Productly Speaking: Real Stories for Product Managers
Productly Speaking is where product management gets real.
While other podcasts focus on frameworks, leadership systems, and executive‑level strategy, we spotlight the human side of building products: the messy moments, the unexpected failures, the lessons learned the hard way, and the breakthroughs that only come from lived experience.
Hosted by Karl Abbott, each episode brings you candid conversations with product managers and builders who’ve been in the trenches, sharing the real product stories that rarely make it into books or conference talks. It’s not about theory. It’s about what actually happens when real people try to create real products in the real world.
If you’ve ever wanted to hear the truth behind product decisions, growth, chaos, and resilience, this is your place.
Recent Episodes
S4E4: AI, Product Failure, and the Skills PMs Need for What’s Next wi…
AI is transforming the way we work, but building great AI products takes more than hype. In this episode of Productly Speaking , Karl Abbott talks with Dina Atia, an AI Product Manager at Microsoft, about how to navigate the ...
S4E3: Beyond Dogfooding: Balancing Complexity and Market Insight with…
Episode Summary In this episode of Productly Speaking , host Karl Abbott speaks with Jake Bowen‑Bate about the realities of building products in fast-moving environments. Jake shares how dogfooding can sharpen your intuition,...
S4E2: Why Lean and Agile Struggle in Chunky Corporates with Katie Tam…
Episode Summary: In this episode of Productly Speaking , host Karl Abbott talks with Katie Tamblin, consultant, trainer, and author of The Lean Agile Dilemma . Katie explains why lean and agile principles, born in startup env...
S4E1: From Failure to Breakthrough: The Product Manager’s Journey wit…
Episode Summary: In this episode of Productly Speaking , host Karl Abbott sits down with Lee Fischman—seasoned developer, product manager, executive, and author of How to Excel at Digital Product Management . Lee shares decad...
Season 4 Introduction
Welcome to Season 4 of Productly Speaking! In this short kickoff episode, host Karl Abbott introduces the theme for the season: Why do products fail and what can we learn from those failures? We’ll explore the hidden risks, o...
S3E5: The Truth About Roadmaps: Why Dates Don't Deliver with Janna Ba…
In this insightful episode, Karl Abbott sits down with Janna Bastow, co-founder of ProdPad and founder of Mind the Product, to explore the evolution of product roadmaps. Janna shares the origin story of the Now-Next-Later Roa...
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