From the pen of Spencer

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 […]

Read More
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 […]

Read More
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 […]

Read More
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 […]

Read More
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 […]

Read More
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 […]

Read More
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. […]

Read More
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 […]

Read More
The paradox of tolerance

I've been chatting with way too many people lately about what I would boil down to tolerance. The thing is, I think we can easily look to history, the microcosms of various businesses, and other countries, as examples, and they all seem to eventually point to the same insight Karl Popper tried to teach us […]

Read More
January is for prioritization

I see January as a time for reflection and redirection. It’s an opportunity to pause, evaluate, and realign both personal and professional goals. Here are a few key questions I ask myself during this period: These questions guide my prioritization. Setting goals is only part of the process—the methods we use to achieve those goals […]

Read More
1 2 3 4
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram