On this episode, I am joined for a third (and probably final!) time by April Dunford, renowned positioning expert and author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch. We explore what's changed in her updated edition of Obviously Awesome, what she's learned through delivering hundreds of positioning workshops and how she's honed her approach to reposition positioning to make it clearer for the next generation of product people.

• Positioning is how you win - Positioning is the answer to "why pick us now?", grounding your product in real value for a clearly defined customer segment.
• Positioning vs strategy - Strategy defines where you're going, while positioning reflects where you are today and must evolve as your product and market change.
• AI isn't a position - Simply adding AI is no longer meaningful; if everyone has it, the focus shifts to what tangible value you deliver right now.
• From unique to distinct - Capabilities don't need to be truly unique, just meaningfully different in the context of your real competitors.
• Trends matter less than clarity - The industry's baseline understanding of positioning has improved, making abstract ideas like "trends" less useful than clear market definitions.
• Readiness before action - Teams need to decide what they're positioning, whether they have real customers, and how product structure (single vs multi-product) affects the work.
• Positioning as hypothesis - Without customers, positioning is a best guess that must be tested and refined rather than treated as fact.
• Sell to the champion - Positioning should resonate with the internal champion, while objections from other stakeholders are handled separately.
• Test through sales, not copy - The real validation of positioning happens in sales conversations, not by endlessly tweaking website copy.
• AI is a tool, not a shortcut - AI can support positioning work, but it can't replace the thinking, collaboration and deep company context required to define real differentiation.

... and much more.

Look for the yellow "updated" sticker!

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers-dp-1999023056/dp/1999023056/
• April's website: https://www.aprildunford.com/books

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/
• Website: https://www.aprildunford.com

On this episode, we try something a little different. ProdPad and Mind the Product co-founder Janna Bastow joins as guest host to interview me and Saeed Khan about our recently released research report "The State of B2B Product Management". We go deep on the key findings of the report and what to do about them.

• The sales-led roadmap reality - In many B2B organisations, roadmap ownership effectively sits with sales, driven by short-term revenue pressures rather than long-term strategy
• Customers vs markets tension - Product teams often fail to shift from building for individual customers to designing for scalable market opportunities
• The leadership perception gap - A stark ~50-point disconnect exists between how leaders assess themselves and how their teams experience them, pointing to either deluded leaders, poor communication or unreasonable IC expectations
• Lack of strategic foundations - Weak or absent vision and objectives create a vacuum where every deal feels equally valid
• Product leaders as system designers - Leaders must take responsibility for shaping environments where good product work is actually possible
• Discovery isn't just external - Product teams neglect internal discovery, failing to understand stakeholders, sales processes, and organisational dynamics
• The cost of short-term thinking - Chasing large deals often creates hidden long-term costs that outweigh immediate revenue gains
• AI as efficiency, not transformation - Current AI usage is reported as largely tactical (summarisation, documentation), not fundamentally changing product outcomes
• Optimism despite dysfunction - Even with systemic issues, many product managers remain positive about the future of the discipline

... and much more.

You can check the full report here - no email address required: https://b2bproduct.io/?okip

Janna is the co-founder of ProdPad, a roadmap, idea management and feedback platform that brings clarity to your organisation. She was kind enough to step in as a guest host for the episode, so why not check what the platform can do for you? https://www.prodpad.com/

• Janna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jannabastow/
• Saeed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saeedwkhan/
• Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-knight/

On this episode, I speak with Nick Kenn, interim Chief Product Officer at Winmau, the world's leading darts brand. Nick's career spans companies such as Betfair and Redbubble, and he now operates in interim and advisory product leadership roles across private equity and venture-backed businesses. He's now on a mission to hit the bullseye and revolutionise a traditional sport with a new, fully digital experience.

We cover a lot, including:

• Digitising a traditional sport – Building a connected darts experience requires blending physical play with digital layers like tracking, stats, and online competition without losing the tactile essence of the game
• Balancing heritage and innovation – Introducing new product experiences in a 100-year-old brand demands careful alignment between modern features and long-standing identity
• AI as a pragmatic tool – Rather than chasing trends, AI is applied where it adds clear value, such as computer vision for scoring and an AI referee for dispute resolution
• Focus over experimentation – In a high-pressure delivery environment, prioritisation matters more than exploring every new technology or idea
• Building inside a non-digital organisation – Establishing product thinking in a manufacturing business requires translation, education, and patience on both sides
• Hardware and software alignment – Unlike pure software, product timelines are constrained by manufacturing cycles, creating hard deadlines and forcing disciplined execution
• Hiring for passion and proximity – Teams perform better when they have genuine interest in the product domain, especially in consumer experiences tied to physical interaction
• Differentiation through awareness – Deep competitor understanding is essential not for copying, but for identifying where to stand apart and create unique value
• Private equity vs venture dynamics – Product strategy shifts significantly depending on ownership model, with PE favouring speed and certainty, and VC allowing more exploration
• Book smarts and street smarts – The most effective product leaders combine formal knowledge with real-world experience, adapting frameworks to context rather than following them rigidly

... and much more.

Nick mentioned an article I wrote about fractional product leadership - you can check it out here: https://oneknightinproduct.substack.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-fractional

• Winmau: https://winmau.com
• Winmau careers: https://winmau.com/pages/careers-with-winmau

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-kenn/