Melissa Perri’s Post

Many conversations we currently have revolve around the Product Operating Model and how to transform organizations towards ways of working that fully leverage the power of modern product management. But is there really only one right way? Which variations do different contexts and different starting points require? And more generally: What works? What doesn't work? What can you do? For this session we have invited three experienced product leaders: Gopika M., Tamer El-Hawari and Flavia Neves. Each of them has lead product organizations in different companies including Zalando, Spotify, Rocket, FreeNow and Wayfair as well as early stage startups and scaleups. We are curious to learn what is working best for them, whether there are any universal recipes and how they adapted their priorities and approaches to the respective contexts. #ProductOperatingModel

✨ 𝗔 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗜 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗩𝗣 In my early days, I believed building a great product meant shipping as many features as possible. ❌ 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴. The real advantage comes from asking the right questions—before writing a single line of code. Here’s the breakdown: 👉 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝟭: 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 🌀 These arise when you're overwhelmed by urgency but lack direction. 🔹 “What features should we build right now?” 🔹 “How fast can we launch this?” 🔹 “What’s everyone else doing?” ⚠️ While these seem actionable, they lead to 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 and 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. 💡 As the saying goes: “Measure twice, cut once.” 👉 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝟮: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 🎯 These focus on building with intention and precision. 🔹 “Who is our target user?” 🔹 “What problem are we solving for them?” 🔹 “How do we validate product-market fit before scaling?” ✅ These questions demand 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 and 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. ⏳ In my experience, they 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 and ensure the product meets actual demand. 👉 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝟯: 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 🚀 These redefine your product’s trajectory and unlock sustainable success. 🔹 “What metrics define success—and how do we track them?” 🔹 “How do we position this product for investors and market growth?” 🔹 “What’s the long-term vision?” ✨ Getting these right can mean the difference between a 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗩𝗣 and a 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁-𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁. 🛠 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. 🔻 Reactive building wastes resources. 🔺 Proactive planning builds clarity. 🌟 Transformative vision ensures long-term wins. 💡 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵? Use our 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸—a proven system that guarantees product-market fit. 📊 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: ✔️ 92% of founders hit PMF ✔️ 60% less feature waste ✔️ Zero pivots needed 📩 Comment "𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗚𝗬" for Chapter 1 of the Playbook. #startups #mvp #strategy

🚀 Ready to take your team to the next level while others are relaxing in the sun, this August? 🌞 At Product Weekend, we're thrilled to offer our Psychological Safety Workshop for product teams in Milan with a whopping 80% discount this August! 🏷️ With only 2 spots left, it's the perfect opportunity for startups and scale-ups to establish a healthy and productive organizational culture from the early days, and build a strong foundation ready for a fast team growth. In just 6 hours, you'll dive into best practices that foster innovation, collaboration, and trust within your team. We'll be introducing our Psychological Safety framework developed based on research and discussions with 100+ product and tech leaders. Imagine coming back from your summer break with a renewed sense of purpose and actionable strategies to elevate your team's productivity and Product Management game! 💼 Remember, August is the month to recharge and relax, but it's also a golden opportunity to invest in your team's future. Secure your spot now before they're gone! Send me a DM if you'd like to receive more details. #productmanagement #psychologicalsafety #productweekend #growth #startups #scaleups #accelerator #productgrowth #agile #techleadership

Weekly Wrap-up This week was all about refining the details, delivering value, and pushing the boundaries! Here's a quick snapshot of what went down: 1️⃣ Feature Differentiation & Pricing Models: Worked on crafting tailored subscription packages for our recruitment platform to align with diverse business needs – from startups to pioneers in the field. 2️⃣ Backend Development: Laid down the blueprint for efficient profile management, ensuring seamless user experience through clean endpoints and version control. 3️⃣ Team Collaboration: Collaborated cross-functionally to align our vision and execution strategies. From data insights to design tweaks, we’re set to roll out some exciting updates soon! 4️⃣ Customer Insights: Spent time diving deep into feedback, making sure our product evolution aligns with real-world challenges. Always iterating, always improving! 🔍 Excited to see these developments take shape in the coming weeks. We’re on a mission to build something impactful! #ProductManagement #Leadership #Tech #Startups #ProblemSolving

October brought something extraordinary! I've just received a perfect rating on Topmate, and I'm over the moon. It's been an incredible journey, and I'm so grateful for all the amazing support received from y'all. Thanks to everyone who has left some amazing reviews :) Book a call with me if you: 1. Are transitioning into Product Management? 2. Looking for any guidance on next steps in your product career? 3. Want to know how product management works in early-stage high-growth consumer-tech startups? 4. Want to know what tools usually work best for product analytics, user engagement and retention in consumer-tech products? 5. Want to know how to navigate cross-functional teams (business, engineering, design, founders) in early-stage high-growth consumer-tech startups? Let's do this together! I'll see you there :) https://lnkd.in/gtrPx9b9

Every day, I see individuals and teams struggle with connecting product work to the big picture, and I keep coming back to a fundamental flaw in how Product Strategy is taught. My observation is this: the most cited and most popular Product Strategy approaches, methodologies, frameworks, and tools are rooted in the fundamental idea that only one product exists, but the majority of people trying to learn, practice, and apply Product Strategy work at companies with more than one product. These popluar approaches are quite good for early-stage startups, but time and time again, I've seen them fall apart once that startup wants to grow up. They're a disaster when people try to use them at companies operating at scale. There's no mechanism within these Product Strategy frameworks to create shared vision and goals across products. As a result, there is no shared strategy. In environments where guidance and constraints on how the products should work together is exactly what's needed, product teams are left to sort it out on their own without any model or reference point. For companies that have more than one product, I just can't think of any other thing that prevents growth, competitive advantage, and ROI than this.

𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭: 3️⃣ 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 📈 Once your product gains traction, the next challenge is scaling it effectively. Scaling isn’t just about adding more features, it’s about growing your product, infrastructure, and team without losing focus or product quality. ▪ 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: When scaling, you must ensure your product can handle increased demand. This means revisiting your tech stack and ensuring it’s flexible and robust enough to support future growth. Focus on optimization and invest in infrastructure early to avoid bottlenecks as your user base grows. ▪ 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: It’s tempting to add more features when you scale, but adding too many too quickly can dilute your product’s core value. Stick to your product roadmap and only build features that directly align with user needs and your strategic goals. Feature creep is a common pitfall during scaling. ▪ 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: As your product scales, your team will need to grow too. Ensure that new hires align with your company’s culture and long-term goals. Hiring the right people is crucial to maintaining the quality of your product and keeping your startup’s agility intact. 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦, but the key is to stay focused on what matters most: delivering consistent value to your users. #product #productmanagement #startup #scale #growth

Just because an idea comes from the top doesn't mean it's bad. There is this concept in product development that great ideas should originate from the product team. Suggestions from executive or stakeholder are often scoffed at. But good ideas aren't exclusive to their source and a CEO's "lightbulb moment" can be a game changer. Our job as product people is to sift through ideas and determine what is "good" as efficiently as possible. Apply the Lean Startup ethos: test quickly, adapt swiftly, and assess rigorously. Apply the Lean Startup ethos even if you are an establishes business Every idea, big or small, is an opportunity for innovation. What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments 🎙 #leanstartups #productmanagement #agilesoftwaredevelopment #cameo

Life at a startup is like a nonstop sprint. We're always on the move, pushing hard, and sometimes that means we skip setting up processes, clear documentation, or tracking key metrics. But here’s the tricky part: when things get messy, fixing them later is way harder than if we’d done it right from the start. That's why I believe in doing things thoughtfully. It’s about building a strong foundation with clear steps and data to back our decisions, rather than relying on gut feelings. This way, we can grow faster and smarter. Moving fast is important, but moving forward with purpose and accountability is what drives real, lasting growth. #StartupLife #DataDriven #MindfulOperations

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩'𝐬 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 🚀 Turning a brilliant idea into a product can feel like a maze. But 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧! That’s where we come in. When a startup approached us with their vertical SaaS vision, we knew we were in for an exciting challenge. Our journey started with 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 to identify user pain points, ensuring we built a solution that resonated. Next, we moved to 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, focusing on a user-friendly interface that met real needs. Regular feedback kept us agile, allowing for quick adjustments. The launch was a game-changer! The startup saw increased user engagement and satisfaction, proving that 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. Want to achieve similar success? Just write us! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭? 🤔