Teresa Torres

Watch the video or read the transcript: buff.ly/KbFaMDI

❓ Which of these skills do you think is the most challenging for product teams to develop? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

🤝 Cross-functional team collaboration

Additional insights:
🎓 Teams need dedicated training and practice - reading a book isn't enough
⚖️ Leaders must balance supporting teams while letting them develop these skills
📊 Both qualitative and quantitative discovery skills are essential

Key skills pilot teams need to develop:
🎯 Understanding business context and how their work impacts revenue
👥 Conducting regular customer conversations to identify important problems
🔍 Evaluating if solutions actually solve customer problems
⚡ Running faster discovery cycles for quicker learning

A video still of Teresa Torres and Hope Gurion discussing how to set pilot teams up for success in a product operating model transformation. Both are wearing headsets and appear side-by-side on a teal background with the title "Building Skills: Setting Pilot Teams Up for Product Operating Model Success" and the Product Talk logo.

"Change is exciting, but too much change can feel chaotic." 🎢

Learn how to set up pilot teams for success when adopting a product operating model. Product leaders Teresa Torres and Hope Gurion share insights from working with hundreds of teams going through this transformation.

Welcome | Product Talk Product Discovery Basics: Everything You Need to Know Product discovery is the work that we do when making decisions about what to build. It’s often contrasted with product delivery—the work […]

This will be my last Bluesky post. if you'd like to continue to follow my work, please do so at ProductTalk.org.

❓ What's the biggest challenge you've faced when implementing new ways of working with your product teams? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

🎯 Ensure teams have real access to customers without major institutional barriers

📈 Focus on products in "explore" or "invest" lifecycle stages where teams can drive value

Check out the article: buff.ly/lflj79A

👥 Look for teams with strong existing relationships and mutual respect

🌱 Select people with growth mindsets who are eager to learn new ways of working

💪 Choose teams with mature skills in their roles so they can focus on the new process

This article breaks down exactly how to select the right teams to maximize your chances of success.

Key takeaways on choosing pilot teams:

🤝 Start with 2-4 teams depending on org size - enough to compare but not too many to support

A visual list titled "Criteria for Selecting Pilot Teams for the Product Operating Model," highlighting five factors: team relationships, willingness to learn, existing skills, access to customers, and product lifecycle stage.

"When you try to require change before people are ready, you're much more likely to encounter resistance." - Hope Gurion & Teresa Torres

Want to set up successful pilot teams for your product operating model transformation?

Doing Discovery Well: How to Measure and Guide Your Team | Product Talk Have you heard? My new book Continuous Discovery Habits is now available. Get the product trio's guide to a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery. How do you know […]

Check out the article: buff.ly/dkaVYBM

❓ What's the longest you've gone between customer interviews, and how did that impact your product decisions? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Doing Discovery Well: How to Measure and Guide Your Team | Product Talk Have you heard? My new book Continuous Discovery Habits is now available. Get the product trio's guide to a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery. How do you know […]

🔄 Regular retrospectives should include "What surprised us?" and "How could we have learned that sooner?"

📊 Good metrics include:
- Days since last customer interview
- Days since last assumption test
- Days since last abandoned idea
- Progress toward product outcomes

Doing Discovery Well: How to Measure and Guide Your Team | Product Talk Have you heard? My new book Continuous Discovery Habits is now available. Get the product trio's guide to a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery. How do you know […]

Key takeaways:
🎯 Track absolute progress toward outcomes quarter over quarter, not percentage of goals
⏰ Measure cycle time between discovery activities instead of counting total activities
🗑️ Monitor how often you throw out ideas - it shows you're learning and considering options

"A high-performing discovery team should hit their outcomes at a higher rate than a low-performing discovery team and that rate should grow over time as their discovery practice improves" by Teresa Torres.

"Good discovery drives outcomes. In a perfect world, a high-performing discovery team would hit their product outcomes quarter over quarter." 📈

Want to measure the success of your continuous discovery practice? This article breaks down practical ways to track and improve your discovery outcomes.

The Highest Paid Person's Opinion Every company makes decisions based on the highest paid person's opinion. It turns out it's just a hypothesis. Here's how to tame it.

💡 Focus on customer value

Read the article: buff.ly/0nxrTZ9

❓ Have you ever been in a situation where you had to challenge a leader's opinion? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Highest Paid Person's Opinion Every company makes decisions based on the highest paid person's opinion. It turns out it's just a hypothesis. Here's how to tame it.

💭 Executive opinions are just hypotheses that need testing
💪 Teams should feel empowered to question decisions
📊 Always validate ideas with customer feedback

Smart ways to handle HIPPO situations:
🤝 Ask how success will be measured
📈 Request specific metrics
🧪 Propose small-scale testing

The Highest Paid Person's Opinion Every company makes decisions based on the highest paid person's opinion. It turns out it's just a hypothesis. Here's how to tame it.

Learn how Amazon's Fire Phone became a $170M lesson in why the "highest paid person's opinion" (HIPPO) should always be treated as a hypothesis, not a mandate. 🤔

Key takeaways from this product failure:
🎯 Past success doesn't guarantee future success

Hippos in water

Worthy Read: The Highest Paid Person's Opinion by Jeff Gothelf

"Because Jeff wants it" - A cautionary tale of what happens when even the most successful leaders prioritize opinion over customer value. 📱

Working Remotely? 5 Ways to Help Your Product Team Thrive | Product Talk Have you heard? My new book Continuous Discovery Habits is now available. Get the product trio's guide to a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery. Product teams should be […]

Check out the article: buff.ly/PlrMdW6

❓ What's been your biggest challenge transitioning from in-person to remote discovery work? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Working Remotely? 5 Ways to Help Your Product Team Thrive | Product Talk Have you heard? My new book Continuous Discovery Habits is now available. Get the product trio's guide to a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery. Product teams should be […]

- Know when to use async vs. sync communication

🎨 Embrace digital collaboration:
- Use tools like Miro or Mural for visual work
- Enable real-time collaboration
- Share whiteboard sessions via webcam

🔍 Make work visible:
- Share progress regularly
- Document decisions
- Keep shared spaces updated

Working Remotely? 5 Ways to Help Your Product Team Thrive | Product Talk Have you heard? My new book Continuous Discovery Habits is now available. Get the product trio's guide to a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery. Product teams should be […]

🤝 Establish clear working norms:
- Set expectations for work hours
- Define video call etiquette
- Create visibility around availability
- Agree on meeting schedules

📱 Define communication guidelines:
- Choose right tools for different needs
- Set response time expectations

"Showing your work helps you manage stakeholders throughout the discovery process. These same tactics will help you stay aligned with your team while you are working from home" by Teresa Torres.

"When we suddenly all work from home, our regular office norms disappear. That's why it's important to establish ground rules with our teams." 📱

Working remotely doesn't mean sacrificing collaboration. Here's how to maintain strong discovery practices while working from home:

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Ask Women in Product: What does a great product vision look like? Karmel Elshinnawi, Katerina Suchkova, and Hope Gurion share tips for crafting a compelling future for your product.

The article includes helpful templates and real-world examples from companies like Tesla, Disney, and Nike to illustrate what great product visions look like.

Read the article: buff.ly/AbHMfNH

❓ What's your company's product vision, and how does it inspire your work?

Ask Women in Product: What does a great product vision look like? Karmel Elshinnawi, Katerina Suchkova, and Hope Gurion share tips for crafting a compelling future for your product.

🔍 Start with understanding your users and their needs
💡 Make it ambitious yet achievable
🚫 Avoid buzzwords and jargon
✨ Focus on the "Why" not just the "How"
🗣️ Share it widely and use it consistently

Ask Women in Product: What does a great product vision look like? Karmel Elshinnawi, Katerina Suchkova, and Hope Gurion share tips for crafting a compelling future for your product.

🎯 Why product vision matters and what makes it effective
📝 How to craft a vision statement that resonates
🤝 The importance of involving your team in the vision-creation process
🧭 How to use your vision to guide decision-making
⚠️ Common pitfalls to avoid

Key takeaways:

Ask Women in Product: What does a great product vision look like? Karmel Elshinnawi, Katerina Suchkova, and Hope Gurion share tips for crafting a compelling future for your product.

A great product vision is your North Star that keeps teams aligned, motivated, and focused on building solutions that matter. In this article, three product leaders share practical advice on crafting a compelling vision that inspires action 🌟

Here's what you'll learn:

Two women sitting in a couch while discussing and looking at a laptop.

Worthy Read: Ask Women in Product: What Does Great Product Vision Look Like? by Karmel Elshinnawi, Katerina Suchkova, and Hope Gurion

"If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else." - Yogi Berra

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Why You Are Probably Interviewing the Wrong People (And How to Fix It) | Product Talk Have you heard? My new book Continuous Discovery Habits is now available. Get the product trio's guide to a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery. Last Wednesday I put […]

- The complementary roles of qualitative and quantitative research
- How to select participants for maximum insight
- When to know you've conducted enough interviews

Read the article: buff.ly/SWNodrs

❓ When conducting customer interviews, what do you look for to ensure participant variety?