Steve Jobs once said he'd rather fire someone than force them to buy into a decision they disagreed with. This flies in the face of popular leadership advice like Amazon's "disagree and commit" philosophy. In this episode, we dive deep into Jobs' consensus-driven approach at NeXT and explore why expert-driven decision making might be superior to top-down mandates.

We examine how Jobs' 8-person policy team made only 25 major decisions per year, the importance of psychological safety in decision-making, and why paying people to tell you what to do (rather than just do what you say) creates better outcomes. Other topics include...

• Consensus vs. "disagree and commit" leadership styles
• Expert-driven decision making vs. ivory tower decisions
• Building psychological safety for real alignment
• Scaling decision frameworks in growing organizations
• When to fire vs. when to coach through disagreement

Perfect for product managers, agile coaches, and leaders looking to build more effective decision-making processes.

#DecisionMaking #Leadership #ProductManagement

LINKS
Watch on YouTube

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagile
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: http://arguingagile.com

REFERENCES

• Source Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_W6dLP09MQ
• Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon, by Colin Bryar & Bill Carr, 2021
• Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders, by L. David Marquet, 2013
• AA208 - Jamie Dimon's Rant: Leadership Lessons on Trust and Effectiveness
• AA201 - Mastering Stakeholder Communication & Management

INTRO MUSIC
Toronto Is My Beat
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Last episode, we talked about Instant Pot's failure via financial engineering that most product teams may never see coming.

In this episode, we explore why financial literacy should be a core competency for product teams, not something left to the "adults in the room."

We break down why reading basic financial statements, understanding customer lifetime value, and making data-driven decisions that actually consider the cost of building features are essential and how you can start moving toward a future where you have more transparency into financial matters.

Key topics covered:
• Why whoever controls the budget is the real product manager
• How financial complexity hides exploitation and manipulation
• The curriculum gap in product management education
• Practical metrics every product team should track
• How to bring finance people into your product discussions

This isn't about becoming accountants - it's about understanding the financial impact of your product decisions and building something that lasts.

#ProductManagement #FinancialLiteracy #AgileLeadership

REFERENCES
----------------
AA219 - How Private Equity Killed Instant Pot (And Why Your Product Could Be Next),
AA217 - Extreme Ownership: Military Leadership Lessons for Professionals,
AA201 - Mastering Stakeholder Communication & Management,
KIRO 7 News Seattle: https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/instant-pot-pyrex-parent-company-instant-brands-files-bankruptcy/VLWFB4OF75FHLERB7B5KCMXUFI/,

LINKS
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xbub7ZKTMKo
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: http://arguingagile.com

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Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Instant Pot had $300M+ revenue, passionate users, and $100M cash on hand.

So why did they file for bankruptcy?

The answer lies in the pattern of how private equity systematically destroys beloved products through financial engineering!

In this podcast, Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel examine the acquisition of Instant Brands and discuss how leveraged buyouts, special dividends, and debt loading likely turned a kitchen innovation success story into a cautionary tale for every product team.

Watch or listen to learn:
• Real reasons successful products fail under PE ownership
• Why "professional management" really means cutting the people who built the product
• How debt servicing kills innovation budgets
• The one question every product manager should ask their CFO
• Why product-led growth can't survive private equity's playbook

This isn't just about Instant Pot - it's about protecting the products and teams you care about from becoming the next casualty of financial engineering.

#ProductManagement #PrivateEquity #InstantPot

References:

• New Lawsuit Accuses Private Equity Company of Plundering Assets of Instant Brands; Michael Wolf, Nov 2024; https://thespoon.tech/new-lawsuit-accuses-private-equity-company-of-plundering-assets-of-instant-brands/
• Arguing Agile #61: AA61 - Experiences in Corporate Buyouts (Mergers & Acquisitions)
• Arguing Agile #96: AA96 - Stages of Company Decline, or When Companies Hate Their Customers

Tags
#ProductManagement #InstantPot #ArguingAgile

LINKS
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagile
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: http://arguingagile.com

= = = = = = = = = = = =
Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)