Melissa Perri

CEO & Product Consultant at Produx Labs

Melissa Perri is CEO of Produx Labs, author of Escaping the Build Trap, Harvard Business School instructor, and has consulted with hundreds of product organizations on strategy and transformation.

The Craftsperson The Visionary

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 85%

Execution & Craft 70%

Data & Experimentation 55%

Growth & Distribution 35%

Team & Leadership 80%

User Empathy & Research 60%

Key Themes

escaping the build trap product org transformation strategy deployment problems when to hire first PM product vision creation common PM failure patterns

Episode Summary

Melissa Perri, who has seen more product orgs up close than perhaps anyone alive, reveals that the most common product team problems stem from strategy deployment rather than people skills. She covers when to hire your first PM, how to escape the build trap, and why product transformation requires fixing the system, not just training individuals.

Leadership Principles

→ 99% of product org issues are in goal-setting and strategy deployment, not in people training
→ Without context on what to work towards, even well-trained PMs will fail
→ Product transformation requires a holistic approach — training alone doesn't fix structural problems

Notable Quotes

"99% of the time I see that it's actually in the way they're setting their goals and deploying their strategy. Because once you train those people, they have no context on what to work towards."
— On why most orgs misdiagnose their product team problems

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