In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn are joined by Alesha Cronie, a seasoned engineering leader with a talent for bringing cross-functional teams into alignment.

The trio dives into what true collaboration looks like—beyond roles, titles, or processes. They explore how product managers and engineers can build trust, navigate ambiguity, and influence one another without ego. Alesha shares how she works with strong personalities, deals with vague vision statements, and why transparency and storytelling are essential leadership tools.

With laughs, real talk, and some hard-earned lessons, this episode is a must-listen for anyone trying to build better software—and better teams.

Key Takeaways

1. Trust is built through context and transparency. Frame your questions, share your intent, and give people space to bring their expertise to the table.
2. Iteration isn’t just “breaking things into smaller pieces.” It’s about delivering real value sooner—and requires collaboration between product and engineering on how to slice the work.
3. Stay in your lane—but know when to blur the lines. PMs shouldn’t be committing code, and engineers shouldn’t be solving business problems in isolation. Collaboration thrives when everyone plays their part—while staying connected to the whole.

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn and Leah talk with Ryan Scott, Head of Product: AI and Innovation at DNA Behavior.

Ryan shares how learning his own behavioral style has shaped the way he leads, communicates, and builds product strategy. They explore how self-knowledge supports better collaboration, why it’s worth investing in shared language across teams, and how great leaders make space for diverse thinking styles.

A thoughtful and practical conversation about the inner work of great product leadership.

3 Key Takeaways

1. Self-Knowledge Is a Leadership Advantage Understanding your own behavioral style—how you communicate, process, and respond—helps you lead with clarity and consistency.
2. Shared Language Builds Stronger Teams Behavioral tools can give product and engineering teams a shared framework for understanding one another and reducing friction.
3. Good Leaders Ask Curious Questions Ryan emphasizes the importance of inquiry over certainty, especially in roles that span strategy, innovation, and cross-functional leadership.

In this special anniversary episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn celebrate one year (and 33 episodes!) of no-fluff, real-talk product leadership. They reflect on what it’s taken to stick with the podcast, why they started it in the first place, and what it’s meant to have each other through the ups and downs of careers in tech.

They dive into some of their favorite guests and episodes, what makes a conversation great (and what doesn’t), and share honest thoughts about growth, AI, agency waste, and why roadmaps are mostly fiction. At its core, this episode is about friendship, longevity, and the love of building things that matter—with the people who matter.

Key Takeaways

1. There’s Power in Sticking With It Many women leave tech mid-career—and product leadership can be lonely. This podcast started as a way for two friends to stay connected and talk about real problems. A year later, it’s still about that (and it still matters).
2. Frameworks Don’t Build Products—People Do Marilyn and Leah have worked across industries, teams, and countries—and the lesson is always the same: theory is great, but nothing replaces curiosity, experimentation, and showing up with integrity.
3. Product Work Is Changing—And It Should From the AI hype cycle to shifting DEI conversations to the breakdown of “growth” as a silo, the future of product management demands new thinking. Real innovation will come from those brave enough to question how things have always been done.

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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