162: The Fastest Path to Creating Value ft. Jason Houseworth

About this episode

Jason Houseworth discusses the importance of focusing on value creation rather than just managing activities in product management.

Even the sharpest product managers can fall into the “project manager” trap. Jason Houseworth, CPO at OpenLane, believes it’s happening in the industry more than PMs care to admit. In this episode, hear Jason’s view on why people tend to get caught up in managing activities instead of creating value. We cover using AI as a collaboration partner (instead of a tool), thinking like an entrepreneur in an enterprise environment, and getting uncomfortably close to the user. A killer combo to create value for your business. Lean fully into the “value creator” mindset Jason doesn't love the title "product manager" - and he’s got good reason. He's seen too many people fall into the trap of simply managing activities. It’s ironically one of the primary reasons PMs like differentiating themselves from project managers. But how well are we doing this as an industry? “I don't want people to be a manager. I prefer just the term value creator, because that's what I expect people to pursue. I want you to create the fastest path to the most value. And what that means is you have to understand the user need you're solving for, and ultimately the value that you're creating for them.” Activity does…

People in this episode

Host: George

Guest: Jason Houseworth

Topics covered

• product management
• value creation
• AI collaboration
• entrepreneurship
• user experience

Keywords

• value creator mindset
• project manager trap
• user need
• creating value
• AI as collaboration partner

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Domo, Mixpanel, Project Aristotle, OpenLane

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