AT Product diaries: Getting inspired at #MTPCON 2022
Last week, the product team at Auto Trader UK attended Mind The Product’s annual conference #MTPCON. It was also the 10th anniversary of the conference and the first one back in person at The Barbican Centre in London. We all hadn’t attended before, so the excitement was real, and it was also a great bonding session!
Mind the Product is the world’s largest product community run by great product people who aim to bring together professionals to connect, learn and share from each other.
After the event, we collectively had many thoughts and reflections and as unique as product people are, we all had a different take on what resonated with us the most. Here are some of our reflections:
‘As I reflect on a brilliant MTPCON 2022, one thing that really stood out to me was the diversity of roles, experiences and people in the room. Product is a broad church, no two roles are the same, and no two people’s journey into Product are the same. There is no (or at least not that I’m aware of) Product Management degree, and very few entry level roles into Product, therefore everyone who works in Product has probably done something slightly (or very) different before, which shapes their experiences.
Reading too many Product Management books or blogs can trick you into believing that there is a ‘proper’ way to be doing Product, and if this isn’t how you and your team are operating, that you’re doing it wrong. When recruiting, I’m reminded to look for the ‘pockets of brilliance’ in people’s character and experiences, and what they would bring to the role, rather than comparing them to a perception of what a “proper product manager” is, because (spoiler alert) no such thing exists’
- Ben Smith — Product Director @LinkedIn
‘MTPCON 2022 was my first conference since joining Auto Trader on the graduate scheme two years ago. As an aspiring product manager, there were LOADS of takeaways for me to put into practice as I develop my product skillset. I soaked up as much insight as I could from the diverse range of keynotes, workshops, and conversations with my AT colleagues. Topics included everything from product ops to behavioural science, decision making to AI. Two keynotes stood out to me personally:
Creativity isn’t always the first thought when it comes to product management. However, Manon Dave’s ‘keeping product creative, innovative, and fun’ showed that being creative and combining passions with product can lead to some pretty incredible outcomes. This is demonstrated by Manon’s remarkable success in the music industry (Maschine, ROLI, and as a producer). Another key takeaway is to replace ‘ors’ with ‘ands’ to encourage me to explore all corners of working in product, as I navigate the first few years of my career.
In her talk, Saielle DaSilva spoke openly about the positive impact of giving diverse voices equal airtime in decision making; ‘when we limit who can contribute, we limit the range of problems we can address’. This reaffirmed to me the importance of making time to work on D+I initiatives important to me as part of my career’
- Callum Barker-Nicol — Business Analyst @LinkedIn
‘It was reinvigorating to be around so many product managers and talk about our craft. My overall takeaway from the experience and the talks was of reflection and appreciation. Pippa Topp, who’s talk spoke about ‘pockets of brilliance’, was my highlight. She reminded us that ‘proper product management’ isn’t a real thing, or more comically she said, ‘Marty Cagan isn’t waiting at the pearly gates’. I left thinking about the times in my career where I had experienced a ‘pocket of brilliance’ and left me thinking fondly of both the teams I’ve worked with in the past and the current team at AT.
What makes product managers great is that we are all so different, we should celebrate this diversity, create psychologically safe spaces for us to share our experience, thought and perspective and continue to reflect that whilst every day may not be a perfect proper product day, our work is valued, important and pretty darn cool. ‘
- Maggie Walsh — Principal Product Lead @LinkedIn
‘As someone who has less than 2 years product management experience, I was a little apprehensive to go to Mind the Product conference and be surrounded by lots of professional product people!
My main take away from the conference is that everyone’s route into product is different, none of them are right or wrong just individual and unique. By us coming together to share, our best practise, our journeys, we can enrich our own version of product and develop as a result!’
- Polly Caldwell — Product Lead @LinkedIn
I arrived at my first MTPCON [2022] feeling like an imposter on 2 counts. Firstly, I was taking the place of a colleague who was unable to attend, secondly I felt my role as a Business Analyst / Project Manager would barely qualify myself as worthy attendee — thankfully though I was proven wrong in this regard!
On reflection, MTPCON 2022 proved to be refreshingly relevant to my own
experiences of taking on the unwritten role of product champion. The day
consisted of a diverse selection of speakers offering a variety of keynote talks, each offering golden nuggets of insight blended with reassuring messages that resonated with my own experiences.
Martin Erikson’s talk about decisions was fascinating, introducing me to the paradox of choice and decision fatigue resulting in the need to reduce decision overload with product development. He demonstrated his ‘Decision Stack’ to help align teams and stressed the importance of principles helping with decision making.
It was refreshing to hear Pippa Topp talk about her own journey from Project Manager through to Product Manager and the illusion of being a ‘Proper’ PM when actually no such thing exists — Product really is a broad brush, we all take our own route into this field and should be mindful or our unique qualities and mindsets.
And then this message was reinforced by Manon Dave who is, arguably, wholly creative in approach, unconventional perhaps, but still worthy and delivering great value through innovation and following his passions.
MTPCON proved incredibly valuable and insightful — would I like to attend again? Absolutely!
- Rob Jones — Business Analyst @LinkedIn
‘It was my first visit to MTPCON with Auto Trader and great to be in London with the wider product community. 10 years of amazing product people just emphasises how significant of a journey product has been over the decade. I think what is so interesting and fascinating is to see how we all ended up in product, there isn’t one route or journey meaning our teams are full of diverse, contrasting skill sets and experiences, something of which we will continue to unpick in our own journeys at Auto Trader for sure as the world of product continues to evolve.
It was also great to experience several inspiring talks from great speakers within the product community and I am sure I echo several my colleague’s views when I speak so highly of them all and the insights they provided.
What immediately stood out for me was ensuring we use evidence-based decisions to conquer all and to make sure we fully trust our evidence base decision-making. Using data is key as along as its used in the correct manner and we must invest time into the business model for long-lasting products. Bibi Groot had an interesting talk in how we can use behavioural science to build open-minded and innovative teams. We all have a responsibility to make product unbiased so that everyone no matter their background can benefit from gains in innovation.
Manon Dave’s “Keeping product creative, innovative… and fun” was very relatable for me and it was great to hear him talk so passionately about the things and hobbies he loves and how he has leveraged technology to help design consumer product experiences. And of course, we must all remember to make sure ‘we give a f*ck’ (referenced as the product talk title) to succeed in product (Feelings, Focus, Friction & Facilitation) as highlighted so effectively by Saielle DaSilva.
A truly amazing few days away and whilst I don’t have previous MTPCON to compare too, I can safely say this won’t be my last.’
- Scott McCluskie — Product Lead @LinkedIn
‘As I reflect on this year’s Mind the Product, the standout for me was the enormously powerful talk given by Saielle DaSilva: The F* Words of Successful Product Organisations.
Saielle’s closing remarks: “Feelings are the fuel for transformation. Focus is necessary to sustain it. Friction is inevitable and embracing it makes you more resilient. Facilitation is how you keep moving in the right direction. And if you don’t give a f***ing f**k, why do it? It’s hard work. So, let’s give some F***s.”
I find it all too easy to shrug off situations by lying to myself, saying “I don’t care”. But, listening to Saielle, it became all too clear that I care a lot. I care about everything I do. And I care about everyone around me. Harnessing those feelings, creating a space for diverse voices and opinions, and giving a f**k is how I’ll be the best version of myself. Thank you Saielle for your empowering talk’
- Thomas Holmes — Product Lead @Linkedin
I came away from MTP feeling invigorated and inspired to make sure we’re all building cool stuff! The point about ensuring we’re bringing diversity of thought & opinion to what we do really resonated with me. There’s no doubt that it’s absolutely critical to ensure we’re coming up with innovative solutions. But I think it’s more than just getting a mix of people in a room, it’s about ensuring we’re cutting a problem in as many different ways as possible, looking at it from different lenses, and challenging ourselves to take a variety of different approaches to generate ideas to tackle it. Diversity of thought to means bringing a diverse group of people together, but also for each person to ensure they’re challenging their own implicit assumptions and stretching their own creativity to create the best solution.
- Tor Lever — Product Director @LinkedIn
‘As a personal reflection, I thought all of the speakers were incredibly diverse product leaders and had a similar message I resonated with, which was bringing your ‘whole self to work and your craft’. I thought Saielle’s powerful words were brilliant ‘when we limit who can contribute, we limit the range of problems we can address’.
I also loved how Manon brought it back to basics about building something you’re passionate about and ‘make cool stuff’. Creative energy brings so many amazing products to the world. I often feel like it’s something we forget to check in with ourselves for and whether we’re really enjoying or being fulfilled with what we are building?
It coincided nicely with Pippas theme about ‘proper product management’ and often it’s what product people are measured against in a role. There isn’t a linear route to product & career success, and we just need to embrace our unique product mindsets and build things we love’
- Yasmin Sidat — Senior Product Lead @LinkedIn
It was an incredible few days and we’re sure it won’t be our last. A huge thank you to everyone at Mind The Product and to all the brilliant speakers that have inspired and influenced us all here at Auto Trader UK.
Martin Erikkson @bfgmartin,
Saielle DaSilva @intentionaut
Pippa Topp Pippa Topp
Itmar Gilad @ItmarGilad
Manon Dave Manon Dave
Sharon Anne Kean SharonAnneKean
