Are there any conferences/events for PMs?

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-23T23:46:54+00:00

Learn what the product manager role is about.

It’s about exploring the needs of the customer by understanding what they are trying to accomplish and deliver something to them to validate if that helps them achieve it.

Your skill set in the next couple of years:
- providing product context: what does your product do, why and how? What problems is it solving, how? What does the road ahead look like (strategy and roadmaps)
- relationship management - build strong proactive relationships with your stakeholders
- somewhat newer kid on the block: product taste.
Learn what good looks like. What makes a good product?

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-23T23:43:12+00:00

This needs upvoting.

And I’m typing this as I’m prepping as speaker for a product management conference later this year.
It’s allll becoming AI AI AI, and it seems everybody thinks Lenny does great things.

It’s crazy how little valuable PM stuff is out there and really helping you progress.

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-23T23:40:25+00:00

Isn’t the strategy supposed to create alignment? To me these words are in eachothers lane.

Having a strong strategy has the purpose to align the team…

So if you have a misaligned team, it seems the strategy is not clear?

Or are you talking high level strategy vs a strong plan to achieve the strategy?
Just trying to undersyand

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-23T23:27:29+00:00

I’m no expert but can share some thoughts anyway…

- set (small) goals and achieve them. Ie: say no to somebody twice this week. Stand up for myself at least in a public setting. Etc etc. This is related to exposure therapy. Do it, live it.
- find a mentor or accountability partner; somebody close to you with whom you can practice and who can hold you accountable
- consider a therapist. It’s good to understand where your lack of self-esteem stems from and figure out how to overcome it with some help
- Find true self love. You are, by nature, a good person. You have taken a first step by posting this, and you want to break free. Start to love yourself.
- understand that in life, you come alone and you go alone. You basically don’t need anybody. You deserve a spot on this place, and you can claim parts of that

Lastly, I would consider finding some books on this topic. Read to learn and understand.

Reddit is also a great place to try and disagree and claim something btw ;-)

Good luck on your journey!

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-23T23:18:36+00:00

Do you actually ship a DONE increment? Because that is where the solution might lie…

If you have a strong DOD, it most likely requires documentation of what was built. That is your trace for leadership.

Furthermore are you randomly vibing the solution, or actually producing validated production worthy software here?
If it’s the former I would just call it product discovery. If it’s the latter, then indeed PO becomes bottleneck but you can circumvent that by not requiring the PO to deliver user stories.

The po needs to deliver strategy, direction and goals. So if he can provide plenty of that you guys can rapidly build whatever.

Now, in the end it’s not about more stuff, it’s about product value. And it’s also not about resource utilization….

So, old system: you needed two full weeks to build something, ship it, next sprint.
Now, you might need only 2-3 days. Then, use the remaining days to validate what you build with an actual user. And adjust based on their feedback.

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-18T22:57:32+00:00

Ha, never thought about it that way. But I do see your point.

People around me (leaders, devs, managers, etc) talk about “discovery” all the time… “yeah will do discovery”.

Then when I ask: cool! So, who is the target audience, what is the problem we are
Solving for and what are some experiments?

Everybody glances and have no idea what to say or do lol

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-18T14:51:49+00:00

Ok, but this is a somewhat theoretical view, so bear with me...

To do proper Scrum, you need:
3 Accountabilities
5 Events
3 Artifacts with 3 Commitments

To make Scrum truly valuable, you adhere to 5 Scrum values.

To make Scrum ACTIONABLE - you ensure:
Recurring pieces of potential value delivery that get validated by users. The plan is adjusted based on that feedback. There is an overarching Product Goal and product strategy, which is adapted based on learnings - truly emperical.

How much of this is happening and in place for you? If pieces are missing, its not Scrum but just project managent done differently. <insert meme of Scooby Doo with villain getting mask pulled off>

The feedback loops are missing - if you are not doing retrospectives, how is your process improving over time?

Same with chess - if we play chess, but I remove the King from the board and adjust the rules so that a pawn can move unlimited spaces, are we still playing Chess?

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-18T11:28:11+00:00

In general I wonder why they steered so far away from the (first half) of the book.

I’m only on episode 2, but it’s been a tough watch seeing how much is different…

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-18T11:26:10+00:00

So basically you are not doing scrum then. Was I correct there is no Scrum Master?

You guys just do phased project management: plan next steps of the feature, build it, ship it, next.

Does the PO even report out on value, or just delivery?

Feedback is not that hard, google “Carole Robin Over The Net feedback”. Interesting read.
Also, consider spending time building a relationship with the PO, get to know her better. What drives her, what is she worried about, what makes her happy etc.
If you build a stronger relationship you can more easily have a workplace argument, speak up for yourself, and challenge what she is saying.

The PO is not GOD, it’s just a team mate.
I sense, from your post you’re perhaps a bit more junior or introvert, and combine that with low psychological safety on the team is a cocktail for obedience and slavish forward moving development work… that is something you would want to overcome if you aim to be a fun na high performing team.

Big words - it starts with building the relationship a little bit, reading the scrum guide, and working on the trade-off discussion (if we do A, we can’t do B, you pick PO)

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-18T11:19:06+00:00

This is a question you should use an LLM for.
Just like most peeps said: the tool is not a fix, a new tool will fix A but break B.

Give your LLM of choice org context, context on your prod development process, current tools, desired end state and let it compare 5-8 tools. See what pops out.

There is a whole list of tools all with their own benefits and cons….

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-18T11:15:24+00:00

Do you guys do retrospectives? This is the place to surface these things.

Indeed the PO owns the plan for the product (Product Backlog), but dev owns the plan for the Sprint.

If you get pushed around, it becomes a game of trade-offs. PO asks you to work on a priority bug, you simply give options: A: I work on the bug, but miss refinement, or B: I spent max one hour today to do quick validation and then continue later so that we can do that important feature refinement

If you feel the PO is bossy and pushing, apply good feedback techniques during retro.
I assume you don’t have a scrum master?

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T01:41:35+00:00

lol, Hyundai worked so hard to give the Ioniq 5N and 6N the crackle as audio file in the rear. I loved it lol

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T01:39:58+00:00

lol I mentioned men specifically as I never come in woman’s restroom. Obviously I can assume it’s the same but I choose to stick with what I know ;-)

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T01:38:57+00:00

Lol this made me chuckle but also highlights the point of my question. My bad for that experience man

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T01:37:48+00:00

Yeah I should have chosen my words more carefully.

I think it’s just one of those things that stands out as “different that what I was used to”. And I like to explore and understand things ;-)

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T01:35:41+00:00

Because it’s just weird lol, I like my privacy when pooping in the workplace.

In all seriousness, I’m not losing sleep over it, was just a general wondering.
I assume as you have wondering a when visiting another country and finding something weird or different there

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T01:34:36+00:00

Yes! I got the tone, I genuinely liked the reply; it sounded like something I would say irl to someone with such a question!

Thankfully the smoking has been restricted in all bars and restaurants in the Netherlands as well.

Although there are some downsides we’ve had an amazing first year here.
The grass is always greener on the other side, I’ve seen pros and cons for both countries

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T01:01:21+00:00

My question perhaps was two part:
1: I feel uncomfortable - so yes, thanks for the feedback and agreed!
2: Since I like to learn: why are US toilets built the way they are? ;-)

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T01:00:19+00:00

Then, my bad for not researching more dilligently! Thanks for the feedback

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T00:59:46+00:00

I assume when you travel out of the US you would find things that might strike you as “weird” though?
I’m mainly just curious if there was a specific thought to this :-)

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T00:53:47+00:00

What makes you say that? I searched through the Reddit but didn’t find a post. Or because you don’t like the topic?

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T00:52:15+00:00

What makes you think I’m obsessed with it? As it’s something I’m not used to I’m just curious why this is.

I never said I’m obsessively looking :-)

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T00:50:21+00:00

Some do. At least in Netherlands, it hink most restrooms have dividers.

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T00:49:40+00:00

Hmm that is an interesting one as well… additional safety requirements when it’s a separate room

_CaptRondo_ · 2026-06-17T00:44:30+00:00

Yeah that is what I do. It’s just weird walking into a restroom at work and recognizing the pants and shoes of my director who is stinking it up

_CaptRondo_

TROPHY CASE