Adam Johnston is not a car guy.

Yet, two-and-a-half years ago he took on the job of Director of Product and Design at Shift, an ecommerce platform for buying and selling used cars. Adam was drawn to the position and company because of its vision — making car buying and owning a simple and trustworthy process for everybody.

It’s that customer-focused philosophy that Adam carries with him in every meeting he attends.

A few people had product management job titles at Shift when Adam began but all had been field promoted into the positions. So when he joined the company, the question was: how do you take an organization that has never really had a strong product management perspective and create space for a true product management process?

For Adam, building relationships, which ties back to that customer-focused philosophy, is central. From getting on Zoom calls with customers to customer surveys, Adam says getting that customer feedback is crucial to understanding the “why” and ensuring Shift’s marketing works.

Building on relationships, Adam says learning about human-centered design has been an asset in his toolbox. Leading with empathy, learning why customers want what they want or why his team has certain goals, leads to more effectiveness and productivity.

In this episode of People Drive Products, Adam dives into where customer behavioral shifts come from, emphasizing mobile first, trends in the market post-COVID-19 and more.