Slides for YOU DON'T "GET" ANYONE TO DO ANYTHING[](https://www.prodpad.com/product-management-resources/avoidingagencytrapslides/) "How do we get product managers to value user research?" "How do we get executives to think in an Agile way?" "How do we get UX researchers to prioritize our work?" "How do we get our sales team to stop making promises we can't deliver?" For the last twelve years, I have heard these questions on a weekly basis. And the answer to all of them is exactly the same: you don't "get" anyone to do anything. In this talk, product leader and author of Product Management in Practice Matt LeMay shares his experience working across product, UX, marketing, and leadership teams at companies like Google, Audible, Mailchimp, and Spotify. You'll learn how the path to success in cross-functional product development means embracing ego death and recognizing that you have very little direct control over anyone or anything. No, seriously.
People
Matt LeMay
Methods
Workshop FacilitationWorkshop facilitation guides a group towards a shared outcome without imposing the facilitator’s preferred answer. Define the purpose, prepare activities and materials, and create opportunities for everyone to contribute. Combine individual thinking with discussion when helpful, listen for different perspectives and adjust the plan to the group’s needs. Record decisions and clarify who will take the next steps. Use facilitation when a team must explore a problem, generate ideas or agree actions together; successful participation matters as much as the visible workshop outputs.
User InterviewsUser interviews explore people’s circumstances, experiences and needs through a guided conversation. Use them when you need to understand a problem in depth or learn how a service fits into someone’s life. Recruit current or likely users, prepare open questions and possible follow-ups, and ask for concrete examples rather than idealised accounts. Start with consent, listen carefully, and allow useful unexpected topics to emerge. A discussion guide keeps the research focused without turning it into a rigid questionnaire. Interviews can accompany usability tests when you also need to observe people using a service.