From the pen of Spencer

Stealing conversations: Consentless outreach is bad business

This is going to rub some (sales) folks the wrong way. Sourcing someone’s personal information and using it to cold call or message them without consent is not just bad etiquette. It’s bad business. It’s also wildly unethical. If you dig through old directories, scrape data from questionable sources, or use tools that give you […]

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Product Ops with Techies 15 Live

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Wunmi Adekanmbi from Techies 15 Live for a quick 15 minute podcast covering Product Operations. Check out the recording here. We're excited to welcome Spencer Goldade, Director of Product Operations at ZayZoon, to this week’s Techies 15 Live! With over 15 years of experience, Spencer has led […]

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Fundamentals of change management

I've done several change management courses over the years and helped many organizations and teams through transformation. The fundamentals of change management are simpler than you think. It's getting them right in execution that's hard! Here is how I would distill a lot of change management 101: 1️⃣⁠ ⁠Start with the “why” Always explain why […]

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Meetings that should’ve been a fire drill

Oh, boy. Let’s talk about something that’s slowly bleeding your SaaS org dry: bad meetings. You know the ones. Half the invite list doesn’t know why they’re there, the other half doesn’t know how to leave. There’s no agenda, no focus, and no follow-through. Just vibes. And those vibes? Bad, bad, naughty, no good. Ineffective […]

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Accountability alignment exercises

Back when I worked at Benevity there were several times when we had changing expectations, team make-up, team goals, and culture. One of the biggest areas that some teams struggled with was the transformation from a waterfall team to an agile, empowered, and semi-autonomous team. To help several of the teams with this problem, one […]

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The best leaders aren’t the loudest

The best leaders aren’t the loudest... they’re the most accountable and humble. 📉 Teams with leaders who lack humility experience higher turnover, lower engagement, and slower innovation.📈 Leaders who admit mistakes and take responsibility build psychological safety, trust, and stronger team performance. Accountability means owning outcomes.Humility means making space for others to contribute, lead, and […]

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There is a cost to over-prioritizing growth

One article I recommend all product folks read is Cory Doctorow's original "Enshittification of TikTok" where the term was coined. As we see capitalists rise further to prominence, there's a drive in the industry for "growth at all costs." What Doctorow helps outline, though, is that there is and will be a cost. The more […]

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Product Operations

What follows is an article I have rewritten for various teams over and over again for the last 4 years to help them understand Product Operations. I hope it helps you as it has them! The most recent iteration borrows heavily from the recent Product Operations book by Melissa Perri. Intro Product Ops is basically […]

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Product aphorisms

As you scale teams, impact, and scope, adding new products and features, it's important to remember a few things: 1️⃣ Every feature carries operational debt. When you build something, you’re not just responsible for its launch—you own its lifespan. 2️⃣ No one cares about your feature. They care about their problem. Products don’t matter—outcomes do. […]

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The Elements of Product Design

I've spoken and written at length about what Product Design is in the past. Product Design says "Yes, and," to all of what UX and UI roles do. This role can be a true unlock to business success when enabled and unleashed in the right direction with the right team to collaborate with. Unfortunately, many […]

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