Everything you need to know about impact-first product teams – Matt LeMay (Product coach and Author)

In this episode of The Product Experience, we welcome back Matt LeMay—author, consultant, and champion of no-nonsense product thinking. We dig deep into the ideas behind his new book, Impact First Product Teams, and explore how teams can focus on what really matters: delivering business impact.

Key Takeaways

• Avoid process theatre: Teams get caught up in frameworks (OKRs, bets, KPI trees) instead of focusing on what actually delivers business value.
• Simplify the strategy-to-execution link: Draw a direct line between the team’s work and what the business needs to succeed—don't bury it in layers of abstraction.
• Ask hard questions early: “If you were the CEO, would you fund this team?” can provoke real clarity on value and priorities.
• Define impact broadly but concretely: Whether it's revenue, user growth, or public health (like reducing virus transmission), align everyone on one clear metric.
• Commercial awareness is a muscle: Encourage product teams to name numbers, even imperfect ones, to prompt clearer thinking and better decisions.
• Culture is reshaped from the ground up: Changing one team’s behaviour can influence the broader org, especially in cultures lacking strong strategic guidance.
• Support teams amplify impact: Platform or B2B2C teams should align their work with the most impact-critical teams—not just the loudest.

Featured Links: Follow Matt on LinkedIn and his website | Buy Matt's new book 'Impact-first Product Teams' | Sudden Compass | Randeep Sidhu's episode on The Product Experience: 'Lessons from building the UK's test and trace app'

Chapters
00:00 – The Myth of Rational Business
01:03 – Matt’s Accidental Journey into Product
02:20 – What Are “Impact-First” Teams, Really?
04:50 – Why OKRs Are Often Just Theatre
07:12 – Best Practices ≠ Business Value
10:00 – Who’s on the Product Team, and Why It Matters
12:30 – Dealing With Cross-Team Goal Conflicts
15:00 – Culture Change via Strategic Goal Alignment
17:00 – Proactive Conversations About Impact
20:00 – Commercial Awareness for Product Teams
24:00 – Platform Teams & Measuring Amplified Impact
27:00 – What Do Good Impact-First Teams Look Like?
31:00 – Customer-Centricity vs. Business Impact
34:00 – Discovery, Metrics & Mission-Critical Goals
36:00 – Culture, Strategy & Individual Leverage
41:00 – BAU vs. Innovation: Set Clear Expectations
44:00 – The Ego Trap in Product Work
46:00 – Matt’s Final Zinger on Capital and Feelings