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Many of the Product leaders we work and speak with create fancy dashboards (within Entor!) to track every ounce of impact delivered. We (obviously) are all for it - but also have to give a hat-tip to leaders like Brendon van Wasbeek Who choose to lead with empathy and put this above all. As the VP product and also the head of integrations at SpotOn, Brendon is all about partnerships and seeing product as a way to connect product, goals and people - and that’s more than enough to make him our #ProductHero this week! Congrats, Brendon!!
⭐️ Proudest moment as a product leader
“Tough question, there are many! If I had to single one out, it would be when we delivered a self-checkout retail experience during COVID-19. There are a few key reasons why:
1. Fast delivery - the team built brand new APIs for the experience within 3 months
2. Partnership - It was a great example of a partnership working well, where our client built the consumer-facing app alongside our services and infrastructure
3. It was highly innovative! My favorite part was how we approached loss management - how would we stop someone from repeatedly using one order to walk out with a product? We opted to use our KDS (yes, KDS!) and added a feature of scanning the order barcode to bring it to focus. The employee then taps “Complete” on that order, so they will know the order is already fulfilled the next time it is brought up. Simple, non-invasive, and highly effective!”
⭐️ Personal North Star Metric for Product Impact
“Without a doubt the end consumer’s satisfaction! It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole of carefully monitoring ARR, looking for indicators in adoption, and using a profitability ratio to determine which features to build. But if you understand and empathize with your customer as your life depends on it, all the other metrics will magically improve, often well beyond your expectations!”
⭐️ Secret Weapon for Product Management Knowledge (Podcast, blog, product influencer)
“Honestly, I don’t have one single secret weapon for constantly learning. If anything, my secret weapon is knowing that every moment of every day is a learning opportunity - even when my kids show me innovative gaming experiences! I also highly recommend sharing and learning with your peers - everyone has had unique experiences from varying industries, so take advantage of their valuable knowledge! Find the method of learning that works best for you, and make sure it feels natural and is fun!”
