Perfection is the Enemy of Progress – Matt LeMay on The Product Experience

Matt LeMay has a problem. He's a content machine. He's written 3 books (two books on product and one on the musician Elliot Smith), plenty of music, and much more – which means that he's prone to going down a rabbit hole before sharing his work with a team. To combat that, he now employs the approach of One Page / One Hour, which is designed to get the whole team involved in a collaborative manner.

In this episode, sponsored by #mtpcon Digital, listen to learn about:

• How to document well
• The 'One Page / One Hour' technique
• Co-creating as a team
• Making the most of your time

Quote of the Episode

There is no guarantee that if you are doing your job well that you will be recognised and acknowledged for it. If a product manager is doing their job really well, they will be invisible. Their team's work will speak for itself, and it will reflect their team's work. And one of the most dangerous things a company can do is reward product managers for their individual outputs rather than for the collective outcomes delivered by their team.

Related Links

• Follow Matt on Twitter, LinkedIn and Medium
• Matt's Website
• One Page / One Hour
• Sudden Compass
• Matt's latest book is Product Management in Practice: A Real-World Guide To The Key Connective Role of the 21st Century

Get in Touch, Rate Us and More!

• Visit The Product Experience homepage for more information and more episodes!
• Know the perfect guest? Great! Suggest them here
• Chat to us on Twitter or in our dedicated Mind the Product #podcast Slack channel
• Review us on your podcast app so that we can use your feedback to be better
• Like our theme music? It's Hamburg-based Pau, featuring ProductTank Hamburg’s Arne Kittler!

Our Hosts

The Product Experience is hosted by Lily Smith and Randy Silver.

Lily enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Head of Innovation at Go Compare and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol (which now has 800+ members!) and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy is a product consultant and coach who has been working as an interactive producer and product manager across the US and UK for nearly 20 years. A recovering music journalist and editor, he launched Amazon’s music stores in the US and UK, and has worked across sectors including museums and arts groups, online education, media and entertainment, retail and financial services. He’s held Head of Product roles at HSBC and Sainsbury’s, where he also directed their 100+-person product community. Randy's book, What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19 is out now, with all profits going to COVID-19 relief efforts.