All Things Product with Teresa and Petra

AI-Shaped Problems 30.06.2026 14min

Think you don't have big enough problems for AI to help with? Think again. In this episode, Petra and Teresa tackle one of the most common blockers people face when starting out with AI: not knowing where to begin. It's not a lack of problems — it's a lack of exposure. Teresa shares the daily habit that took her from feeling behind to using AI every single day, and why starting small (and terrible) is exactly the right approach. They also dig into the noise problem: why you don't need MCP servers, plugins, or the latest AI app to get real value, and how focusing on a specific task is the fastest path to learning what AI is actually good at. If you've been waiting for the "right" moment to start, this episode is your nudge. One of the most common things Petra hears from her coaching clients: "I don't have big enough problems to use AI for." Teresa's take? That's not the problem. The real blocker is that you don't know what AI is good at until you start using it — and you can't start using it well until you know what it's good at. In this episode, Petra and Teresa share how to break out of that loop.

Creating Experiences 23.06.2026 18min

What makes an event truly unforgettable — and what can product teams learn from it? In this episode, Teresa sits down with Petra Wille to explore how Petra and her co-organizer Arne design experiences (not just events) at Product at Heart and their Product Leadership gatherings. From a candlelit speakers' dinner in a rosemary-covered greenhouse to a disco ball that appeared for exactly 20 seconds, Petra shares how intentional design, sensory details, and a little bit of goofy magic help attendees shed their corporate armor and open up to real inspiration and connection. Teresa draws the parallels back to product design — from designing for delight and awe, to the classic question of who you're choosing to serve. In this episode, Teresa and Petra explore the art of creating experiences — whether at a conference or in a product — and why the details that seem extravagant are often the ones that matter most.

Organizational Change Is Exhausting 16.06.2026 16min

Organizational change is exhausting — so stop trying to force it. Petra and Teresa unpack why trying to fix the people and processes around you is almost always wasted energy, and what actually works instead. If you've ever wanted to champion a new way of working inside a resistant organization, this one's for you.

Learning Together 09.06.2026 17min

What's the best way to invest in your team's professional development — train everyone at once, let people self-direct, or something in between? Petra Wille and Teresa Torres explore why the sweet spot might not be what most organizations default to. They share real examples from their work with product teams and leaders — from book clubs to group coaching — and make a case for small, intentional groups as a powerful (and underused) learning model.

Procurement 02.06.2026 15min

Teresa is cranky — and honestly? She has every right to be. In this episode, Teresa and Petra go on a deeply relatable rant about the absurdity of modern corporate procurement processes. Teresa is simultaneously juggling seven speaking engagement contracts, and six of them have become a part-time job in themselves — think 80-page ethics policies, 800-question security forms, and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) questions asked 17 different times. Meanwhile, the one company that just put her fee on a credit card? Scheduled, confirmed, and done in two weeks. Petra chimes in with her own procurement horror story — filling out 12 identical Word document forms — and the two draw a bigger point from the chaos: broken vendor processes don't just frustrate consultants, they prevent organizations from getting the expertise they actually need. If you've ever wondered why that training got canceled, why that speaker backed out, or why your company can't seem to bring in outside experts — this episode might answer that question.

Is Technology Good? 26.05.2026 24min

We built the internet. We championed social media. We're now building AI. But what if, looking back, we made things worse? In this candid and wide-ranging conversation, Teresa and Petra wrestle with a question that's hard to ask from inside tech: is the industry we've dedicated our careers to actually net positive for the world? From a chance comment by a non-tech family member to jarring observations about human isolation in San Francisco, this episode doesn't shy away from the discomfort. They explore the role of greed in how technology has evolved, what the "tech bro" narrative is costing us in human terms, the loneliness epidemic, and why speaking to people outside our industry echo chambers might be one of the most important things we can do. But they don't stop at critique — they also cast a genuinely hopeful vision for what responsible, community-centered technology could look like, including the idea of "mom and pop tech" that serves neighborhoods, not shareholders. If you work in tech and you've ever had a nagging feeling that something's gone wrong — this one is for you.

AI Engineering 19.05.2026 22min

What happens when a product leader accidentally becomes an AI engineer? In this episode, Teresa Torres shares how she went from occasional tinkerer to spending 60% of her time doing real engineering work — building AI-powered tools for continuous discovery, forming a licensing partnership with Vistaly, and quietly constructing "Teresa Bot," an AI discovery coach trained on everything she's ever written. Teresa and Petra dig into what AI engineering actually looks like in practice: context engineering, prompt writing, RAG, observability, evals, and why Teresa thinks product managers who want to do great discovery might secretly be data scientists at heart. They also bust the myth that you need a strong engineering background to build in this space — and make the case that the most important skill right now isn't coding. It's being willing to learn.

Product Builder Myth 12.05.2026 19min

Is the "product builder" trend the future of product management—or just the latest thing everyone thinks you should be doing? In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres push back on the hype. They dig into whether product managers should be vibe coding, what actually determines if it works (spoiler: it's your org setup, not the tools), and why "just because you can doesn't mean you should." They also break down the three distinct layers where AI is changing product work—and why mixing them up causes chaos. Whether you're a PM wondering if coding is now part of your job, or a product leader figuring out how to set your team up for success, this one cuts through the noise.

Taste 05.05.2026 12min

Is "taste" the must-have skill of the AI era — or just the latest tech buzzword? In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack the growing hype around taste as a differentiating human trait in a world where AI is eating through design, delivery, and discovery. Teresa pushes back hard: taste is rarely defined, can't be easily taught, and risks becoming a cover story for "my preference trumps yours." Petra adds nuance, acknowledging the real pattern-recognition that comes from years of product experience — while questioning whether it's actually worth investing in. Together they trace the idea back to its roots: product sense, founder mode, and the enduring myth of the lone visionary. What they land on instead? Discovery skills, customer understanding, and learning to collaborate with AI — because taste without evidence is just opinion.

Command And Control 28.04.2026 17min

When things feel uncertain, many companies default to command-and-control leadership. It feels faster, safer, and more decisive. But is it actually effective? In this episode, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille unpack the real role of command and control in modern product organizations. They explore why it keeps resurfacing, where it might work (if ever), and why it often breaks down at scale. Through practical examples—from burning house analogies to real-world product teams—they challenge the idea that strong leadership means centralized decision-making. Instead, they make the case for a more nuanced approach: setting direction, building trust, and enabling teams to contribute their expertise. If you’ve ever wondered how to balance speed, alignment, and autonomy in your team, this episode will help you rethink where you sit on the spectrum.

Predicting The Future 21.04.2026 17min

AI headlines are everywhere—and many claim they know exactly what’s coming next. In this episode, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille push back on that certainty. They explain why people are bad at predicting the future and why betting on a single outcome can be risky. Instead, they share a more useful approach: scenario planning. Explore multiple possible futures, extract what matters, and use it to make better decisions today. If you’re navigating AI-driven change, this episode will help you stay grounded without ignoring what’s coming.

Product Work Is Relationship Work 14.04.2026 18min

As AI makes it easier than ever to generate ideas and build products, some people are asking: Do we still need product managers? In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres argue that the real work of product management isn’t going away anytime soon. While AI can help build things faster, it can’t replace the relationship work required to align stakeholders, navigate competing priorities, and create shared understanding across teams. They explore why many product teams become overly transactional, how curiosity unlocks better collaboration, and why investing in relationships actually helps teams move faster in the long run.

FOMO 07.04.2026 15min

In the AI era, new tools seem to appear every week. It’s exciting—but it can also feel overwhelming. How do you keep up without burning out? In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres talk about how they deal with FOMO when it comes to new technology—especially in the fast-moving world of AI. They share how they decide which tools are worth exploring, why they don’t try everything that trends on social media, and how focusing on real problems helps them go deeper instead of chasing every shiny new thing. Teresa explains why she starts with opportunities and friction rather than solutions, while Petra shares how she time-boxes learning and experiments with new tools during dedicated learning time. Together they explore practical ways to stay curious about new technology while staying focused on what actually matters. If you’ve ever felt like you’re falling behind because you haven’t tried the latest AI tool yet, this conversation will help you rethink how you approach learning and experimentation. In This Episode The pace of innovation—especially in AI—can make it feel like you need to try every new tool the moment it launches. Petra and Teresa discuss how they manage that pressure and stay focused on meaningful experimentation rather than constant tool-chasing. They explore why starting with a problem is more valuable than starting with a tool, how social media amplifies technology FOMO, and why going deeper with fewer tools can lead to better learning.

Product Builders 31.03.2026 17min

Is product management dead? Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack the big question making the rounds at conferences: Is PM disappearing—or evolving? Their take: product management isn’t dead. But the traditional product trio (PM, design, engineering) is collapsing into something new. AI is raising the baseline. More of the repeatable 80% can now be built by anyone with the right tools. The future belongs to “product builders” — people with a shared foundation across disciplines and deep expertise in one area. If you work in product, design, or engineering, this episode is your signal to start upskilling.

Bad Advice 24.03.2026 16min

What happens when AI starts giving advice in your voice — advice you’d never actually give? In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack the rise of AI “clones” built from podcast transcripts and public content. They explore where experimentation is exciting, where it crosses ethical lines, and what happens when mediocre AI outputs get attributed to real people. They discuss IP, open-sourced transcripts, pirated books in LLMs, inference costs, and the uncomfortable question: if anyone can prompt “act like Teresa,” how do creators make a living? This isn’t anti-AI. It’s a nuanced conversation about quality, consent, and remembering there are real humans behind the ideas.

Staying Sane 17.03.2026 27min

When the world feels like it’s spinning out, it can be hard to stay grounded—especially if you’re someone who cares deeply and pays attention. In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres talk about what it looks like to stay sane (and still be helpful) when everything feels “bonkers.” They share practical ways to cope without checking out: living your values in small, daily decisions; choosing where you invest your attention, time, and platform; and building bridges instead of feeding polarization. Along the way, they explore the idea of “under-complexity” (how oversimplified narratives make anxiety worse), how to seek more nuanced information, and why local community connection can be surprisingly empowering. If you’ve been feeling heavy lately, this conversation offers grounded, human ways to keep showing up—without losing yourself.

Kill Your Darlings 10.03.2026 22min

In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille tackle one of the hardest decisions in product and business: when—and how—to kill your darlings. They dig into the uncomfortable middle ground between obvious failure and runaway success: products that are profitable, loved by customers, but fundamentally flatlining. Teresa shares candid stories from her own business about sunsetting products that were bringing in real revenue, including a decision that cut 40% of her income—on purpose. Together, Petra and Teresa explore why mediocre success can be more dangerous than failure, how team structure and org design make sunsetting harder, and what product leaders can do to normalize product lifecycles without traumatizing teams. If you’re leading a product portfolio, running discovery, or struggling to let go of something that’s “working… kind of,” this episode is for you.

Lost in the Woods 03.03.2026 22min

Ever feel like your product team is “lost in the woods”? Petra Wille and Teresa Torres borrow a set of “lost person” patterns (what people tend to do when they realize they’re lost) and map them to how teams behave when strategy gets fuzzy, outcomes drift, or constraints aren’t clear. They unpack five common moves—freezing, chasing shortcuts, following the first visible path, relying too heavily on intuition, and retracing your steps—and translate them into practical actions: when to stop and escalate, how to pressure-test a “shortcut” strategy, how to make more paths visible, and how to use principles and discovery loops to reorient.

Boundaries Between Product & Engineering 24.02.2026 13min

Where exactly is the boundary between product and engineering—and what happens when it gets blurry? In this episode, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille dig into a tension many product teams quietly struggle with: product managers taking on responsibility for bugs, tech debt, and even system architecture. What starts as “being helpful” often turns into burnout for PMs and lower-quality outcomes for everyone. They unpack why this pattern shows up so often, how legacy IT mindsets and the “CEO of the product” myth contribute to the problem, and what healthy product–engineering collaboration actually looks like in modern product teams. If you’ve ever felt like the middleman for bug status, or like you’re expected to own engineering decisions you don’t have the expertise to make—this episode is for you.

Support System for Product Leaders 17.02.2026 17min

Product leaders are overwhelmed — and it’s not just you. Between shrinking headcount, constant AI disruption, economic uncertainty, and nonstop context switching, many product leaders are trying to do more with less while still protecting their teams. In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack what real support for product leaders actually looks like. They explore why product leaders often underinvest in themselves, how to think about delegation without guilt, and what kinds of support systems actually scale your impact — from executive assistants and research support to coaches and communities of practice. If you’re feeling stretched thin and wondering how to focus on the work only you can do, this episode is for you.