James Scouller on Pragmatic Institute’s “Product Chats” Podcast

I was a guest on the US-based Pragmatic Institute’s Product Chats podcast. Filmed on 10 July, it went live on 3 August 2024. You’ll find it here on YouTube, Spotify and Apple. It’s also available on Podbean, Amazon Music and iHeart Radio.

Founded in 1993, the Pragmatic Institute offers real-world insights, best practices and tools to help product managers around the world. Among other things it provides online and in-person data science and AI training plus courses to bridge between product, design and data. The idea is to help their client organizations identify the right opportunities and create the most innovative solutions for their customers.

Its Product Chats podcast, hosted by Rebecca Kalogeris, addresses the big challenges facing professionals in the fields of product management and marketing. The episodes feature expert guests who offer practical advice that viewers and listeners can apply in real-world scenarios.

Naturally, we discussed my new trilogy, How To Build Winning Teams Again And Again, and addressed questions like:

• Why are you so passionate about the idea of creating productive teams?
• What separates great teams from so-so teams … what are those markers that make you go, “Okay, that’s a good team”?
• How do you find out before it’s too late that your team’s apparent “agreement” in the meeting room equates to genuine commitment to follow through?
• Should the team leader always be the person with the most senior title in the room and, if not, how do you decide who is (or should be) the team leader?
• What’s the difference between a performance group and a real team … and why does it matter?
• What have you discovered – that we need to know about – concerning the psychological aspects of a really good team, and the issues they face?
• Are there important differences between senior leadership teams and all the other kinds of teams … and if so, what are they?
• If you were going to have our listeners do two things differently tomorrow, based on what we talked about today, what would they be?

I hope you enjoy it.