Real Stories for Product Managers
Productly Speaking is where product management gets real.
While many podcasts focus on frameworks, systems, and strategy, Productly Speaking explores the human side of product work. We focus on the messy moments, quiet failures, and hard‑won lessons that surface when uncertainty grows and execution is no longer the hardest part of the job.
Hosted by Karl Abbott, each episode features candid, story‑first conversations with experienced product managers and builders who have been in the trenches. These are the conversations that rarely make it into playbooks or conference talks. They are about judgment, trust, listening, burnout, responsibility, and how people actually work together when things get complicated.
This is not a podcast about theory or optimization. It is a space to reflect on what really happens when real people try to build meaningful products in an uncertain world.
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Recent Episodes
April 14, 2026
S5E1: From Punk Rock to Product Management with Scott McCarty
Ever wonder how a punk‑rock kid hauling amps through Midwest basements ends up helping steer one of the world’s most widely used pieces of enterprise software? Yeah… us too. In this episode, Scott McCarty invites us into the ...
March 31, 2026
Season 5 Trailer: The Human Side of Product Management
Product management gets talked about like it’s all clarity, confidence, and momentum. But most of the time, it’s not. Season 5 of Productly Speaking explores the human side of product work — authenticity, balance, uncertainty...
Feb. 10, 2026
S4E4: AI, Product Failure, and the Skills PMs Need for What’s Next wi…
AI is transforming the way we work, but building great AI products takes more than hype. In this episode of Productly Speaking , Karl Abbott talks with Dina Atia, an AI Product Manager at Microsoft, about how to navigate the ...
Feb. 3, 2026
S4E3: Beyond Dogfooding: Balancing Complexity and Market Insight with…
What if the thing you are closest to is actually what is blinding you? In this episode, Karl talks with Jake Bowen-Bate about the quiet, human challenges of building products in fast‑moving environments. Jake shares what it r...
Jan. 27, 2026
S4E2: Why Lean and Agile Struggle in Chunky Corporates with Katie Tam…
What happens when all the advice you followed turns out to be wrong for the job in front of you? In this episode, Karl talks with Katie Tamblin about the lived reality of building products inside what she calls “chunky corpor...
Jan. 20, 2026
S4E1: From Failure to Breakthrough: The Product Manager’s Journey wit…
Episode Summary: In this episode of Productly Speaking , host Karl Abbott sits down with Lee Fischman—seasoned developer, product manager, executive, and author of How to Excel at Digital Product Management . Lee shares decad...
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