S2.E1 Navigating The Beautiful Mess of Product Leadership
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In this episode of The Ops Drop, we sit down with John Cutler, CPO at DotWork, to explore the complexities of product leadership, from navigating The Beautiful Mess to bridging the gap between GTM and product teams.
John shares his unique journey into product, how to adapt leadership styles based on company maturity, and the right ways to approach product metrics and team models. We also dive into how product operators can gain executive support, where leaders should invest their time for the biggest impact, and the unspoken challenges companies face today. Whether you're a product leader or operator, this conversation is packed with insights to help you build better teams and drive meaningful outcomes.
00:40 Who is John Cutler...beyond The Beautiful Mess
4:20 Getting into Product from a non-traditional background
7:35 How John Cutler came up with The Beautiful Mess
10:15 How to approach being a product leader in different environments
14:15 Understanding your company/product on the maturity curve
16:00 How to bridge the gap between GTM and product teams with metrics
18:00 How to get started with product metrics with the right team models
22:00 Getting support from Execs as a product operator
23:45 How product leaders should invest their time and their teams' time
26:00 What's going unsaid right now at companies
29:45 Advice for product operators from John Cutler
