Practical Product Management

In this episode of Practical Product Management, hosts Leah Farmer and Marilyn McDonald sit down with Ryan Dew, CPO at Thredd, a global issuing processor based in London, to explore what innovation really means when you're operating at the foundation of the payments ecosystem. Ryan explains how Thredd approaches innovation as a "slow burn" in a heavily regulated industry — building guardrails firs...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, hosts Leah Farmer and Marilyn McDonald sit down with Evan J. Schwartz, Chief Innovation Officer at AMCS Group, to explore what innovation really looks like inside a large, mature SaaS organization. Evan explains how his role works as a separate innovation track — taking high-risk bets on AI and emerging technology, running lean matrixed teams, and h...

In the Season 3 premiere of Practical Product Management, hosts Leah Farmer and Marilyn McDonald ditch the traditional PM reading list and get personal — sharing the books outside of product management that have most shaped their careers, their leadership, and how they show up as humans at work. From Brené Brown's case for vulnerability and clear communication, to Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent C...

In the Season 2 finale of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn close the year with an honest and deeply human conversation. They revisit the idea of being the CEO of your own life, choosing who gets a seat at your personal board table, and why your job doesn’t deserve a vote in your identity. They explore the hard parts of product leadership and reflect on the importance of having a stro...

In this second Best Of episode, Leah and Marilyn revisit Episodes 11–20 — a set of conversations that explored burnout as data, the importance of communication, and the courage it takes to build meaningful products. Featuring guests like Charity, Sunny, Greg, Ryan, Steve, and Ali, this collection highlights the deeply human side of product work. It’s a reminder that great product leadership comes...

In this special Best Of episode, Leah and Marilyn look back at the first ten episodes of Season 2 — a lively mix of conversations that capture the depth, humor, and humanity of product work. From fractional leadership and accessibility to GovTech, AI, and personal growth, these highlights reveal just how dynamic the product world has become. Featuring guests like Peter Collingridge, Mike Paciello,...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, hosts Leah Farmer and Marilyn McDonald sit down with Sunny Lee, Experience Design Director at EA’s Full Circle Studio, to explore the intersection of design, empathy, and play. Sunny’s career spans from building AAA games at EA Sports to shaping purpose-driven experiences in health tech — and back again to lead design for Skate, EA’s newly relaunche...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, hosts Leah Farmer and Marilyn McDonald are joined by Steve Brieloff, a seasoned product leader from Expedia Group, for a conversation about what truly defines great product management. Steve shares insights from his years leading teams across Expedia’s product suite, highlighting how getting the fundamentals right—from crafting precise problem state...

In this episode of Practical Product Management , Leah and Marilyn sit down with Ali Rakhimov , Senior Product Leader, fintech founder, and author of Make Pigs Fly . Ali shares his unconventional path into product management as a self-taught immigrant, the lessons learned from scaling fintech for underserved schools, and leading $10M+ initiatives at Macy’s and T-Mobile. The conversation ranges fro...

In this episode of Practical Product Management , hosts Leah Farmer and Marilyn McDonald welcome back returning guests Alesha Cronie and Geno White for a candid conversation about iteration. Together, they unpack why iteration is more than a process—it’s a mindset centered on learning, courage, and embracing discomfort. The discussion explores the “courage gap” that often holds organizations back,...

In this episode, Leah and Marilyn sit down with Mike Maynard , Chairman at Napier B2B PR & Marketing, to unpack why B2B is far from boring. Mike shares why complex buying committees make B2B uniquely challenging, how synthetic personas can help but never replace real conversations, and why respect for the problem (not just the proposed solution) is essential. Along the way, they dig into the p...

In this candid conversation, hosts Leah and Marilyn talk with product leader Charity about ambition, burnout, and the elusive art of slowing down. From unexpected career starts to the relentless pursuit of the next goal, they explore how high-achievers push themselves (sometimes too far) and what it takes to recognize when it’s time to rest. The episode offers a mix of personal stories, leadership...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn are joined by Greg Weinger—SVP of Product at SheerID and founder of the Powerful Introvert podcast and newsletter. Greg shares his journey from engineer to product leader, revealing how introversion and deep self-reflection became the unexpected keys to his leadership success. Together, the trio explores what it takes to scale produ...

In this episode of Practical Product Management , Leah and Marilyn are joined by Alesha Cronie, a seasoned engineering leader with a talent for bringing cross-functional teams into alignment. The trio dives into what true collaboration looks like—beyond roles, titles, or processes. They explore how product managers and engineers can build trust, navigate ambiguity, and influence one another withou...

In this episode of Practical Product Management , Marilyn and Leah talk with Ryan Scott , Head of Product: AI and Innovation at DNA Behavior. Ryan shares how learning his own behavioral style has shaped the way he leads, communicates, and builds product strategy. They explore how self-knowledge supports better collaboration, why it’s worth investing in shared language across teams, and how great l...

In this special anniversary episode of Practical Product Management , Leah and Marilyn celebrate one year (and 33 episodes!) of no-fluff, real-talk product leadership. They reflect on what it’s taken to stick with the podcast, why they started it in the first place, and what it’s meant to have each other through the ups and downs of careers in tech. They dive into some of their favorite guests and...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn and Leah sit down with newly retired product leader Steve Jasper to explore the human side of product leadership. With decades of experience in payments at companies from startups to Big Tech, Steve brings deep insight into how great leaders grow, not just themselves, but the people around them. This conversation goes beyond frameworks and r...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn McDonald and Leah Farmer welcome their longtime friend and former colleague Geno White, founder of Dockett Ellis Consulting and a seasoned technology strategist with a career spanning Microsoft, Amazon, Expedia, Moderna, and more. Together, they explore what it means to bring real product leadership into complex environments. Geno shares har...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn and Leah are joined by Brad Jefferson, immersive product leader and filmmaker, to talk about what it really means to build for augmented, virtual, and mixed reality. From medical simulations to interactive storytelling, Brad shares how “immersive product management” expands the way we think about users, environments, emotions, and agency. Th...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Marilyn and Leah interview Jen Bloom, a seasoned product leader and fintech expert with a background in global payments, compliance, and partnerships. Jen shares her journey from accounting to product management at Microsoft, Amazon, and Stripe, and how her curiosity and domain expertise helped her thrive in the fast-paced world of tech. They discus...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn sit down with Sam Zebarjadi, a product leader with deep experience at the intersection of healthcare, tech, and regulation—including roles at Amazon, Moderna, and multiple startups. Together, they dig into what it means to drive innovation in highly regulated industries, the power of “dumb” questions, and how to partner with complia...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn are joined by Rob Monroe, to explore the real-world complexity of product management in high-stakes environments like GovTech. Rob shares how he has built outcome-driven product practices across defense, finance, and internal systems by shifting the focus from flashy features to mission-critical impact. Together, they discuss the te...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, Leah and Marilyn sit down with accessibility pioneer Mike Paciello to discuss how accessibility is evolving beyond compliance—and why product managers need to think bigger. For too long, accessibility has been treated as a checkbox, driven by legal requirements rather than user needs. But with the rise of AI, automation, and personalization, the pos...

🔍 Episode Summary: In this episode of Practical Product Management , Leah and Marilyn dive deep into a critical, often overlooked factor in career success: choosing the right boss. Beyond titles, funding rounds, and company prestige, your next leader—and their leader—can shape your growth, learning opportunities, and job satisfaction. They discuss how to evaluate potential managers during intervi...

In this episode of Practical Product Management, hosts Leah Farmer and Marilyn McDonald sit down with Peter Collingridge, a seasoned product leader, to explore the evolving world of fractional product management. Together, they unpack the nuances of fractional roles—how they differ from traditional full-time positions, the balance of ownership and consulting, and the importance of time management....