Gilad Livnat | monday | Takhles Episode: How to Keep Focus and Say No - Product Builder Podcast episode with Eyal David
Updated: 00:04:23

Gilad Livnat | monday | Takhles Episode: How to Keep Focus and Say No

Host: · Guest: Gilad Livnat · About the host

According to Gilad Livnat, a product person at monday, the two most important product manager skills are focus and communication. Focus means knowing not only what the product does but also what it does not do, including which segment you focus on. And when a "hot" new idea arrives after you have set strategy, you need to say no without antagonism and explain why, or the team gets confused immediately.

In this episode

  • Focus means knowing what the product does not do: when a hot new idea arrives after you have set strategy, the immediate result is a confused team, so you need to say no without antagonism and explain why.
  • The two most important product skills are focus and communication, and they are linked: how you say "we're not doing this" is a test of communication.
  • A narrow segment choice shapes everything: who you interview, what questions you ask, which devices you test on and which signals really matter.
  • A segment that is too broad, because you want to take the whole market or the vision is too big, creates confusion and leads to customer interviews done "for the good feeling".
  • Communication is a critical skill: you need to talk with the whole spectrum, from developers and designers to management and customers, in presentations, one-on-ones and storytelling.
  • A salesperson's request on behalf of a single customer is a classic focus test: sometimes the right answer is "this isn't in our focus, it'll clutter our system".

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Episode Description

A Takhles clip from the conversation with Gilad Livnat of monday: why focus and communication are the two skills that define a good product person. Gilad explains that focus also means knowing what the product does not do, shows from his edtech startup how a narrow segment choice determines who you interview and what you ask, and describes how a new idea arriving after strategy is set confuses the team. Eyal David adds the classic example: the salesperson who shows up with one customer and demands a feature.

Chapters

  1. 0:00 · Focus and communication: the two product skills
  2. 0:48 · Example: segmentation at an edtech startup
  3. 3:54 · Telling sales: this isn't in our focus
Read the full transcript
Full transcript with speakers and timestamps

Selected quotes

“A good product manager must hold focus. Meaning he needs to understand very well what his company, what his product does and what his product doesn't do.”
— Gilad Livnat
“And the result of that isn't even a ripple effect, the immediate result is that your team starts to get confused”
— Gilad Livnat
“Then it's also about how you say it. Without antagonism, but while keeping your team's focus”
— Gilad Livnat

Questions & answers

What are the two most important product manager skills according to Gilad Livnat?

Focus and communication. Focus is understanding very well what the product does and what it does not do; communication is being able to explain that to the whole spectrum, from developers to management and customers.

How is segmentation related to focus?

The segment you pick determines who you interview, what questions you ask, what the interview looks like and which devices you look at. In Gilad's edtech startup the age range was 5 to 18, and they had to choose a defined segment to avoid confusion.

What happens when a new idea comes in after you've set strategy?

According to Gilad it isn't even a ripple effect: the immediate result is a confused team, because yesterday you said one thing was most important and this morning you're doing something else.

How do you say no to a colleague without creating conflict?

You say "we're not doing this because it's more important for me to do something else", without antagonism, and that way you keep your team's focus. This is where focus and communication meet.

People & resources mentioned

Companies & orgs

Product Focus Communication Segmentation User Research Strategy Sales monday Takhles Episode

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