe Acrobat and Audible across APAC Building and leading distributed growth teams from scratch Why adaptability and curiosity fuel a lasting career in product and growth 💡 Cheryl also opens up about her personal journey — from starting in event management to mentoring women in tech and building CandidConvos , a community for meaningful conversations in tech.
In this episode of the Product Pals Podcast , Charlotte and Kiet sit down with Ryan Huynh — Product Manager and co-organiser of ProductTank Sydney. Ryan’s career has spanned AI research, Big Four consulting, and product management . He shares how consulting gave him a toolkit of frameworks, delivery discipline, and stakeholder skills — and how those translate into product craft today. 🔑 What you’ll hear: Ryan’s pivot from data & AI into PM, and the big lessons learned Launching AQ Intelligence from 0→1 and finding product-market fit Why he believes the heart of PM is making good decisions Consulting skills that give PMs an edge in strategy and execution How AI is shaping his workflow, learning, and view of PM’s future His advice to his younger self: learn economics to understand decision-making 💡 Plus: Rapid-fire fun, contrarian takes, and a thought-provoking future-guest question:👉 “If product managers don’t exist anymore, what’s the biggest disaster you see?” 🎧 Link in first comment Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pods. 🍪 Knowledge Snacks (from the episode) 🍿Economics Explained (Youtube channel) https://www.youtube.com/@EconomicsExplained (Kiet’s recommendation) 🍊Freakonomics Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt (book) https://amzn.to/466fSIt (Charlotte’s recommendation)
Welcome to the very first PM Spotlight — a special series from Product Pals celebrating the real stories behind product management. In this debut episode, we sit down with Larry Lai , whose career spans continents and industries: from game design and livestreaming in China, to product roles at tech giants like Tencent and Huya , and now leading SMB livestream products at TikTok Sydney . Larry shares candid reflections on: 🎮 The many “flavours” of product management, and how roles shift across industries and cultures 🧩 The overlap between Product Management and Design — and why it matters more than we think 👥 The leap from individual contributor to product leader — and the challenges of leading with purpose 🤖 How AI is reshaping product work, and why it could unlock the rise of one-person companies 🔮 His optimistic vision for the future of product management This is an honest, inspiring conversation on leadership, design, and staying curious in an AI-driven world. 👉 Tune in and celebrate Larry’s journey behind the PM title. 📚 The Design of Everyday Things — Don Norman (Larry’s recommendation) 🎧 Gamecraft Podcast — Listen here (Kiet’s recommendation) 🍪 Knowledge Snacks (from the episode)
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