Product Therapy: September Updates 📚

A Substack felt inevitable. So here we are.

Hello and perhaps welcome.

There’s a good chance you’ve been getting emails from me already. If so, welcome to Substack! If you haven’t, welcome to the party. I promise it’ll be fun. And if it isn’t, smash that unsubscribe button. No hard feelings.

A note on the title “Product Therapy” - I’ve hesitated to use the word “therapy” because… well, I’m not a therapist. But, I keep coming back to this word because it best encapsulates the mix of work I do in coaching, consulting and teaching. While many folks I coach look to strengthen their hard product skills - such as roadmapping or product discovery - they quickly find that these hard skills don’t operate in a vacuum. And, in fact, my value add, with dozens of clients thus far, has been in the marrying of the hard skills with the soft skills. We might start with how to build a “go-to-market” plan but we inevitably work through an internal communications strategy to get stakeholder buy-in. I can help you plan towards a promotion, but it’s in turning your manager into an advocate to push that promotion through where the magic happens. I take a holistic approach because I don’t believe the professional and interpersonal are mutually exclusive.

But with all that being said, it’s worth explicitly stating:"Product Therapy" offers guidance and support for product managers but is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. I am not a licensed therapist or healthcare professional. 

Now, let’s get into it.

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Life IRL

• Last week, I returned to life IRL at Cornell Tech. Aside from the professional opportunity the job presented, the chance to be in person with students was one of the most appealing features of the job after nearly 3 years working remote.

  • Here’s what I’m doing:

    • I’m a Studio Coach at Cornell Tech for the Fall Semester teaching Product Studio. Product Studio is a required course for graduate students - organizing them into teams and pairing them with companies to solve a “how might we” statement. Heading back into academia it’s lectures, group projects, presentations, grades, etc. More than anything, its a way to get my brain thinking in new ways. What a breath of fresh air!

  • Here are some early observations:

    • The “teacher” title: As I was setting up my classroom last week, I remembered how often I played “pretend classroom” growing up. My most cherished childhood gift was a whiteboard. The irony of doing lots of inner child work myself these days and this new found job is not lost on me. There’s a deeper connection to what I’m doing here as I call up the natural teacher/leader in me to facilitate creation and exploration in others. I’m new to this manifestation thing but it seems like this might be it.

    • Group dynamics: I loved observing the team dynamics during class last week. How people show up (or don’t) for one another, who speaks the most, who takes notes. My wheels were turning watching teams find their footing amongst themselves. You either love or hate group projects, amirite?

    • Doing the work: As the world around us adjusts to more automation, I’ve been curious to see how it impacts the world of education. Cornell Tech has a “use it but cite it” ChatGPT policy. Between watching students use it in the classroom and grading papers, I’m fascinated to see how students lean on tech to work through complex and unique business problems that I don’t believe robots are capable of solving (yet).

Life on the Internet

• Back on the internet, I’m still networking strong and loving some of the new friends I’ve met and opportunities I’ve plugged into:

  • The Old Girl’s Club - This has easily become one of my favorite communities on the internet. I’ve been hyping it for a few months but what’s one more plug here too. Shout if you want a referral invite!

  • Women in Product Peer Coaching Committee - I was selected to participate in designing a peer coaching program for mid level Product Managers. Their peer coaching group was one of the catalysts for my journey into coaching, so I’m stoked to give back and make this program even better.

  • Positive Intelligence Coaching Program - I’m at Week 5 of Shirzad Chamine’s Coaching Program. I am loving the Saboteur/Sage framework, the daily mindfulness exercises and connecting with my peer coach pod (hey Connie & Mandy) on a weekly basis. The program is closed but check out more about his work including his book, Positive Intelligence, here.

• ✍️ This month I wrote about

  • How I used experimentation to launch a career pivot

  • My happiest place on the internet - Coaching Corner

  • A reminder that job searching is fking hard

And finally - A few non product recs (because work isn’t everything even though sometimes it feels like)

1. 📺 A show: Chimp Empire - I am still struggling to accept that this footage is real.

2. ✍️ A Poem: I Have Been A Thousand Different Women - I cry every time I read this. And I’m not a poem person. But maybe I am now?

3. 🎧 A podcast: Las Culturistas: The Top 10 Pop Girlie Debut Singles - This is pure cotton candy deliciousness.

4. 🍅 A bite: It’s heirloom tomato SZN. That is all.

From Left: A Friday night Warm Up PS1 at MoMa in Queens, Surf's up at 98th street at Rockaway Beach - no I don't surf but wouldn't it be cool if I did, The Short King: Leo the dachshund, My classroom setup with sweeping views of Manhattan *swoon*