All Things Product with Teresa and Petra

We’re kicking off 2026 with a look behind the scenes at what’s changing in our work, what we’re experimenting with, and what we’re genuinely excited about this year. In this conversation, Petra and Teresa swap notes on everything from shifting business models to AI-powered teaching tools to big community events and personal projects. If you’re navigating your own mix of coaching, team development,...

In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dig into their end-of-year reflection practices — the ones they've refined over decades of product work, personal growth, and plenty of nerdy experimentation. They compare how their processes started, how they’ve evolved, and why both of them have moved away from rigid annual goal-setting in favor of something more flexible, valu...

In this conversation, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille unpack a pattern they’re seeing again and again in product transformations: teams get trained in continuous discovery, but nothing sticks because leaders haven’t changed how they work. They dig into why “train your leaders first” isn’t just a catchy mantra — it’s a prerequisite for shifting from projects to true product thinking. They share concr...

In this episode, Petra and Teresa revisit a topic they once strongly pushed back on: using AI to analyze (and maybe even synthesize) customer interviews. Six months and several experiments later, Teresa’s perspective has evolved — and the conversation opens up a nuanced look at where AI can genuinely help and where it can quietly erode your team’s customer understanding. They dig into recent studi...

In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille explore how product people can intentionally design their own communities of practice—and why it matters for long-term learning and growth. Teresa shares her introvert-friendly approach to continuous learning: curating a personal learning network (PLN) filled with people she wants to learn from. Petra contrasts that with her more...

In this heartfelt episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres talk about something we all experience but rarely discuss openly — setbacks. Teresa shares a deeply personal story about her long recovery from an injury and how it unexpectedly mirrors the ups and downs of product work. Together, they explore what it means to face professional setbacks — when your product fails to move...

Ever launch a new product feature that seemed solid—until a small, overlooked detail broke everything? In this episode, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille share their real-world experiences wrangling global invoicing and taxes while running small, international businesses. What starts as a rant about EU tax compliance turns into a sharp product lesson: how failing to map the entire path to customer val...

In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres explore how experimenting with AI in our personal lives can help us become more confident, capable, and thoughtful product builders at work. Teresa shares stories from her “AI at Home” and “AI at Work” series — from using ChatGPT to analyze school budgets, plan meals, and even evaluate real estate, to leveraging AI as a work part...

AI can be a powerful teammate, but only if we give it the right context. In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille unpack why “context is king” when it comes to using AI in product work. They share practical ways product leaders can start preparing today—from keeping decision logs to designing machine-readable context—so their teams are ready to collaborate effectively w...

In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille swap the stories that shaped their careers. From navigating the fallout of the 2008 recession as a startup CEO, to realizing the company won’t love you back no matter how loyal you are, to the first user interviews that cracked open a new way of seeing product work—these are the pivotal (and sometimes funny) moments that changed...

In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive into a big end-of-year reflection question: What do you want to be known for in your work? They unpack the nuances of impact, craft, personal brand, and values—exploring how those ideas shape the footprints we leave behind in our teams, organizations, and the broader product community. Along the way, Petra and Teresa share p...

In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille sits down with Teresa Torres to explore a big shift in how Product Talk Academy is approaching learning: moving from purely instructor-led cohort courses to offering on-demand options. Teresa shares why she resisted on-demand for so long, how deliberate practice has always been at the heart of her teaching, and what finally changed her mind. From...

Teresa Torres and Petra Wille dive into how they’re using AI as strategic thought partners across writing, coding, and product work. Petra shares how she relies on voice input and bilingual transcription to brainstorm and surface her past writing. Teresa explains why Claude Code in the terminal completely changed her workflow—from planning mode for coding projects to using reviewer “sub-agents” wh...

Building AI products isn’t just about clever prompts and orchestration—it’s about knowing if what you’ve built actually works. In this episode, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille dive deep into AI evals: how they’re defined, why they’re essential, and how teams can implement them to ensure product quality. Teresa shares her journey building her Interview Coach tool and the hard lessons she learned abou...

In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille flips the script and asks Teresa Torres a big, timely question: How do product teams learn to build AI-powered products—beyond just dabbling with ChatGPT? Teresa shares fresh insights from her own experience building a real AI product over the past several months, breaking down the unique skills, workflows, and cross-functional collaboration patte...

So many of us chase promotions as if they’re the ultimate career milestone—but are they really the best goal? In this conversation, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack why promotions can be a tricky (and sometimes misleading) target, what to focus on instead, and how to reframe career growth around skills, influence, and personal fulfillment. In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and...

We’re back from our summer break! In this first episode of the new season, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres catch up on Product at Heart and dive into the conference’s 2025 theme: curation. From backlogs and customer segments to product experiences and your own workload, curation is everywhere in product work. Petra and Teresa explore why this skill is more critical than ever—especially in a world wh...

In this quick update, Teresa and Petra share their plans for a summer break. With August just around the corner—and in true European fashion—they’re hitting pause to rest, recharge, and enjoy some time outdoors. Expect a return to regularly scheduled programming on September 2nd. Until then, enjoy your summer, whether you’re wing foiling and hiking South Tyrol like Petra, building cool stuff like...

In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack one of their favorite guiding principles: "Go find the source." With the rise of social media hot takes and oversimplified content, it’s easy to misunderstand product frameworks and best practices. Petra and Teresa share real-life examples—from OKRs to Opportunity Solution Trees—to show why it's so important to dig deeper,...

In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dig into one of the most common — and tricky — questions they get: How do I choose the right product coach? If you’ve ever scrolled past 7,500 “product coaches” on LinkedIn and wondered who’s actually worth your time and money, this one’s for you. Teresa and Petra share red flags to watch out for, green flags that signal quality,...

In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive deep into a question from a listener: What’s the real difference between organizations that fund projects and those that fund teams? It’s a deceptively simple question that touches the core of shifting from a project-based mindset to a product operating model. Teresa and Petra unpack what it actually takes to move toward tea...

In this episode, Petra Wille gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her newest framework—the Product Leadership Wheel. Building on the success of her PM Wheel, Petra shares how she’s tackling the complexity of product leadership by helping leaders self-assess across 12 core responsibilities. From directional clarity to cultural advocacy and process oversight, we dig into what it really takes to grow...

AI prototyping tools are mushrooming—Replit, V0, Bolt, WindSurf, and more—but do they actually help with discovery work? In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres discuss how AI-powered tools can supercharge assumption testing, where they still fall short, and what that means for product teams today. From building chat interfaces with custom data to testing leadership se...

In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille unpack one of the most ambiguous roles in product organizations: Product Operations. What is product ops, really? Is it strategy alignment? BI and analytics? Coaching? Stakeholder management? All of the above—or none? Drawing from real-world examples, Teresa and Petra dig into the evolving definition of product ops, where it over...

In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille tackle a classic product question with a twist: Should all outcomes be measurable? Teresa revisits a long-held belief—that outcomes should be metrics—and explains why she’s starting to shift her thinking. Drawing from hands-on product work (like rethinking outcomes at a recruiting platform), Teresa shows how focusing on value cre...