About this episode
In this episode of The Product Experience, host Randy Silver sits down with product veteran John Cutler to explore why creating great products remains one of the hardest things organisations do. They dive into why so many companies adopt off?the?shelf models (“Spotify”, “SAFe”, etc) and still struggle, and how the secret often lies not in what you build but how you build it—specifically the game you design for how you work.Chapters00:00 — The stigma around “how you work”00:54 — Introducing John Cutler (again)01:25 — What John’s building at Dotwork02:46 — From fun to formal: doing discovery at scale04:04 — Why process became a bad word05:10 — The “cavalier PM” mindset06:28 — Empowered teams vs. harsh realities08:00 — What great pockets of practice have in common09:03 — Managing up vs. doing the right thing10:24 — Playing the game vs. designing the game11:20 — What makes a great internal game12:33 — Defining success: thriving, surviving, progressing13:46 — Environmental design: why leaders hesitate15:10 — Making intentional design less intimidating16:42 — Tools, rituals, and the power of checkpoints18:23 — The behaviour design playbook20:41 — Removing blockers: access, repetition, reflection22:12 — Replayability and tOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs Product
