How to Build a Product-Led Operating Model That Actually Sticks

The Product Experience | Hosted by Mind the Product | June 2025

About this episode

Transformations fail constantly — not because of bad intentions, but because most organizations mistake activity for change. Jen joins Lily Smith and Randy Silver on The Product Experience to break down why transformation initiatives stall, what "transformation theatre" actually looks like from the inside, and what it genuinely takes to build a product operating model that holds.

What they covered

• Why you can't do a "sneaky transformation" — and what that means for leadership

• The difference between transformation theatre and real structural change

• How to know your starting point before you can plot a path forward

• Why everyone is in the product operating model, but not everyone is on a product team

• How to pace transformation in a way your organization can actually sustain

• Why psychological safety isn't just a buzzword — it's what makes new skills stick

A few things Jen said

• "You cannot do a sneaky transformation."

• "Transformation theatre is the illusion of progress that's actually just reinforcing all the legacy structures causing the stall."

• "People are going to suck at this before they get good at it. And starting to create an opportunity for people to be bad at their job — for the first time maybe in their entire lives — that's really important."

About Mind the Product

Mind the Product is one of the largest global communities for product managers and product leaders. The Product Experience podcast features conversations with practitioners across the industry.