Build What’s Next: Digital Product Perspectives – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Build What's Next: Digital Product Perspectives, host Josh Lucas discusses customer engagement and loyalty in digital channels. The episode features Mike Frankel, VP of Memberships at Petco, and Morgan Sorbaro, Director of Digital Transformation at Mavis Tire.

Key topics discussed include:
• The importance of customer engagement and loyalty in today's digital landscape
• Strategies for digital transformation and improving customer experience
• The role of personalization in customer engagement
• Balancing digital and in-store experiences in an omnichannel environment
• Challenges and opportunities in implementing loyalty programs
• The importance of employee engagement in driving customer loyalty
• Gathering and implementing customer feedback to improve services
• The future of customer engagement and loyalty in a digital-first world

Mike Frankel brings his experience from Petco, where he focuses on driving growth, retention, and engagement through membership programs. Morgan Sorbaro shares insights from Mavis Tire's digital transformation journey, emphasizing the importance of creating a seamless customer experience in the automotive service industry.

Episode Resources:
• Mike Frankel on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mfrankel04
• Morgan Sorbaro on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-sorbaro
• Petco Website - https://www.petco.com
• Mavis Tire Website - https://www.mavistire.com
• Andy Busan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andybusam
• Josh Lucas on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-lucas
• Method Website - https://www.method.com

Episode Highlights:
• [00:01:50] Introduction of guests and their backgrounds
• [00:05:26] Customer engagement strategies in different industries
• [00:07:01] Digital transformation and its impact on customer experience
• [00:13:25] The role of in-store employees in customer engagement
• [00:17:51] Differentiating through customer experience
• [00:24:54] Personalization strategies and challenges
• [00:30:40] Gathering and implementing customer feedback
• [00:33:30] Lessons learned and advice for improving customer experiences

Quotes:
• "Approximately 80% of pet parents consider their pet a part of their family and want to do the very best for them, but only have to know what to do." - Mike Frankel
• "For us, that's kind of our first way to engage with customers, is taking a bad day and making it not so bad." - Morgan Sarro
• "We're trying to rethink what this industry could be like and how convenient it could be for customers and it all through providing this better digital customer experience." - Morgan Sarro
• "Customers who are part of our paid membership program spend three times that of an average customer." - Mike Frankel
• "The vision is that a customer can come into the shop. We'll be able to figure out quickly what's wrong with their car, and what all their needs are. We'll give them accurate wait times, which is a huge pain point in our industry." - Morgan Sorbaro

In this episode of Build What's Next: Digital Product Perspectives, host Blair Holt delves into the rapidly changing automotive industry with two expert guests: Josh Batie, Vice President of Autonomous Vehicles at Toyota Motors North America, and Evangelos Simoudis, founder and managing director of Synapse Partners.

The discussion covers a wide range of topics, including:
• The concept and potential of software-defined vehicles
• The impact of autonomous driving technology on customer experience
• Changing business models in the automotive industry
• The evolution from car ownership to mobility as a service
• The role of data in shaping the future of transportation
• Challenges in implementing new technologies in the automotive industry
• The future of car dealerships and retail models
• Regional differences in customer preferences and regulations
• The intersection of vehicles with smart infrastructure

Josh Batie brings insights from Toyota's perspective, discussing their approach to autonomous vehicles and the challenges of implementing new technologies in a traditional automotive company. Evangelos Simoudis offers a broader industry perspective, drawing from his experience as an investor and author in the automotive technology space.

Together, they paint a picture of an industry transitioning from traditional car manufacturing to providing comprehensive mobility solutions. They emphasize the importance of customer experience, data utilization, and adapting to regional differences in the evolving automotive landscape.

Episode Resources:
• Evangelos Simoudis' book: "The Flagship Experience: How Artificial Intelligence and Software-Defined Vehicles Will Revolutionize the Automotive Customer Experience"
• Toyota Motors North America website: https://www.toyota.com/usa/
• Synapse Partners website: https://synapsepartners.co/
• Method Website: https://www.method.com

Episode Highlights:
• [00:02:44] Definition and potential of software-defined vehicles
• [00:09:02] Impact of autonomous driving on customer experience
• [00:15:17] Challenges in automotive product development cycles
• [00:20:51] The future of car dealerships and retail models
• [00:26:00] The importance of customer education for new vehicle technologies
• [00:30:20] Regional differences in automotive preferences and regulations
• [00:35:42] The concept of vehicle journey vs. customer journey
• [00:41:17] Data privacy concerns and transparency in the automotive industry

Quotes:
• "The biggest capabilities that [software-defined vehicles] can update their functionality over the air and the first one that we saw having that capability are the Tesla vehicles, But now several others do." - Evangelos Simoudis
• "If I lived in Orange County and I worked, say, in L A. And I drove an hour and a half there and an hour and a half back every day, and I could get in my car, plug it in an address, open up my laptop, turn on my phone, watch my Netflix. I could have an hour and a half back each way, three hours a day, five days a week. If you do the math, that's a month of your life back." - Josh Batie
• "The reason I said earlier that today the definition of software-defined vehicle is a bit muddled is because the incumbent automotive industry has to transition to the clean definition. The clean definition is when we start having the so-called zonal architectures and central computer architectures very much like we have in a data center." - Evangelos Simoudis
• "60

In this episode of Build What’s Next: Digital Product Perspectives, host Josh Lucas is joined by Tim Morey, Global Head of Method, and Evangelos Simoudis, Founder and Managing Director of Synapse Partners.

Join them as they discuss:
- What the ‘Flagship Experience’ is
- How automakers can become mobility partners of consumers
- The decision for automakers to outsource software development or keep it in-house
- The driving forces behind the continued push toward automotive innovation
- How automakers can create and monetize value by better understanding customers needs
- And more!

Evangelos Simoudis is the Managing Director of Synapse Partners, a company investing in early-stage startups developing horizontal and vertical enterprise software AI applications. He is also the author of The Flagship Experience: How AI and Software-Defined Vehicles Will Revolutionize the Automotive Customer Experience.

Since 2023, Tim Morey has been Global Head of Method, the global strategic design and digital product development consultancy. Prior to joining us, he spent almost thirteen years leading Silicon Valley companies.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, instructions on how to do this are here.

Episode Resources:
- Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothymorey
- Evangelos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evangelossimoudis
- Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-lucas-7844401b
- Method Website: https://www.method.com

Episode Highlights:
[03:08] What Is The Flagship Experience? 
[10:44] How Automakers Can Become Mobility Partners of Consumers
[17:12] Should Automakers Outsource Software Development Or Keep It In-House
[24:27] Driving Forces Behind Continued Push Towards Automotive Innovation
[31:38] How Automakers Capture and Use Data
[38:20] How Automakers Can Create and Monetize Value From Understanding Customers
[43:46] Where Do Dealers Come in?

Quotes:

“I think there have been many attempts recently, in the last couple of years, to create an analogy between the smartphone and the software-defined vehicles, and at a high level, the analogy holds. But we should not forget that I cannot kill somebody if I throw my phone at them unless I was very strong, whereas the vehicle is a heavy piece of machinery that can create a lot of problems.” - Evangelos Simoudis

“I think an awful lot of incumbent carmakers don't give themselves permission to be a mobility partner. They're looking at sulfur-designed vehicles and electrification and new energy sources as really a linear move in technology.” - Tim Morey

“For the incumbent automakers, partnering is an attractive option because you get ready-made access to expertise. But with that choice comes the challenge that you're now no longer fully in control of the overall experience that you're offering.” - Tim Morey

We're back with part 2 of Modern Product!

In this episode of Build What’s Next: Digital Product Perspectives, host Josh Lucas is joined by Jason Rome, SVP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience at Method, and David Brown, Director of Digital Product Operations and Governance at EDF Renewables.

Join them as they discuss:
- Where work is most likely to get bottlenecked
- How preference impacts delivery
- Whether new features get overvalued
- Measuring culture through collaboration and networking
- Where empowerment fits into the equation
- And more!

David Brown is the Director of Digital Product Operations at EDF Renewables North America. He also serves part-time in the Marine Corps as a Strategy Engagement Consultant.

Jason Rome has been SVP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience at Method since 2015. He has also worked at Skookum, most recently as VP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience, before leaving the company in 2021.

If you enjoyed this episode, go check out part 1, and make sure to subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, instructions on how to do this are here.

Episode Resources:
- Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-rome-275b2014
- David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-allen-brown
- Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-lucas-7844401b
- Method Website: https://www.method.com

Episode Highlights:
[02:56] Where Bottlenecks Form
[09:30] How Preference Impacts Delivery
[15:28] Overvaluing New Features
[20:35] Collaboration as a Way to Measure Culture
[28:49] How Does Empowerment Fit In?
[33:54] Actionable Advice

Quotes:
- “People's true preferences are what's going to be the lowest cost on my time, what is the most efficient way to do things, and what has the best ROI for me. Those are people's real preferences, whether they're employees or customers. I think if you look at the feature too closely versus the problem, you can end up a little bit blind to that process.” - Jason Rome
- “Nothing's ever proven until you put it in production in someone's hands and you see how they interact with it.” - David Brown
- “There is no such thing as a delightful password reset. It is something you want to seamlessly just happen. And so, not everything needs to be super delightful and super memorable. Those need to be inserted at moments where there's a clear ROI on being able to do that.” - Jason Rome

In this episode of Build What’s Next: Digital Product Perspectives, host Josh Lucas is joined by Jason Rome, SVP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience at Method, and David Brown, Director of Digital Product Operations and Governance at EDF Renewables.

Join them as they discuss:
- The pillars of the Modern Product framework
- The necessary steps in building an effective strategy
- The importance of strengthening your discovery muscle
- The need for cross-functional guidance
- And more!

David Brown is the Director of Digital Product Operations at EDF Renewables North America. He also serves part-time in the Marine Corps as a Strategy Engagement Consultant.

Since 2015, Jason Rome has been SVP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience at Method. He has also been a part of Skookum, most recently as VP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience, before leaving the company in 2021.

If you enjoyed this episode, go check out part 2, and make sure to subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, instructions on how to do this are here.

Episode Resources:
- Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-rome-275b2014
- David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-allen-brown
- Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-lucas-7844401b
- Method Website: https://www.method.com

Quotes:
- “Discovery is the muscle, not the exercise.” - Jason Rome
- “If you don't make [discovery] part of your delivery model or your large SDLC associated with how you deliver, you will probably just keep a proximity bias of, we know what our problems are, and we'll solve for them.” - David Brown
- “ Our day is broken up into half-hour to an-hour-long chunks, and that's not enough time for strategy. And so I think, a lot of times, just having more time for your team to talk about strategy, but really sitting down and grasping the consequences and talking through it and getting people of different beliefs in one room and just wrestling it for a while.” - Jason Rome

The process of developing digital products and experiences can be a daunting task organizations often find themselves wondering if they are solving the right problems the right way hoping the result is what the end user needs. That’s why our team at Method has decided to launch Build What’s Next: Digital Product Perspectives.

Every week, we’ll explore ways to connect technology with humanity for a simpler digital future. Together, we’ll examine digital products and experiences, strategic design and product development strategies to help us challenge our ideas and move forward.

In this episode of Build What's Next: Digital Product Perspectives, host Michael Gray is joined by Jeremy Mack, Solutions Architect, and Mike Storiale, VP of Innovation at Synchrony. They delve into the world of generative AI and its implications for businesses and society at large.

Join them as they discuss:
• The definition and potential of generative AI
• How generative AI is changing product development and customer interactions
• The ethical considerations and security implications of AI adoption
• The future of work and new job roles emerging from AI technology
• Practical applications of AI in various industries
• The challenges of implementing AI in enterprise environments
• The importance of education and training in the AI era

Jeremy Mack brings nearly nine years of experience at Synchrony, with a background in startups and various agencies. As a Solutions Architect, he oversees technical strategy and decision-making in the company's incubation group.

Mike Storiale, with almost five years at Synchrony, leads product incubation on the technology side. His team focuses on developing new products and capabilities for future horizons, typically looking at trends and potential products 2-3 years out.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube Podcasts.

Episode Resources:
• Jeremy Mack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmack
• Mike Storiale on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikestoriale
• Synchrony Website: https://www.synchrony.com
• Michael Gray on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gray
• Method Website: https://www.method.com

In this episode of Build What's Next: Digital Product Perspectives, host Josh Lucas continues his insightful discussion with Jason Rome and Robert Neer. They explore:
• The concept of "unobstructed wandering" in product discovery and how to turn observations into actionable strategies
• The challenges and best practices of implementing OKRs in product organizations
• The importance of business fluency for product managers and how to develop it
• The evolving role of product managers in 2024 and beyond
• Practical tips for product managers to stay connected with their users and market trends

Jason Rome is the SVP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience at Method, bringing years of experience in digital strategy and product management. Robert Neer is an Executive in Residence of the Product Management Leadership Accelerator at the University of Washington, with a wealth of knowledge in product leadership and customer-focused problem-solving.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, instructions on how to do this are here.

Episode Resources:
• Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-rome-275b2014
• Robert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertneer
• Method Website: https://www.method.com
• Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-lucas-7844401b

Episode Highlights:
• [00:00:26] The Concept of Unobstructed Wandering in Product Discovery
• [03:49] Techniques for Effective Product Strategy Definition
• [06:10] Implementing OKRs in Product Organizations
• [13:13] Aligning OKRs with Business Value and Product Team Impact
• [15:10] Developing Business Fluency for Product Managers
• [17:35] The Evolving Role of Product Managers in 2024
• [19:15] Practical Tips for Product Discovery and Market Understanding

Quotes:
• "I do like this term unobstructed wandering because, you know, I do believe in hypothesis-driven research. But, you know, I find CX and UX to be this thing that once you see it, you can't unsee it and you just live it everywhere you go and you see opportunities for better UX." --- Jason Rome
• "I like OKRs. But one of the dangers when something gets so well codified as a framework is it's really easy to implement without understanding why you're implementing it or what you hope to accomplish or what you're trying to change by putting it in place." --- Robert Neer
• "Product-oriented thinking and development and problem-solving are critical for any business that believes technology is core to how it will actually build value." --- Robert Neer
• "There are a lot of opportunities to use interesting tools to make that part of your job easier. In which case I then ask, So what do you do with the rest of your time now? And are you equipped to actually go do product discovery and customer discovery and solve those problems and generate the value when the hands-on keyboards time that you take today could be reduced pretty dramatically with some tooling?" --- Robert Neer

In this episode of Build What’s Next: Digital Product Perspectives, we are joined by Jason Rome, Method’s SVP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience, and Robert Neer, Executive in Residence of the Product Management Leadership Accelerator at the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.

Join them as they discuss:
• The state of enterprise product management today
• The challenge of building products that matter to consumers
• The structural issues preventing companies from doing modern product
• How to adapt product strategy to an organization
• And more!

Robert Neer is celebrating fifteen years as an executive product leader in health care. A mastermind in customer-focused problem solving and creating products that stand out, he currently acts as an Executive in Residence of the Product Management Leadership Accelerator at the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.

Since 2015, Jason Rome has been SVP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience at Method. He has also been a part of Skookum, most recently as VP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience, before leaving the company in 2021.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, instructions on how to do this are here.

Episode Resources:
• Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-rome-275b2014
• Robert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertneer
• Method Website: https://www.method.com
• Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-lucas-7844401b

Episode Highlights:
• [04:00] The State of Enterprise Product Management Today
• [07:42] The Challenge of Building a Product that Matters to Customers
• [14:04] Structural Issues Preventing Modern Product Strategy
• [23:46] Adapting Product Strategy to an Organization

Quotes:
• “When you've gotten to the point where you have really achieved a product oriented-model, fundamentally what you should be asking product managers to be accountable for is, are you building a product that answers to a real customer problem? Are you solving a customer problem that matters to your customers in a way that they will love and in a way that you can make money at?” — Robert Neer
• “The act of empowerment takes a certain amount of humility on leadership’s side to say we hope and expect that our teams who are closer to the work and closer to the customers will make smarter decisions than I will.” — Robert Neer
• “Product-oriented thinking and development and problem solving is critical for any business that believes technology is core to how it will actually build value.” — Robert Neer
• “A lot of the companies that initially did product work didn't have to define what it meant to be a product because their product is what they use to make money.” — Jason Rome

In this episode of Build What’s Next: Digital Product Perspectives, we share our latest Tech Talk featuring Michael Ifkovits, Director of Business Strategy at Method, Joel Suckow, Digital Surgery at Johnson & Johnson, and Rick Sanden, Principal Embedded Software Engineer at Medtronic.

Join them as they discuss:
• How technology such as AI is shaping the healthcare industry
• The potential of AI in reducing cognitive load for healthcare providers
• The risks and unintended consequences of digital tool developments
• Challenges and opportunities in personalized digital health
• FDA’s hidden role in tech innovation
• And more!

Michael is a passionate and driven innovator who excels at making complex, new concepts easy to understand for clients and colleagues. Joel is a seasoned tech professional with experience at DePuy Synthes and Red Ventures. He also co-founded PureSurgery before joining Johnson & Johnson.

Rick is a Distinguished Engineer with expertise in developing and customizing RTOS for medical instruments and test systems. He has vast experience developing medical instrument software using C, C++, C#, and .NET.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, instructions on how to do this are here.

Episode Resources:
• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsifky
• Method Website: https://www.method.com
• Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-suckow
• Johnson & Johnson Website: https://www.jnj.com
• Rick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-sanden-2441575a
• Medtronic Website: https://www.medtronic.com/me-en/index.html

Episode Highlights:
• [01:32] How Cutting-Edge Tech Is Giving Surgeons the Upper Hand
• [06:15] How AI Is Helping Healthcare Providers Dedicate More Time to Their Patients
• [11:12] Are Virtual Doctor Visits Here to Stay?
• [15:36] Unintended Consequences and Risks Associated with Digital Tool Developments
• [18:06] How J&J and Medtronic Are Revolutionizing Healthcare with Digital Surgery
• [26:30] FDA’s Hidden Role in Tech Innovation

Quotes:
• “Our provider experience is how do we make that experience in a competitive world where you have a choice, which is a great thing? I love all of our competitors because it makes us all better. But if you're a surgeon, there are a lot of different total knee implants that you can use. So why use ours? And then, I think what we're excited about now and what we're I think we're gonna talk about today is not just the implant, but how am I choosing the technology?” — Joel Suckow
• “For Medtronic, we like to think about the provider as we like to say, Hey, we want to empower that provider so that provider can actually deliver the best quality health care and then also the safest. And so we're saying we want to deliver the right solution to the provider at the right time that gives him or her the opportunity to increase the quality of care.” — Rick Sanden
• “When we talk to providers, time is their most valuable asset, and that is directly related to how many patients they can see and how long they can spend with that patient. So, if I have a solution that tracks data, but it takes a surgeon five minutes to input that data, that's time taken away from their patient. So they're looking for digital solutions that are saving them time to date.” — Joel Suckow
• “We're in the medical field, so patient privacy is very important and that actually is