AB #002: Is Product Ops useless?, celebrity encounter, Bluey, ChoCho Paris
AB #002: Is Product Ops useless?, celebrity encounter, Bluey, ChoCho Paris
Heated LinkedIn discussions, lunch with French Rap legend, a kid TV Show that's worth it and more...
In today’s bento…
🍿 Is Product Operations useless?
🥕 Dining next to France’s biggest rap legend at this Parisian eatery
🙌🏽 Meet the founder of PMDojo
🍬 A new thoughtful & inclusive TV show for your kid…and you!
🩺 My Product+Career Clinic is open.
🍿 Is Product Ops useless?
This week saw a LinkedIn debate on whether Product Operations is truly impactful for organisations. We should rather ask the same question for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches.
Spoiler alert: I’m pretty opinionated about this.
Every week I see at least one interesting thread on LinkedIn about product. “Authors” often adopt a contrarian approach, engaging people into discussion, getting comments and likes, hoping for the LinkedIn algo to do its thing.
This week David Pereira wrote this post arguing that Product Ops doesn’t add any value to the work product teams do.
I’d argue that, like everything else in product, it depends.
On the context, on the initiatives, on the goals, on the scale, etc.
Sure, if you have a team of 5 PMs, then Product Ops might be overkill but if you’re wondering how to maintain or increase team performance as you scale, Product Ops can be instrumental.
The main argument from David was that Product Operations is an external team and they do things that a Product team should be doing in the first place. So, in his opinion, this creates a division between 2 classes of product people.
Product Ops can be a game changer depending on context
What about Scrum Masters?
Someone jumped in and described how “agile” can help product teams.
I have nothing against agile except a ton of dogmatic agilists imposing their ways of thinking onto everyone else in the equation.
In my 10 year track in product, I’ve only worked with a couple of truly great Scrum Masters. Their title was very reductive in many ways.
In comparison, most Scrum Masters I worked with ended up creating more work for the team or ended up infantilising team members.
Product Ops is very different.
It is about operational excellence and enablement. It exists to serve the product organisation and works within the team. Product Ops Managers are embedded within teams so they can support the day to day work of PMs and other team members.
Product Ops is here to stay
Instead of rambling on and on about it, why don’t you read the article I wrote about Product Excellence incl. examples or pin it for later.
🔖 My article about Product Excellence
Here’s what Danny Carvajal - VP of Product Excellence at Contentsquare has to say about it.
🔖 Read Danny’s post in full here.
👷🏽♂️ Need help?
If you’re interested in learning more about how Product Ops/Excellence can help your product organisation, drop me a note on LinkedIn or here:
📧 axel.sooriah@gmail.com
🥕 Worthy Eateries
Back in May, I had lunch with my friend Stéphanie Schoenahl at this hip Parisian restaurant.
Walked in at 12:30 and I was the only person in the restaurant.
It could have been a bad omen but things picked up quite nicely…
Service was amazing, great food and wine and a short and punchy menu.
Just how I like it for neo-bistros.
We had a mostly vegetarian menu “inspiration végétale” and I have to say…it was spot on.
The chef, Thomas Chisholm, previousky worked at Itinéraires ⭐️ (Sylvain Sendra), and the Sur Mesure ⭐️⭐️ (Thierry Marx) among others. He was also a candidate in season 12 of the French Top Chef TV show.
His experience is reflected in the dishes.
JoeyStarr was sat a few tables from us.
Most people don’t know this but he is a gourmet and loves cooking.
He cooks for his children at every single opportunity.
I guess we have that in common. 🤩
I’d recommend ChoCho for a casual lunch or dinner. 💎
🍦Humans of Product
Each bento features a human I came to know.
I want to build a community where product people can really connect and help each other. ✨
Meet Bosky, Founder of PMDojo
Bosky and I met following my podcast episode with Ravi Mehta.
She’s a coach on Ravi’s new coaching platform, Outpace.
Hi I’m Bosky 👋🏽
I've always been a rebel at heart, even as a little girl. I had big dreams and aspirations.
I wanted to be a nun, build a bridge that connected the entire world, become a paleontologist, create a library with a million books for everyone, and work alongside Mother Teresa.
Now, after 40 years, I'm still dreaming big and aiming to help one million people from diverse backgrounds and experiences accelerate their careers in product management and UX.
And for those wondering what happened to my rebellious dreams, here's what I'm up to these days:
1. I'm making a positive impact by empowering people to break through barriers in the tech industry. I'm proud to say that I'm opening doors for underrepresented talent. 🌉
2. While I'm not physically building bridges, I am building a global community that connects diverse talent with tech, product, and UX companies. 🌍
Behind the scenes, I am a mother to an 8-year-old heart worrier who has undergone 3 open heart surgeries. Our family has witnessed firsthand the fragility of life as we saw our 5-week-old having a cardiac arrest.
I also have anxiety and PTSD.
In 2019, I was given 3 months to live, but I rebuilt my life and found my strength in the community of people.
Life can knock us down, but remember this: we have the power to rise again. Together, we'll navigate the twists and turns, supporting each other every step of the way.
If you're navigating the ups and downs of life, know that you're not alone.
How I can help you?
If you're craving a career change or looking to advance in the exciting realm of product/UX roles, drop me a line. I'm here to guide you towards success. Reach out.
How can you help me? ⭐️
I’m available for advisory, coaching and fractional product leadership roles. Please reach out.
➕ Connect with Bosky on LinekdIn
🍬 Forget Peppa Pig, Bluey is the new kid on the block, and it’s here to stay…
I only found out about Bluey a couple of months ago.
Most times, I speak English to my 2yo daughter and given we live here in France, I find the occasional short episode helps her hear others speak English.
When we do, we watch a couple of episodes together.
I felt like lately Peppa wasn’t living up to my expectations.
To be honest, it can feel a bit dumb sometimes and I wonder whether it elevates daughter’s mind.
I’m very conscious kids are kids and they’re entitled to a simple childhood with none of our projected concerns.
However, I’m also concerned with how the content they’re exposed to can really impact their future at such a young age.
A simple YouTube search yielded Bluey.
If you’ve never heard of it, it’s an Australian TV Show which has become a cultural juggernaught. In the U.S., it ranked among the top 10 most-streamed shows last year, while in Australia, it has become the number one children's show across all age brackets. With accolades including an Emmy and an expanding universe that includes a massive merchandise collection and a live show, "Bluey" is a bona fide triumph.
Each episode focuses on games and gameplay as a central way to engage with and help children navigate their physical and emotional growth.
Bluey not only shows the fun bits but also the tough parts of parenting and it explores very modern themes, with authenticity and a high degree of realism.
I can easily have an emotional rollercoaster watching a 7-minute episode.
My daughter loves it, even tho she’s a bit young to get it all.
A key ingredient to Bluey's success is the educational value that doesn't feel preachy. The episodes are filled with gentle moral lessons that encourage empathy, cooperation, problem-solving, and other essential life skills.
My daughter learns through entertaining stories, while I value the meaningful content that stimulates thoughtful conversations with her.
🩺 Product Clinic
I’m opening weekly 30-minute slots for people who need help with a specific situation they’re faced with.
Fill in this short form and I’ll get back to you.
Depending on how this goes, I might not have time for everyone straight away, but will get back to you in any case.
That’s how I grow, too. 💫
P.S. I’m enjoying the new season of Foundation on Apple TV+ and easing into Asohka on Disney+. Yes, I’m a SciFi nerd. What are you watching?
👨🏽💻 I’m available for part-time contracting roles as a Product Coach/Advisor, Head of Product Excellence or fractional Product Leader, until the end of 2023 at least.
Next Bento’s going to be all about AI with some super cool content.
Don’t miss out and share the word.
Peace out! ✌🏽