Make Things That Matter – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Make Things That Matter

Andrew Skotzko

Business

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/21d. Total Eps: 82

What if our products and companies gave more life to everything they touched? Making this a reality is our quest, through impactful product leadership, strategy, decision making, and culture.

blog.makethingsthatmatter.com

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Apple

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - management
14/04/2026
#80
🇨🇦 Canada - management
05/03/2026
#72
🇬🇧 Great Britain - management
01/01/2026
#58
🇬🇧 Great Britain - management
22/09/2025
#84
🇬🇧 Great Britain - management
24/06/2025
#51
🇬🇧 Great Britain - management
23/06/2025
#72
🇫🇷 France - management
17/06/2025
#85
🇫🇷 France - management
16/06/2025
#71
🇫🇷 France - management
15/06/2025
#64
🇫🇷 France - management
14/06/2025
#53

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://blog.makethingsthatmatter.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38
82 shares
https://www.speakpipe.com/andrewskotzko
16 shares
https://pod.fo/e/af7f7
7 shares

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Ries
3 shares
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Dalio
2 shares

RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

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Score global : 49%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

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Itamar Gilad: the GIST of product discovery

Tuesday, July 30, 2024 • Duration 01:04:31

Itamar Gilad is the author of Evidence Guided, which is my favorite book out there on how to practically DO product discovery. Prior to becoming a product consultant and trainer, he had a long product career at Google where he led the creation and launch of products that are now used by over a billion people.

In this conversation we explore the GIST approach to product discovery through the origin story of Gmail's tabbed inbox, to help you see what great product discovery looks like in practice.

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Topics discussed

(01:33) Creating frameworks and coming up with catchy models

(10:02) GIST: the meta framework organizing model concept.

(15:02) Illustrating GIST through the story of Gmail tabbed inbox

(21:06) Refocusing goals led to stronger, simpler idea.

(25:08) Prioritize, filter, and reevaluate for effective ideas.

(29:02) Usability and value risks, low confidence, evolution.

(35:43) Key results drive achieving goals, engaging company.

(40:07) Inquiring about applying startup approach to enterprises.

(45:32) Navigating uncertainty in strategy with evidence and discovery.

(50:44) Emphasizing iterative nature of product discovery process.

(59:10) Encouraging analysis for companies hesitant about changes.

(01:01:18) Evaluate, test, experiment, launch, measure, impact, outcomes

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Links & resources mentioned

• Send episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email

• Itamar Gilad : website, LinkedIn

• Evidence Guided (book) - website, Amazon

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Related episodes:

• #55: How does continuous discovery come together for a new product?

• #44 Teresa Torres: Habits for clear thinking and better product bets

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Books:

• Evidence Guided: website, Amazon

—

Other resources:

• Itamar’s downloadable frameworks & resources

• The GIST framework

• Confidence meter for ICE scoring

• Creating Product Strategy with Multiple Strategic Tracks (MuST)

• Marty Cagan: The four big risks

• Gibson Biddle: proxy metrics (within product strategy)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.makethingsthatmatter.com

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Steve Portigal: Improving your user research process

Friday, June 28, 2024 • Duration 01:14:19

Steve Portigal is a veteran user research leader and consultant who helps companies mature their research practices. He’s the author of Interviewing Users, a classic in the field, and the host of the design leadership podcast Dollars to Donuts. In this conversation, we explore:

• how to use creative practices to develop your voice as a leader and storyteller

• how to be a smart consumer of research findings when you aren’t an expert in the craft of research

• one simple question leaders can ask to set their organizations to make the most of research

• and how to create the conditions for high-impact, effective creative work in your team

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Topics discussed

(10:21) Experimenting with writing and finding one's voice

(15:47) Feedback model: GASP - goals, attempts, successes, possibilities

(19:53) Workshops, creativity, and self-doubt

(27:06) Embrace authenticity, find your unique facilitation style

(28:10) Appreciating different approaches, understanding executives' skepticism

(34:37) Engage with compassion

(39:29) Research is essential for informed decision-making

(49:01) Compassion and reflection are crucial for leaders

(50:48) Create a safe learning space for engagement

(56:03) Assessing code quality and marketing effectiveness

(01:00:39) Research raises questions, timing and deployment important

(01:10:31) Stay fascinated with the world around you

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Links & resources mentioned

• Send episode feedback on , or

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

Eisha Armstrong: Pragmatic Strategies for Managing Change

Wednesday, September 27, 2023 • Duration 43:38

Zooming in on three common change management issues: forecasting, role transitions, and departmental power dynamics.

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Topics discussed

(00:03:01) Companies transforming into product organizations

(00:05:01) Revenue shift: smaller now, longer-term impact

(00:08:30) Practical topics: forecasting, transition, change management

(00:10:04) Identifying leading measures and assumptions in forecasts

(00:14:25) Seeking tech-enabled scale, revenue visibility, innovation

(00:20:29) Power shifts in organizations impact staffing and funding

(00:22:12) Evolving organizational model for product-centric strategy

(00:27:23) Key considerations for acquiring a company: purpose, integration, impact

(00:31:18) Leaders modeling simple mental health practices shift organizations. Organizational change requires supporting structures and models

(00:35:38) Quieting the mind to connect and trust

(00:37:33) Organizations need specific change management for success

(00:40:40) "Name fears, tame them; face personal insecurities."

—

Links & resources mentioned

Full transcript at: https://podcast.makethingsthatmatter.com/eisha-armstrong-pragmatic-change-management-strategies/#transcript

* Send episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

MJ Jastrebski: How to build resilience and stay buoyant as a CPO

Thursday, August 10, 2023 • Duration 01:15:10

MJ Jastrebski is the CPO of Stylitics, a rapidly scaling retail technology company that helps retail websites automate styling and bundling for their consumers.

Click here to fill out the MTTM listener survey form by August 16, 2023: https://makethingsthatmatter.com/survey

—

In this episode, we cover:

(00:07:20) Understanding product roles/levels, influence, and career growth.

(00:13:10) Product and process management at different levels.

(00:19:22) Leadership training emphasizes accountability among executive teams, prioritizing cross-functional exec peer relationships & alignment.

(00:28:27) The importance of buoyancy.

(00:36:17) How mindfulness and empathy are important for effective leadership.

(00:43:41) What Stylitics is doing and how it's scaling up

(00:47:12) Expanding internationally and into new verticals. Emphasis on shipping and team muscle building.

(00:55:38) Creating product families to address pain points, setting expectations, iterating with alpha, beta, and GA stages, building retailer relationships, understanding different market needs.

(01:02:08) Changing roles, building skills, and evolving identity.

(01:11:30) Creating psychological safety is crucial for innovation. It allows people to take risks without fear of judgment or failure. This enables organizations to gather more information and make better decisions.

—

Links & resources mentioned

• You can end episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

Thank you, and a brief update

Wednesday, July 19, 2023 • Duration 02:16

It's been quiet around here because I'm in deep in the creative process of reimagining this show, and I need your help. Podcast analytics are terrible, and I want to know more about YOU.

Please fill out this short, 5-ish minute survey. Your help on this goes a LONG way, and I appreciate you taking the time!

Click here to complete our listener survey

https://makethingsthatmatter.com/survey

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.makethingsthatmatter.com

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Donna Lichaw: The leader's journey

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 • Duration 01:00:23

Donna Lichaw is an executive coach for unconventional leaders, and the author of the newly-released book The Leader’s Journey.

Donna brings a background in design and product to her executive coaching and helps unconventional leaders take control of the story to drive impact for themselves and within their teams. We go deep on:

* how to handle managing our own stories in healthy conflict

* creating psychological safety

* what it looks like to “give yourself an A” so you feel freed up to invent new possibilities

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.

Links & resources

* Send episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email

* Donna Lichaw: website, LinkedIn, Twitter

* Donna’s new book: The Leader’s Journey

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

Adam Thomas: Operationalizing your product strategy

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 • Duration 54:01

Adam Thomas is a coach that helps product teams operationalize strategy so they spend more time focused on building the right products and less time fighting fires.

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Follow the MTTM journey on Twitter or LinkedIn!

If you haven't already would you do me a favor and take ~40 seconds to rate/review the show on Apple Podcasts ? It really helps. (Scroll to bottom of page for rate/review links.)

—

Links & resources mentioned:

* Send episode feedback on Twitter @askotzko , or via email

* Adam Thomas: website, LinkedIn, Twitter

* Adam’s Maven workshop: Survival Metrics

—

Related episodes:

* Melissa Perri: Product strategy and the missing middle

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Books and media:

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

Mike Saloio: Leadership, meditation, ego, and ubuntu

Tuesday, April 11, 2023 • Duration 50:16

Mike Saloio is the CEO and cofounder of Huddle, a startup that brings together fractional swat teams of expert builders to help startups generate real momentum on their most important projects within a week.

This is a candid conversation about leadership and how our egos, sense of identity, and personal practices shape our company cultures. In particular, I think you’ll find practical benefit from our discussion about decoupling the concepts of morality and integrity to have healthier team dynamics.

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* Mike Saloio - Twitter, LinkedIn

* Huddle

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Related episodes:

* Barry Brown: Work as a pathway of transformation

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People & orgs:

* Steph Golik (cofounder)

* EXPA

* Russell Simmons (+ meditation book)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

Rob Walling: The SaaS playbook and gut intuition

Monday, March 27, 2023 • Duration 55:43

The SaaS Playbook will shave years off your learning curve if you want to build a SaaS. Rob Walling is a serial entrepreneur and the internet godfather of indie SaaS businesses who has built six companies and has been a long-standing voice in creative, independent paths into product building and entrepreneurship since 2010.

Links & resources mentioned

* Book: The SaaS Playbook

* Back the Kickstarter

* Startups for the Rest of Us podcast & MicroConf YouTube

* TinySeed

* MicroConf

—

Related episodes:

* Rob Walling (ep28): Build a great business and let that be enough

* DJ DiDonna: Navigating sabbaticals and career breaks

—

People & orgs:

* TinySeed

* MicroConf

* Dr Shelly Walling

* Justin Jackson - choosing a market

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

Double click on the love

Tuesday, March 7, 2023 • Duration 10:41

What do you do when one of your top three KPIs is stagnant, and the product isn't growing? A micro case study in debugging retention and unlocking growth.

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You can read the original article here: https://tinyurl.com/2hdmy2zp

LINK: STARTING CONDITION CHART: https://tinyurl.com/2fnemasz

LINK: DEEPER DIVE PIE CHART: https://tinyurl.com/2lyjalyp

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.makethingsthatmatter.com

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Make Things That Matter – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Make Things That Matter – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

Amazon99+

Wikipedia90

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Amazon99+

Wikipedia90