Richard Russell ⤴'s Linkedin Analytics

How did I not read this earlier? The Build Trap by Melissa Perri is an incredibly clear diagnosis and prescription for how to build successful products.

If you optimise for ROI when making product decisions, you’ll get worse ROI than if you optimise for customer outcomes. Discuss.

What if the real key to leadership isn’t having all the answers — but being open about your mistakes? In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Kim Wylie, who’s led global teams at Google, Farfetch and high-growth scale-ups. We talk about what it really takes to build trust and lead change — especially when you’re the outsider coming into an existing team. She shares stories about: • Building psychological safety in a team that didn’t trust her at first • Trying (and failing) to be the “perfect” manager • What to do when your team gives you hard feedback • The simple rituals she used to connect distributed teams • Why solving everyone’s problems actually makes you a worse leader If you’re stepping into a new role, leading at scale, or just trying to be a better manager — this one’s for you. 🎧 Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/e_TQpdPj You'll find links to your favourite platforms, and the full video on YouTube there

The role of a manager is to create the environment where the team can effectively self-manage their work. This means: - sharing context - conflict resolution - securing resources - negotiating team remit - managing stakeholders - solving low performer issues - ensuring the right people are in the team - creating opportunities for growth suited to each team member - ensuring the organisation gives suitable recognition, reward, and career paths for the team members as they grow None of this is “project managing” and all of it empowers the team to “self-manage”. In fact, without someone doing these things, the teams ability to self-manage is limited, and their productivity and value creation is constrained by the need to spend time on these matters, which require entirely different skills and working style to most of the work of the team (hence the difference in managers vs individuals calendars - meet time vs make time). Adding a dedicated person to do this requires that that person is able to earn the trust of the whole team and the relevant peers and stakeholders - hence “senior” in some way. We traditionally call that person the manager. Whether it’s “traditional management” or not depends on which traditions you follow.

Management is not about serving your team. It’s about delivering results. Results are the what; Serving your team is the how.

“Our people are our greatest asset” But where are employees on the financial statements? You won’t find them on the assets column of the balance sheet, but under expenses on the P&L. In reality, people are your greatest expense. Maybe financial statements should include a “human capital” entry?

“The person who has the power to make the decision will make the decision. If I need to influence you and you have the power to make the decision, you are a customer and I am in sales.” Take this on board when managing up or working with stakeholders!

Phases in my career: Full Stack Web Programmer (Government) Linux Systems Administrator (Independent) DevOps Team Lead (Investment Banking) Sales Engineer (Google) Customer Support Manager (Google/DoubleClick) Startup Founder (Mobile Loyalty) Chief Product Officer (Listed Mobile Commerce Startup) Senior Manager Product Development (Amazon) Product Manager (Luxair) Consultant (Independent - Innovation, OKRs, Strategy, Management, Execution) Product Leadership Coach (Independent) It's been a wild ride over the past 25 years or so (more if I count the jobs during University and even School), across so many different industries, functions, business models, organisational cultures, and roles. I told my story in more detail to Nick Korte on the Nerd Journey podcast recently. It was quite a fun conversation (I don't often talk about myself), and if you'd like to hear the thinking behind some of these steps and what I've learned along the way, have a listen below (2 parts - I think the second is more interesting!). If you're one of the people from one of these phases of my career, you may or may not recognise yourself in some of the stories - if so, thankyou for your influence on my growth. https://lnkd.in/eRVa9R5v https://lnkd.in/edZWCsz6

Stuck on your product career next steps? Good news: I'm offering Career Consultations. Let's talk about how to succeed in your current role, get promoted, become a manager or executive, break through your barriers, and get the job you want. Book here any time (€200 VAT inc): https://lnkd.in/ejCqXpRC I'm also offering a limited number of free slots here: https://lnkd.in/eh9BG5TN

Everyone else is the problem. But you can only change yourself. Who do you need to be to have a bigger impact?

LinkedIn: 17000 followers, 130 impressions Substack: 600 subscribers, 308 impressions In case anyone is wondering why I’m not as active on LinkedIn any more, that is why.

And this is why you don’t use OKRs (or any other goal system) for performance assessment. Assess the progress, not the gap. The gap to a goal depends on your ability to predict the future when setting the goal. Use goals to create focus, drive decision making, and raise ambitions. Asses performance based on actual performance compared to what you expect for that role and level - yes, that means you need to really understand the work as a manager! Power tip: Don’t use individual OKRs at all - set as few OKRs as possible at the highest level you can, mostly with cross functional and cross team objectives and key results.

The difference between project and product management: Project success is delivering an agreed scope on time, within budget, at acceptable quality. Product success is customer behavior change that results in customer value created and able to be captured by the company. You can have one without the other.

I wish I had read this when I was a new manager. The unrealistic expectation to be a great manager from the start can be a killer. It’s a completely new skill set, and you should expect to be incompetent at first - but then learn!

If being product-led is so great, why don’t they follow? You run discovery. You prioritize ruthlessly. You push for product-led growth. And yet—Sales fights for custom features. Marketing wants fixed launch dates. Finance calls discovery a waste of money. The CEO just wants magic to happen. Sound familiar? Here’s the harsh truth: They don’t care about “product”; they want a solution to their problems. 🚫 Preaching doesn’t work. ✅ Solving real, urgent problems does. But just like when you're building a product, you have to discover the right problems to solve. The best product leaders don’t just “champion” the product model. They treat it like a product itself—by understanding their stakeholders needs, finding the right solutions to those problems, and proving value through real wins that motivate further change. That’s how you go from ignored to influential. I break this down (including the mistake that nearly cost one CPO his career) in my latest Substack piece, linked in the comments. 💬 What’s worked (or not) for you? How have you won buy-in for product-led ways of working in your organisation?

Internal friction could kill your business. Tension between product and marketing? Something is wrong at the top. Aligned leadership teams don’t have these problems. Maya Moufarek put it best: “It’s this group of senior leaders that can make or break that business.” Great leaders don’t just hit their own KPIs—they make each other successful. Their loyalty is to the business, not their function. The fix? Must-win battles. Not separate marketing plans, tech roadmaps, or sales targets. One shared mission that unites the leadership team. At Pharmacy2U, they didn’t just chase “growth” or “product excellence.” They aimed to be the best digital pharmacy. That single goal aligned every function—marketing brought in users, product improved the experience, tech built the foundation. One team. One mission. Faster execution. Without it? Silos slow you down. Is your leadership team accelerating growth—or holding it back?