A Quick Introduction to Let’s Talk Product!
Before you go any further I want to say thank you. Thank you for not exercising your “right to remain silent” (more on this below) and agreeing to join me on this journey of contribution.
If you haven’t listened to it already, take a minute to check out the short audio introduction to Let’s Talk Product! And if you have a little more time read the excerpt below from Seth Godin’s book The Practice, Shipping Creative Work which I thought is totally appropriate for the Let’s Talk Product booking page as this is exactly what we are going to do, ship creative work.
You Have the Right to Remain Silent
But I hope you won’t.
The world conspires to hold us back, but it can’t do that without our permission.
The dominant industrial system misrepresents the practice, pretending that it’s about talent and magic. The system would prefer you to stand by, quietly. It says, “Please sign up for the status-driven recipe of insufficiency, compliance, and applause.”
We don’t need more noise, more variety, or more pitches. There’s noise all around us, but it’s often the idle chatter of people hiding in plain sight, or the selfish hustle of one more person who wants something from you. Our world is long on noise and short on meaningful connections and positive leadership.
Your contribution – the one that you want to make, the one you were born to make – that’s what we’re waiting for, that’s what we need.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long are the episodes?
The goal is to create bite-sized episodes that listeners can consume 30 minutes or less. The ideal length of each episode is 15-25 minutes.
What questions will I be asked?
The goal of Let’s Talk Product Season One is to connect with as many Product Leaders as possible and ask everyone the same three questions.
1) What is Product Management
2) How did you get into Product Management
3) What advice would you give to new Product Managers?
When will my episode be posted?
To optimize the shipping process I record full seasons ahead of time then schedule them out. That being said, I really don’t stick to an “order” as I want to provide listeners with a diverse lineup of guests. I will however send you an email or DM prior to your episode launching.
Can I review the episode before it launches?
To answer this I will refer back to The Practice.
Resistance Is Real
Steven Pressfield’s masterful The War of Art taught us to see the force he calls resistance. Resistance is an elusive and wily force, an emotion that will conspire to block us, undermine us, or, at the very least, stall us in pursuit of work that matters.
Resistance focuses obsessively on bad outcomes because it wants to distract us from the work at hand. Resistance seeks reassurance for the same reason.
Resistance relentlessly pushes us to seek confidence, then undermines that confidence as a way to stop us from moving forward.
But if we don’t need confidence, if we can merely trust the practice and engage in the process of creation and shipping, then resistance loses much of its power.
Generosity is the most direct way to find the practice. Generosity subverts resistance by focusing the work on someone else. Generosity means that we don’t have to seek reassurance for the self, but can instead concentrate on serving others. It activates a different part of our brain and gives us a more meaningful way forward. People don’t want to be selfish, and giving in to resistance when you’re doing generous work feels selfish.
Our work exists to change the recipient for the better. That’s at the core of the practice.
When you’re doing the work for someone else, to make things better, suddenly, the work isn’t about you. Jump in the water, save that kid.
-Seth Godin, The Practice
In short, from my experience (this isn’t my first podcast) the review process is the resistance. It is a search for perfection. And perfection is the enemy of authentic (and most definitely the enemy of shipping). If you have to review it or share the episode with your employer for review, that is fine (please let me know in the notes field of the booking tool below). But, if you are reviewing in search of perfection, trust me, you are already good enough.
What if I don't have a good webcam?
That’s okay! We are here to share your story with the world. While the goal is to share everyone’s amazing smiles through video, it’s not a necessity and I’m confident that our listeners will feel your smile and positive energy through the speakers 🙂
Do I need a microphone?
Yes… Kind of. I use the ATR-2100 USB and it was worked amazing for me since June of 2018. If you plan on sharing your voice more often, I recommend grabbing a high quality mic. If this is a one-off interview for you, any headset with a mic will work. Using your built-in computer mic is a no-no though.
Schedule your Interview on Let’s Talk Product!
Let’s Talk Product On YouTube
One of the primary distribution channels of Let’s Talk Product is expected to be YouTube. You can check out how your video interview will come to life by visiting the YouTube channel HERE or by watching a few of the examples below.