In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn and Leah sit down with newly retired product leader Steve Jasper to explore the human side of product leadership. With decades of experience in payments at companies from startups to Big Tech, Steve brings deep insight into how great leaders grow, not just themselves, but the people around them.

This conversation goes beyond frameworks and roadmaps. Marilyn and Leah talk with Steve about the power of mentorship and sponsorship, the art of giving meaningful feedback, and the importance of building trust within teams. They also dig into the realities of burnout, why it’s so common among product leaders, and what it actually looks like to lead with intention instead of exhaustion.

Warm, thoughtful, and full of real-world wisdom, this episode is a must-listen for anyone building teams, navigating career growth, or trying to be a better human at work.

Key Takeaways

• Mentorship and Sponsorship Are Not the Same - Mentorship is guidance. Sponsorship is action. Steve shares how real career growth often hinges on having someone who will speak your name when you’re not in the room—and how to pay that forward.
• Feedback Is a Gift (If You Give It That Way) - Great product leaders give clear, kind feedback—even when it’s hard. Steve talks about how honest coaching can unlock growth and how teams thrive when trust runs both ways.
• Your Team Doesn't Need a Superhero, They Need a Human - Burnout happens when leaders confuse value with volume. Steve reminds us that showing up with curiosity, presence, and vulnerability is far more powerful than working 80-hour weeks.

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In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn McDonald and Leah Farmer welcome their longtime friend and former colleague Geno White, founder of Dockett Ellis Consulting and a seasoned technology strategist with a career spanning Microsoft, Amazon, Expedia, Moderna, and more. Together, they explore what it means to bring real product leadership into complex environments.

Geno shares hard-earned lessons from his years building software systems and leading change at scale: how to cut through misalignment with simple questions, why so many companies misunderstand what it means to be “product-led,” and how to coach executives and teams toward shared understanding and lasting results.

The conversation is full of warmth, humor, and sharp insights—plus practical advice on managing conflict, building cross-functional alignment, and knowing when (and when not) to raise your hand.

Key Takeaways

1. Rigor Isn’t a Buzzword—It’s a Commitment Everyone wants to “build like Amazon” until they realize how much discipline and accountability that really requires. Geno reminds us that frameworks don’t fix culture. Rigor does.

2. Clarity Beats Complexity Complex systems are solvable. Complicated BS is not. Geno breaks down how asking simple (and persistent) questions exposes misalignment—and builds shared understanding.

3. You Were Hired for a Reason—Act Like It One of Geno’s most famous pieces of advice? Don’t raise your hand too early. You don’t need to prove your worth by doing everything. Wait until you know how to win, then go all in.

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In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn and Leah are joined by Brad Jefferson, immersive product leader and filmmaker, to talk about what it really means to build for augmented, virtual, and mixed reality. From medical simulations to interactive storytelling, Brad shares how “immersive product management” expands the way we think about users, environments, emotions, and agency.

They explore how AR/VR is reshaping high-stakes industries like healthcare, law enforcement, and manufacturing—and why embodied UX is more than a buzzword. Brad also shares his journey into interactive AI filmmaking, how AI is transforming accessibility, and why storytelling is still the ultimate product skill.

Key Takeaways

Immersive Product Management Starts with Embodied UX: AR/VR product work requires a new lens on design—where the user is not just clicking, but moving, reacting, feeling. Body awareness, presence, and perception are central to experience design.

VR is Transforming Training in High-Risk Environments: Whether it’s heart surgery, law enforcement, or ladder safety, Brad explains how immersive simulations allow users to train safely, gain confidence, and even experience emotional responses—without real-world risk.

Product Work is Still Psychology Work: Rage clicks, cognitive overload, user panic—it’s all part of how people interact with products. Whether you’re building for AR or apps, understanding the chemical and emotional experience of your user is essential.

AI Is a Creative Partner (and a Wacky One): Brad’s foray into AI filmmaking reveals the promise (and weirdness) of generative tools. Prompts become spells. Models argue about frogs with beards. And yet, the output—done well—is pure magic.

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In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn and Leah interview Jen Bloom, a seasoned product leader and fintech expert with a background in global payments, compliance, and partnerships. Jen shares her journey from accounting to product management at Microsoft, Amazon, and Stripe, and how her curiosity and domain expertise helped her thrive in the fast-paced world of tech.

They discuss real-world examples of launching products in international markets, including payment localization challenges in Turkey, trust-driven design in Germany, and mobile-first experiences across regions. Jen also opens up about the power of mentorship, women supporting women in tech, and the life-long value of learning how to negotiate effectively.

This episode is packed with insights for product managers, fintech professionals, and women navigating leadership in the tech industry.

Key Takeaways

• Product Management Doesn’t Have One Path - Jen’s journey from accounting to tech to product shows that many PMs don’t start out with the title—and that’s okay. What matters is curiosity, learning in context, and growing with mentors (and sometimes, friends).
• Domain Expertise is a Superpower - Jen's deep knowledge of payments has helped her build trust across partnerships, legal, and product teams. T-shaped skills are important—but that deep vertical knowledge can be your differentiator.
• Global Products Need Local Wisdom - What works in one market can backfire in another. The team shares stories from launching payments in Turkey, Germany, and India—where even removing friction can reduce trust.
• Negotiation is a Life Skill, Not Just a Job Skill - From moving countries to vendor contracts, the team discusses how to ask for what you need, build win-win outcomes, and develop a negotiation muscle—especially as women in tech.

Keywords: product management, global payments, fintech, negotiation, women in tech, mentorship, localization, partnerships, tech careers, product leadership

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In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn sit down with Sam Zebarjadi, a product leader with deep experience at the intersection of healthcare, tech, and regulation—including roles at Amazon, Moderna, and multiple startups.

Together, they dig into what it means to drive innovation in highly regulated industries, the power of “dumb” questions, and how to partner with compliance and legal to build great (and safe) products. Sam also shares what makes a great PM today—and why staying practical, curious, and adaptable is more important than ever.

Key Takeaways

1. Regulation Isn’t the Enemy of Innovation - Sam flips the script on the typical tech vs. regulation narrative. Instead of viewing regulation as a blocker, the best product teams use it as a framework that forces better, more sustainable innovation.

2. Ask Better Questions—Especially the Dumb Ones “Help me understand why…” can be the most powerful phrase in a PM’s toolbox. Dumb questions often reveal flawed assumptions or outdated procedures that are ripe for change.

3. Tech Should Fade Into the Background - In healthcare and fintech, user delight isn’t about flash—it's about making tech disappear so patients, providers, and users can do what they need to do. Familiarity and trust matter more than novelty.

4. Great PMs Are Translators and Empaths - Sam reminds us that PMs succeed when they deeply understand their customers, collaborate across domains, and sit in the hard stuff—whether it’s a compliance meeting or a 2am production outage.

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In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn are joined by Rob Monroe, to explore the real-world complexity of product management in high-stakes environments like GovTech.

Rob shares how he has built outcome-driven product practices across defense, finance, and internal systems by shifting the focus from flashy features to mission-critical impact. Together, they discuss the tension between output and outcome, how to lead transformation without ego, and what it means to help users and teams unlearn old patterns in order to adopt better ways of working.

With deep insights into leadership, systems thinking, and practical experimentation, Rob challenges product managers to focus on what really matters. These include behavioral change, continuous delivery, and aligning product work with the actual mission, whether you're building a military system or an internal analytics tool.

Key Takeaways:

1. Start with the first experiment by shipping something safely to production.

In any organization, establishing a working path to production, even for a low-risk "Hello World" app, is essential for building trust and laying the foundation for continuous delivery.

2. Behavior change is the real outcome.

Features alone do not equal success. True impact comes from changing user behavior, team habits, or decision-making processes in ways that align with strategic goals.

3. Context matters more than frameworks.

There is no one-size-fits-all playbook. Effective product managers adapt their language, tools, and measurement to fit the risk profile, industry, and cultural environment they are working within.

Check out the resource guide on practicalpmpodcast.com for a list of all the books Rob mentions.

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn sit down with accessibility pioneer Mike Paciello to discuss how accessibility is evolving beyond compliance—and why product managers need to think bigger. For too long, accessibility has been treated as a checkbox, driven by legal requirements rather than user needs. But with the rise of AI, automation, and personalization, the possibilities are expanding.

Mike shares how AI agents could reshape assistive technology, why accessibility should be woven into product strategy rather than treated as a last-minute fix, and how the best user experiences adapt to individuals instead of forcing users to conform.

Throughout the conversation, Leah and Marilyn explore practical steps that product managers can take to make accessibility a competitive advantage rather than just a legal obligation. Key

Takeaways:

1. Accessibility is a Personalization Challenge, Not a Compliance Burden.

The best products don’t just check the boxes—they adapt to the user. AI and automation are making it possible to create truly personalized digital experiences that work for all users, not just those who fit traditional design molds.

2. AI Agents Could Revolutionize Assistive Technology.

We’re on the brink of a shift where AI-powered interfaces will interpret needs in real-time, eliminating the need for users to adapt to rigid digital experiences. Instead, products will adjust themselves to the user’s abilities and preferences.

3. Product Managers Need to Own Accessibility as Part of Strategy.

The industry has been stuck in a compliance-first mindset, but serving a broader audience is a business advantage, not just a legal requirement. PMs who invest in accessibility will unlock new markets and opportunities instead of just avoiding lawsuits.

Leave us comments here or go to our website Ask Us Page for comments, questions or show suggestions. practicalpmpodcast.com

🔍 Episode Summary:

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn dive deep into a critical, often overlooked factor in career success: choosing the right boss. Beyond titles, funding rounds, and company prestige, your next leader—and their leader—can shape your growth, learning opportunities, and job satisfaction. They discuss how to evaluate potential managers during interviews, the importance of values and leadership styles, and why fostering a human connection matters more than you think. Whether you're searching for your next role or stepping into leadership yourself, this episode offers practical insights that go beyond the job description.

🚀 3 Key Takeaways:

1. Your Boss Shapes Your Success: The two most important people in your career are your boss and your boss’s boss. They determine not just what you’ll learn, but how much space you’ll have to grow.
2. Look for Leaders Who Elevate, Not Compete: A great boss shares their knowledge without ego, champions your success, and fosters a learning mindset, regardless of hierarchy or seniority.
3. Ask the Right Questions During Interviews: Dig into how potential managers handle disagreement, their leadership style, and their values. Questions like “What does it look like when we disagree?” can reveal how open they are to collaboration and feedback.

💡 2 Questions for PMs to Reflect On:

1. When interviewing for your next role, how will you evaluate whether a manager aligns with your learning and leadership style?
2. How does your current boss support your growth as a product manager—and what could be better?

Reach out to us at PracticalPMPodcast.com with your comments or show ideas.