All Things Product with Teresa and Petra
Join Teresa Torres and Petra Wille as they dive into the world of product management—one topic at a time. No long interviews, no fluff—just real conversations about the challenges, trends, and ideas shaping the way we build products. Each week, they tackle a different topic in short, digestible episodes (15-30 minutes), perfect for your morning commute or coffee break. Expect deep dives into product thinking, decision-making, leadership, experimentation, AI, and more—plus the occasional spicy take.
Episodes
Quality Of Evidence
You've got behavioral analytics, support tickets, sales call notes, and a feedback inbox that never empties. With all that data coming in, do product teams actually still need to go out and talk to users?
In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dig into why not all product evidence is created equal — and why the type of data you collect matters just as much as the volume. Teresa introduces
Stepping Into Leadership
Every product manager wants to move into leadership — but nobody wants to hire a leader without leadership experience. So how do you break the cycle?
In this episode, Teresa and Petra unpack the practical, often-overlooked ways individual contributors can build real leadership skills right now, without waiting for a title change. Petra shares a surprisingly simple starting point: understand what
AI-Shaped Problems
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 terribl
Creating Experiences
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,
Organizational Change Is Exhausting
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
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
Procurement
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 Auth
Is Technology Good?
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 observa
AI Engineering
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 wr
Product Builder Myth
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." T
Taste
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 trump
Command And Control
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.
Throug
Predicting The Future
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
Product Work Is Relationship Work
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 comp
FOMO
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
Product Builders
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 futur
Bad Advice
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-so
Staying Sane
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
Kill Your Darlings
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 sunse
Lost in the Woods
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
Boundaries Between Product & Engineering
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 eve
Support System for Product Leaders
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 explor
Claude Code
Petra finally carved out time to try Claude Code—and immediately ran into the “this tool thinks everything is a code repo” reality. In this episode, Petra and Teresa unpack what it’s like to move from Claude-in-the-browser to Claude on your machine, where it can actually work with your files, folders, and workflows.
They dig into practical setup choices (like using /init, Claude MD rules, and “wa
Groupthink When Hiring
Is hiring broken—or just badly designed?
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack what’s really going wrong in modern hiring processes. From AI-fueled application overload to endless interview loops and “casual” team lunches that derail months of work, they explore how groupthink, bias, and poorly defined criteria are quietly sabotaging good hiring decisions.
T
Build Vs. Buy
Build vs. buy is one of those product decisions that never goes away — and AI is changing how teams think about it (but maybe not in the way you expect).
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack the build vs. buy conversation through real examples, personal stories, and practical decision-making frameworks. Teresa shares why she would never build her own bloggin
Product at Heart 2026
In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres sit down to talk about what’s coming to Product at Heart 2026—from the speaker lineup to the workshops to the big structural shifts shaping next year’s conference. They unpack why curating a single-track event in the age of fast-moving AI is harder than ever, what kinds of conversations they want to elevate on stage, and how the team is thinking about
Happy New Year!
We’re kicking off 2026 with a look behind the scenes at what’s changing in our work, what we’re experimenting with, and what we’re genuinely excited about this year. In this conversation, Petra and Teresa swap notes on everything from shifting business models to AI-powered teaching tools to big community events and personal projects.
If you’re navigating your own mix of coaching, team development
End of Year Reflection
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dig into their end-of-year reflection practices — the ones they've refined over decades of product work, personal growth, and plenty of nerdy experimentation.
They compare how their processes started, how they’ve evolved, and why both of them have moved away from rigid annual goal-setting in favor of something more flexible, val
Role of Leadership in Transformations
In this conversation, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille unpack a pattern they’re seeing again and again in product transformations: teams get trained in continuous discovery, but nothing sticks because leaders haven’t changed how they work. They dig into why “train your leaders first” isn’t just a catchy mantra — it’s a prerequisite for shifting from projects to true product thinking.
They share conc
Customer Interview Analysis
In this episode, Petra and Teresa revisit a topic they once strongly pushed back on: using AI to analyze (and maybe even synthesize) customer interviews. Six months and several experiments later, Teresa’s perspective has evolved — and the conversation opens up a nuanced look at where AI can genuinely help and where it can quietly erode your team’s customer understanding.
They dig into recent stud
Communities of Practice
In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille explore how product people can intentionally design their own communities of practice—and why it matters for long-term learning and growth.
Teresa shares her introvert-friendly approach to continuous learning: curating a personal learning network (PLN) filled with people she wants to learn from. Petra contrasts that with her mor
Dealing With Setbacks
In this heartfelt episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres talk about something we all experience but rarely discuss openly — setbacks. Teresa shares a deeply personal story about her long recovery from an injury and how it unexpectedly mirrors the ups and downs of product work.
Together, they explore what it means to face professional setbacks — when your product fails to mov
Global Invoicing
Ever launch a new product feature that seemed solid—until a small, overlooked detail broke everything? In this episode, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille share their real-world experiences wrangling global invoicing and taxes while running small, international businesses.
What starts as a rant about EU tax compliance turns into a sharp product lesson: how failing to map the entire path to customer va
AI At Home And Work
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres explore how experimenting with AI in our personal lives can help us become more confident, capable, and thoughtful product builders at work.
Teresa shares stories from her “AI at Home” and “AI at Work” series — from using ChatGPT to analyze school budgets, plan meals, and even evaluate real estate, to leveraging AI as a work par
Context Is King
AI can be a powerful teammate, but only if we give it the right context. In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille unpack why “context is king” when it comes to using AI in product work. They share practical ways product leaders can start preparing today—from keeping decision logs to designing machine-readable context—so their teams are ready to collaborate effectively w
Moments That Changed Us
In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille swap the stories that shaped their careers. From navigating the fallout of the 2008 recession as a startup CEO, to realizing the company won’t love you back no matter how loyal you are, to the first user interviews that cracked open a new way of seeing product work—these are the pivotal (and sometimes funny) moments that changed
Product & Leadership Legacy
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive into a big end-of-year reflection question: What do you want to be known for in your work?
They unpack the nuances of impact, craft, personal brand, and values—exploring how those ideas shape the footprints we leave behind in our teams, organizations, and the broader product community. Along the way, Petra and Teresa share
Deliberate Practice
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille sits down with Teresa Torres to explore a big shift in how Product Talk Academy is approaching learning: moving from purely instructor-led cohort courses to offering on-demand options.
Teresa shares why she resisted on-demand for so long, how deliberate practice has always been at the heart of her teaching, and what finally changed her mind. From
AI as a Strategic Thought Partner with UX Implications
Teresa Torres and Petra Wille dive into how they’re using AI as strategic thought partners across writing, coding, and product work. Petra shares how she relies on voice input and bilingual transcription to brainstorm and surface her past writing. Teresa explains why Claude Code in the terminal completely changed her workflow—from planning mode for coding projects to using reviewer “sub-agents” wh
AI Evals & Discovery
Building AI products isn’t just about clever prompts and orchestration—it’s about knowing if what you’ve built actually works. In this episode, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille dive deep into AI evals: how they’re defined, why they’re essential, and how teams can implement them to ensure product quality.
Teresa shares her journey building her Interview Coach tool and the hard lessons she learned abo
Building AI Products
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille flips the script and asks Teresa Torres a big, timely question: How do product teams learn to build AI-powered products—beyond just dabbling with ChatGPT? Teresa shares fresh insights from her own experience building a real AI product over the past several months, breaking down the unique skills, workflows, and cross-functional collaboration patte
Stop Chasing Promotions
So many of us chase promotions as if they’re the ultimate career milestone—but are they really the best goal? In this conversation, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack why promotions can be a tricky (and sometimes misleading) target, what to focus on instead, and how to reframe career growth around skills, influence, and personal fulfillment.
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille an
Curation
We’re back from our summer break! In this first episode of the new season, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres catch up on Product at Heart and dive into the conference’s 2025 theme: curation.
From backlogs and customer segments to product experiences and your own workload, curation is everywhere in product work. Petra and Teresa explore why this skill is more critical than ever—especially in a world w
Summer Break
In this quick update, Teresa and Petra share their plans for a summer break. With August just around the corner—and in true European fashion—they’re hitting pause to rest, recharge, and enjoy some time outdoors. Expect a return to regularly scheduled programming on September 2nd.
Until then, enjoy your summer, whether you’re wing foiling and hiking South Tyrol like Petra, building cool stuff like
Go to the Source
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack one of their favorite guiding principles: "Go find the source." With the rise of social media hot takes and oversimplified content, it’s easy to misunderstand product frameworks and best practices. Petra and Teresa share real-life examples—from OKRs to Opportunity Solution Trees—to show why it's so important to dig deeper,
Red Flags When Choosing A Coach
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dig into one of the most common — and tricky — questions they get: How do I choose the right product coach?
If you’ve ever scrolled past 7,500 “product coaches” on LinkedIn and wondered who’s actually worth your time and money, this one’s for you. Teresa and Petra share red flags to watch out for, green flags that signal quality
Funding Projects Vs. Teams
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive deep into a question from a listener: What’s the real difference between organizations that fund projects and those that fund teams?
It’s a deceptively simple question that touches the core of shifting from a project-based mindset to a product operating model. Teresa and Petra unpack what it actually takes to move toward te
Leading Or Managing Chaos
In this episode, Petra Wille gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her newest framework—the Product Leadership Wheel. Building on the success of her PM Wheel, Petra shares how she’s tackling the complexity of product leadership by helping leaders self-assess across 12 core responsibilities. From directional clarity to cultural advocacy and process oversight, we dig into what it really takes to grow
AI Prototyping
AI prototyping tools are mushrooming—Replit, V0, Bolt, WindSurf, and more—but do they actually help with discovery work? In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres discuss how AI-powered tools can supercharge assumption testing, where they still fall short, and what that means for product teams today.
From building chat interfaces with custom data to testing leadership s
What is Product Ops?
In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille unpack one of the most ambiguous roles in product organizations: Product Operations.
What is product ops, really? Is it strategy alignment? BI and analytics? Coaching? Stakeholder management? All of the above—or none? Drawing from real-world examples, Teresa and Petra dig into the evolving definition of product ops, where it ove
Measurable Outcomes
In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille tackle a classic product question with a twist: Should all outcomes be measurable? Teresa revisits a long-held belief—that outcomes should be metrics—and explains why she’s starting to shift her thinking.
Drawing from hands-on product work (like rethinking outcomes at a recruiting platform), Teresa shows how focusing on value cr
Giving and Taking in a Community
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive deep into an increasingly relevant (and occasionally frustrating) topic: how people show up in communities—and whether they’re showing up to give or to take.
From in-person meetups and Slack groups to book signings and LinkedIn interactions, Petra and Teresa explore the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences between authent
Product vs. Project Operating Models
Can an organization operate with both a product and a project mindset—at the same time? In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack one of the most common operating model questions in product organizations today.
They dive deep into the differences between project and product operating models, when each one makes the most sense, and why the answer to “either/or” is usually “yes, and.” F
Saying No
Saying no is hard — but it’s essential to great product management. In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive deep into the art (and science) of saying no as a product manager.
They explore why learning to say no isn’t just a skill — it’s core to the job — and how to do it thoughtfully without losing trust or momentum.
From frameworks for filtering ideas, to the m
Leadership Professional Development
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive deep into the often-overlooked topic of professional development for product leaders. Drawing from their own experiences and coaching practices, they explore why leaders struggle to invest in themselves, what the real blockers are (spoiler: it’s not just budget), and how to navigate growth despite uncertainty and overwhelm.
Big Backlogs
Drowning in Jira tickets? Wondering how to prioritize when every stakeholder has a “brilliant” idea and your roadmap is already bursting at the seams?
In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille tackle one of the most common pain points in product management: the giant, messy, unmanageable backlog. From auto-closing ancient tickets to reframing prioritization as filtering
Iterating on Product Strategy
What happens when your product strategy doesn’t match what your teams are learning in discovery? In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille unpack how to spot when your strategy needs a refresh—and how to evolve it based on real customer insights.
They challenge the assumption that most organizations even have a clear product strategy, explore what makes a strategy action
Crafting a Conference Talk
Public speaking can be daunting—especially when you're aiming for a big stage. In this episode of All Things Product, Petra and Teresa pull back the curtain on how they craft their conference talks from scratch. Whether you're eyeing your first local meetup or preparing for a keynote at a major conference, they walk you through their real-world processes, share personal stories (and stumbles), and
Capacity Planning
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres tackle a big question: How does capacity planning fit in an outcome-driven, discovery-first organization? Spoiler alert—it usually doesn’t.
Teresa shares why traditional capacity planning breaks her heart, while Petra offers a nuanced take on how her past teams used it for internal alignment (not control). Together, they explore
So Many Coaches
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive deep into the world of product coaching—from why there are so many different types, to how to know what kind of coach (if any) you might need. Whether you're a product manager, designer, or product leader, this convo helps you understand the coaching landscape and how to make the most of coaching if you choose to invest in i
Product Discovery: B2B vs. B2C
In this episode of All Things Product, Teresa Torres and Petra Wille tackle a common question in product circles: How different is product discovery in B2B versus B2C? Spoiler alert—it’s probably more similar than you think.
Teresa shares real-world insights from working with both types of organizations and breaks down why perceived differences—like end users vs. buyers, procurement teams, and com
Training vs. Coaching
What’s the difference between product training and product coaching—and why does it matter?
In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres unpack a topic that comes up all the time in product orgs: when do individuals and teams need structured training, and when is it time to bring in a coach? They walk through the core differences, share frameworks to help you decide what kind of support your tea
Product Discovery with Internal Customers
In this episode of All Things Product, hosts Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive into a common challenge faced by internal product teams—relying on stakeholder meetings instead of proper discovery practices. Why do so many teams collect requirements through meetings rather than observing real user behavior? How can product teams better differentiate between stakeholders, end-users, and sponsors?
P
Frameworks: When to Use Them, When to Break Them
Frameworks are everywhere in product management, from Business Model Canvases to Opportunity Solution Trees to Jobs to Be Done, and they promise structure, clarity, and efficiency. But what happens when they become rigid recipes that stifle creativity and slow down progress? In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres explore the pros and cons of product frameworks and share how to make them wo
AI-Generated Opportunity Solution Trees
In this episode of All Things Product, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive into a hot topic circulating on LinkedIn: AI-generated Opportunity Solution Trees. With AI tools like Synthetic Users promising instant user insights, should product teams embrace them—or avoid them altogether?
Teresa and Petra break down the risks of AI-driven research, why real human interaction is irreplaceable, and how r
Deep Work
In this episode of All Things Product, hosts Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dive into a challenge many product leaders face—making time for deep work. Why is it so hard to block off focused time for strategic thinking, team alignment, and creative exploration? Why do so many product leaders feel guilty about stepping away from daily execution?
We explore how deep work can transform product strategy
My Organization Doesn’t Work That Way
Many product teams aspire to work in a modern, outcome-driven way—prioritizing discovery, continuous learning, and experimentation. But what happens when your organization doesn’t support these practices? In this episode, we unpack the tension between ideal product practices and the reality of organizational constraints.
Join us as we discuss:
✅ Why it’s okay to work the way your organization exp
Podcast Preview
Welcome to All Things Product with Petra Wille and Teresa Torres! In this debut episode, we dive into why we started this podcast and what you can expect from future episodes. We chat about our shared passion for product development, the challenges of the industry, and why we’re skipping the traditional interview format to bring you unfiltered discussions on the hottest product topics.
Join us as
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