How Data Can Become Dogma For Product Managers - Blagoja Golubovski, Visit.org

Product Innovation Series with Aram Melkoumov

Follow Aram Melkoumov on Linkedin for highlight clips and DMs.

As product managers, how much should we rely on data? How much does data tell us about our nuanced realities? Can user interviews be manipulated to confirm bias? Tune in as we explore these questions.

About Blagoja
Blagoja Golubovski is Vice President of Product Management at Visit.org. Among other roles, he previously was the Vice President of Product Management at Simpplr and the Director of Product Management at Vindicia. In any room, Blagoja is likely the least controversial; he brings people together into the center.

Books mentioned:
Originals by Adam Grant: https://www.amazon.com/Originals-audiobook/dp/B01A7Q61LI/
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom: https://www.amazon.com/Tuesdays-Morrie-Greatest-Lesson-Anniversary/dp/076790592X/
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0062315005/

SHOW NOTES:
00:00 | Who is Blagoja Golubovski?
00:28 | Why you shouldn’t use data as your bible
01:21 | When are data indicators not useful?
02:41 | Common b2b problem: having a much lower adoption rate than expected
06:44 | Main misconception about product management
08:04 | What’s a great product?
10:23 | Sales-driven approach vs. a product-led approach: can they co-exist?
13:15 | Biases in decision making: putting too much emphasis on user interviews
16:56 | Not taking scale seriously
19:03 | 3 True and tested principles of product management
21:09 | What no amount of money can fix (a lot of products have this problem)
22:59 | Working towards arbitrary launch dates: do or don’t?
24:22 | How to ask better questions in your user interviews
24:47 | Getting comfortable saying no
25:36 | Working for only two hours per week: is it possible?
26:56 | The talent of being uncontroversial
27:48 | Most worthwhile investment of Blagoja’s life: one hour that changed everything
29:12 | 3 book recommendations

QUOTES:
“As a PM you should use data as a signal, as one signal, but you also have a lot of other forces that are at play.” [01:04]
“A great product is innovative, it solves a problem, it’s easy to use, and it has emotional value.” [09:02]
“I know people say the product sells itself. The product never sells itself. It’s the users that use it that sell it for you and that’s a very kind of subtle difference but when we’re building a product we make it easy for people to tell their friends. And we make it intuitive enough and emotional enough that they’re actually gonna go and be champions for you. So that’s the case where the product actually is taking a lead and you’re fueling growth by making your product great.” [12:32]
“Money can buy you a lot of things but it will not get you a clear sense of purpose. I thought about this and no amount of money can, really in the world, can solve for you not having a clear purpose. Unfortunately, a lot of products kind of fall into this category.” [21:16]

Follow Blagoja Golubovski:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/golubovski/