All Things Product with Teresa and Petra

Topics Covered:

• What are AI-generated Opportunity Solution Trees?
• The rise of Synthetic Users and AI-driven research tools
• Why AI can’t (and shouldn’t) replace human customer discovery
• Real vs. synthetic data: How AI-generated insights can mislead your product decisions
• The risks of using AI personas for usability testing
• Best practices for balancing AI and human-led research

Resources & Links:

• Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org
• Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in the episode:

• Synthetic Users
• Opportunity Solution Trees: Visualize Your Discovery to Stay Aligned and Drive Outcomes
• Don’t Use Generative AI to Replace Discovery with Real Humans
• ChatGPT
• Gemini
• Claude
• Continuous Discovery Habits

Key Takeaways:

• Deep work is essential but often deprioritized. Many product leaders know they should spend time on strategic thinking but struggle to justify it.
• Guilt is a major barrier. Many leaders feel bad about blocking off time for reflection, fearing it takes away from “real work.”
• Deep thinking improves team alignment. Setting aside time for structured thought helps leaders assess their team’s needs, challenges, and motivations.
• Strategy requires dedicated focus time. Updating or refining product strategy isn’t something you can do in 15-minute increments—it requires intentional, uninterrupted work.
• Protecting your calendar is a leadership skill. Building deep work habits means creating systems that make space for what matters most.

Resources & Links:

• Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org
• Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in the episode:

• Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule by Paul Graham
• Petra's Illustration of Maker's vs. Manager's Schedule
• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
• Beating the drum of your product strategy tune- Megan Murphy’s talk at Mind The Product
• I’m Glad We All Agree by Jeff Patton
• Reclaim.ai
• Continuous Discovery Habits

Key Takeaways:

• Working within your company’s framework doesn’t mean you’re a bad product manager
• Change happens incrementally—start with small wins to shift toward better practices
• Be mindful of elitist narratives in product communities that may discourage rather than inspire

Resources & Links:

• Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org
• Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in the episode:

• Everybody Can Do Continuous Discovery—Even You - Teresa’s talk at Product at Heart
• Product in Practice: All It Took Was One Product Trio To Inspire Change—The Hemnet Story
• Product Tank
• Continuous Discovery Habits
• Readwise

Teresa & Petra announce their new podcast.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why we decided to launch All Things Product
Our approach: Unfiltered conversations vs. traditional interviews

Resources & Links:
Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org
Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in this episode:
Lenny Rachitsky’s podcast: https://lennyspodcast.com

Join the Conversation:
Have thoughts on this episode? Leave a comment on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AllThingsProductPodcast