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AA220 - Why Finance is Everyone's Job: The Hidden Truth Behind Product Failures
Manage episode 494755848 series 2986873
Last episode, we talked about Instant Pot's failure via financial engineering that most product teams may never see coming.
In this episode, we explore why financial literacy should be a core competency for product teams, not something left to the "adults in the room."
We break down why reading basic financial statements, understanding customer lifetime value, and making data-driven decisions that actually consider the cost of building features are essential and how you can start moving toward a future where you have more transparency into financial matters.
Key topics covered:
• Why whoever controls the budget is the real product manager
• How financial complexity hides exploitation and manipulation
• The curriculum gap in product management education
• Practical metrics every product team should track
• How to bring finance people into your product discussions
This isn't about becoming accountants - it's about understanding the financial impact of your product decisions and building something that lasts.
#ProductManagement #FinancialLiteracy #AgileLeadership
REFERENCES
----------------
AA219 - How Private Equity Killed Instant Pot (And Why Your Product Could Be Next),
AA217 - Extreme Ownership: Military Leadership Lessons for Professionals,
AA201 - Mastering Stakeholder Communication & Management,
KIRO 7 News Seattle: https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/instant-pot-pyrex-parent-company-instant-brands-files-bankruptcy/VLWFB4OF75FHLERB7B5KCMXUFI/,
LINKS
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xbub7ZKTMKo
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: http://arguingagile.com
= = = = = = = = = = = =
Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)
Chapters
1. Episode Introduction: Private Equity and Instant Pot (00:00:00)
2. Intro (00:00:40)
3. Holding Companies (00:02:33)
4. The Importance of Financial Literacy in Product Management (00:03:39)
5. Arguing on: Cognitive Overload (00:05:26)
6. Playing Games (00:06:46)
7. What We're Not Doing (00:07:51)
8. Metrics and Financial Pilots for Product Teams (00:09:42)
9. Challenges - Product Management Education (00:12:13)
10. Career Progression of PMs (00:13:26)
11. Remember Yesterday (Specialities) (00:14:51)
12. Let Market Succeess Decide (00:17:01)
13. Perpetuating Ignorance (00:18:07)
14. Financial Literacy for Product Managers (00:19:12)
15. The Real Product Managers: Budget Owners (00:20:06)
16. Encouraging Financial Decision-Making (00:21:18)
17. Patronizing Behavior (00:23:20)
18. Tactical Finance in Product Development (00:23:44)
19. Arguing on: Customers Don't Care (00:25:38)
20. Power-Interest Stakeholder Management (00:27:08)
21. Greed and Exploitation (00:29:26)
22. Agile Doesn't Work in Traditional Finance (00:35:02)
23. Arguing on: Long Term v. Short Term (00:37:23)
24. The Benefits of Micro Budgeting (00:38:13)
25. Not Enough Expertise (00:39:04)
26. Rapid Feedback & Sustainable Pace (00:40:40)
27. Final Thoughts: Financial Literacy (00:42:16)
28. Wrap-Up (00:44:52)
231 episodes
Manage episode 494755848 series 2986873
Last episode, we talked about Instant Pot's failure via financial engineering that most product teams may never see coming.
In this episode, we explore why financial literacy should be a core competency for product teams, not something left to the "adults in the room."
We break down why reading basic financial statements, understanding customer lifetime value, and making data-driven decisions that actually consider the cost of building features are essential and how you can start moving toward a future where you have more transparency into financial matters.
Key topics covered:
• Why whoever controls the budget is the real product manager
• How financial complexity hides exploitation and manipulation
• The curriculum gap in product management education
• Practical metrics every product team should track
• How to bring finance people into your product discussions
This isn't about becoming accountants - it's about understanding the financial impact of your product decisions and building something that lasts.
#ProductManagement #FinancialLiteracy #AgileLeadership
REFERENCES
----------------
AA219 - How Private Equity Killed Instant Pot (And Why Your Product Could Be Next),
AA217 - Extreme Ownership: Military Leadership Lessons for Professionals,
AA201 - Mastering Stakeholder Communication & Management,
KIRO 7 News Seattle: https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/instant-pot-pyrex-parent-company-instant-brands-files-bankruptcy/VLWFB4OF75FHLERB7B5KCMXUFI/,
LINKS
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xbub7ZKTMKo
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: http://arguingagile.com
= = = = = = = = = = = =
Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)
Chapters
1. Episode Introduction: Private Equity and Instant Pot (00:00:00)
2. Intro (00:00:40)
3. Holding Companies (00:02:33)
4. The Importance of Financial Literacy in Product Management (00:03:39)
5. Arguing on: Cognitive Overload (00:05:26)
6. Playing Games (00:06:46)
7. What We're Not Doing (00:07:51)
8. Metrics and Financial Pilots for Product Teams (00:09:42)
9. Challenges - Product Management Education (00:12:13)
10. Career Progression of PMs (00:13:26)
11. Remember Yesterday (Specialities) (00:14:51)
12. Let Market Succeess Decide (00:17:01)
13. Perpetuating Ignorance (00:18:07)
14. Financial Literacy for Product Managers (00:19:12)
15. The Real Product Managers: Budget Owners (00:20:06)
16. Encouraging Financial Decision-Making (00:21:18)
17. Patronizing Behavior (00:23:20)
18. Tactical Finance in Product Development (00:23:44)
19. Arguing on: Customers Don't Care (00:25:38)
20. Power-Interest Stakeholder Management (00:27:08)
21. Greed and Exploitation (00:29:26)
22. Agile Doesn't Work in Traditional Finance (00:35:02)
23. Arguing on: Long Term v. Short Term (00:37:23)
24. The Benefits of Micro Budgeting (00:38:13)
25. Not Enough Expertise (00:39:04)
26. Rapid Feedback & Sustainable Pace (00:40:40)
27. Final Thoughts: Financial Literacy (00:42:16)
28. Wrap-Up (00:44:52)
231 episodes
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