The most important takeaways from past episodes of Product Mastery Now

TLDR

Product innovation requires deliberate approaches to teamwork, problem-solving, and customer understanding. John Spero, former senior R&D manager and current innovation professor, highlighted frameworks and methodologies that help product teams work effectively together. These include using tools like DISC assessments to build stronger teams, applying Design Thinking approaches to understand customer needs, and using creative problem-solving techniques to tackle innovation challenges systematically.

Key Topics

• Building innovation cultures and effective product teams



• Using DISC assessments to improve team dynamics and productivity



• Applying Design Thinking frameworks to solve complex problems



• Voice of the Customer methodologies for deeper customer insights



• Divergent and convergent thinking techniques for innovation



• Tackling the “fuzzy front end” of product development



• Facilitation tools like Six Thinking Hats and Phoenix Checklist



• Best practices for prototype development and testing



• Professional development paths for product managers

Introduction

In this episode, our guest is highlighting some takeaways from previous episodes of Product Mastery Now and sharing how they connect with his work today, teaching innovation.

With us is John Spero. John has had a long and successful career in product development and management and related roles, including being a senior R&D Manager at Praxair and then Lean Specialist as well as an Agile Coach for the same organization, including after the acquisition by Linde, the global industrial gases company based in Ireland. Now he teaches at Daemen University in their Leadership & Innovation program, focusing on critical thinking, decision making, and problem-solving skills for complex innovation situations.

John and I met through the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA), and he invited me to help onboard product managers at Praxair. John assigns podcast episodes, including Product Mastery Now, to his students, and recently he suggested that we discuss key takeaways from these episodes. Let’s see what he has found that is essential for innovators to know.

Building Culture and Teams for Innovation Success

Creating successful products starts with having the right innovation culture and effective teams.

John explained that before students can create valuable products, they need to understand how to foster an innovation culture within their organizations. This means creating an environment where creative thinking is encouraged, risk-taking is supported, and learning from failure is valued.

He referenced 493: Perfecting Product Culture and Teams, noting that many students come into his program with academic research experience but struggle to transfer that knowledge into actual product development. The bridge between research and product creation requires a supportive team culture.

What Makes an Effective Innovation Team?

John has found that the most successful innovation teams share several key characteristics:

• Complementary skills that cover different aspects of product development



• Understanding of behavioral styles and work preferences



• Clear communication about how team members prefer to work



• Mutual respect for different approaches to problem-solving

John shared how he uses DISC assessments in his teaching and previous corporate work to help team members understand each other’s work styles. This behavioral assessment tool identifies four primary work styles, each with different strengths in the innovation process.

Tension often emerges between team members with different styles. For example, sales professionals (typically high in D and I traits) might grow frustrated with engineers (often high in C traits) for what they perceive as moving too slowly. By understanding these different work preferences, teams can appreciate that engineers’ thoroughness is actually ensuring quality rather than causing unnecessary delays.

This understanding of team dynamics creates a foundation for effective innovation. When team members recognize and value their different approaches, they can collaborate more effectively to solve customer problems.

Design Thinking Approaches for Effective Innovation

John highlighted the importance of Design Thinking as a structured framework for product innovation. Tom Granzow has a four-phase Design Thinking approach (480: Putting Design Thinking into practical action – with Tom Granzow). When John teaches Design Thinking, he extends the framework into a six-step process that works well in academic settings. This expanded approach gives students a clearer roadmap through the often messy innovation journey.

Design Thinking isn’t a linear process. It’s intentionally messy and iterative, allowing teams to jump back and forth between phases as they incorporate new data and feedback. This flexibility is important for product innovation because the path to understanding customer needs is rarely straightforward.

What makes this framework particularly effective is how it encourages teams to stay open to new insights throughout the process. When teaching Design Thinking to his students, John helps them understand that the framework serves as a guide rather than a rigid set of steps. This approach helps product teams remain adaptable while still maintaining a structured approach to innovation.

Voice of the Customer: Mastering the Art of Problem Discovery

Effective product innovation begins with truly understanding the customer’s problem, through Voice of the Customer (VOC) research (477: Three-step VOC system – with Andrea Ruttenberg, PhD).

The Depth of Customer Interviews

Creating effective customer interview questions is just the beginning. The real value comes from analyzing the responses properly. John teaches his students to look beyond the obvious answers and find deeper insights that might not be immediately apparent.

John referenced the seminal Voice of the Customer paper by Abby Griffin and John Hauser from 1993, which laid the groundwork for many modern customer discovery methodologies.

Avoiding the Curse of Knowledge

One of the most challenging aspects of customer discovery is what John called “the curse of knowledge.” This happens when product teams have so much expertise in their field that they can’t see problems from a beginner’s perspective.  Good Design Thinking practices minimize the team members’ personal desires and wishes. For more on this, see 483: Nailing the customer experience to improve product value – with Jason Friedman.

John talked about how he uses classroom exercises to help students overcome this challenge. He has them develop solutions for problems in innovation and leadership, then forces them to “turn off” their own knowledge and focus solely on what the customer experiences.

The “aha moment” comes when students realize that even though they’re knowledgeable about a topic, their product will only succeed if it addresses the customer’s actual experience of the problem, not their expert understanding of it.

Effective innovation requires setting aside your expertise long enough to truly empathize with and understand your customers’ experiences.

Divergent and Convergent Thinking: The Rhythm of Innovation

We discussed the powerful combination of divergent and convergent thinking in the innovation process. This approach to problem-solving has deep roots in creative thinking methodologies, particularly the Osborn Parnes Creative Problem Solving process.

Understanding the Dual Process

Effective innovation follows a rhythm of opening up possibilities (divergent thinking) and then narrowing down to practical solutions (convergent thinking). This pattern repeats throughout the product development journey.

John detailed how this dual process works in practice. In the early stages, teams use invitational language like “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could solve this problem?” or “In what ways might we approach this challenge?” This open phrasing encourages broad thinking without limiting possibilities.

The Language of Creative Problem Solving

John pays attention to the language used during innovation sessions. He explained that phrases like “How might we…” create mental space for exploring options without judgment. This invitational language is fundamental to the Creative Problem Solving methodology.

The real power comes from alternating between these two modes of thinking throughout the product development journey:

1. Expand possibilities through divergent thinking (generate many options)



2. Narrow focus through convergent thinking (select the best options)



3. Repeat this pattern at each stage of development

John referenced 522: Stop the stupid using proactive problem solving – with Doug Hall on breaking free from reactive problem solving. Defining problems effectively is challenging, but getting ahead of problems is even more difficult. This proactive approach to problem-solving requires both creative exploration and disciplined evaluation—the essence of divergent and convergent thinking.

This approach isn’t just theoretical. John explained how these techniques were applied in his corporate work at Praxair and Linde, helping teams tackle complex engineering and product challenges more effectively by balancing creative exploration with practical decision-making.

Tackling the “Fuzzy Front End” of Innovation

John shared his team’s approach to reducing uncertainty in the early stages of product development—what innovation professionals often call the “fuzzy front end.”

Accelerating Innovation Decision-Making

John’s team at Praxair adopted an approach for solving complex problems similar to the two-hour Design Spring (499: How to implement a 2-hour design sprint to solve complex problems – with Teresa Cain). They faced a common challenge in product development: how to quickly determine if an idea deserved further investment without spending months in preliminary investigation.

Their solution was to bring together a diverse team to “declutter the fuzziness” in a single day or two, rather than having one person spend weeks or months investigating. This approach allowed them to:

1. Quickly gather all available knowledge about customer needs



2. Assess technical feasibility from multiple perspectives



3. Evaluate business potential with input from various stakeholders



4. Make faster decisions about whether to move ideas into the formal Stage-Gate process

This accelerated approach delivered significant value by reducing the time to make go/no-go decisions. Teams could either advance promising ideas more quickly or fail fast on concepts that wouldn’t work, freeing up resources for more promising opportunities.

The approach aligns with lean innovation principles: Gather just enough information to make an informed decision, test assumptions quickly, and don’t waste resources on extended analysis when a faster process can achieve similar results.

For product managers facing pressure to innovate more quickly, this compressed fuzzy front end approach offers a practical solution to balance thoroughness with speed. By gathering the right people in a focused session, teams can achieve in days what might otherwise take months.

Facilitation Tools for Better Innovation

John highlighted several facilitation tools that product teams can use to improve their innovation process. These structured approaches help teams think more effectively and overcome common biases in problem-solving.

The Phoenix Checklist: A Declassified Problem-Solving Tool

One resource John mentioned was the Phoenix Checklist, a problem-solving tool originally developed by the CIA and declassified in the 1990s. This comprehensive list of questions helps teams thoroughly define problems and develop solution plans.

Experienced product managers would recognize many of these questions as ones they already use intuitively. The structured format, however, ensures that teams don’t miss critical aspects of problem definition or solution planning.

Six Thinking Hats: Different Perspectives for Better Decisions

Another facilitation tool John mentioned was Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats. This method helps teams look at problems and decisions from multiple perspectives by having everyone adopt the same thinking mode simultaneously.

John prefers to have everyone adopt the same “hat” or thinking role simultaneously, rather than assigning different perspectives to different team members. This helps prevent people from becoming entrenched in one perspective and creates a safer space for various types of thinking.

By incorporating these facilitation tools into the product development process, teams can overcome biases, explore problems more thoroughly, and arrive at better solutions. For product managers looking to improve their team’s innovation capabilities, these structured approaches offer practical, immediately applicable techniques.

Prototype Development Best Practices

We discussed John’s approach to prototyping—the process of creating early versions of products to test with customers (458: Selecting, planning, and prototyping product features – with Matt Genovese and 509: Prototyping mastery for product managers – with Matthew Wettergreen, PhD).

The Art of Minimum Viable Prototypes

John observed that many innovators, especially students new to product development, struggle with creating appropriately minimal prototypes. The tendency is to build too much functionality too early, wasting time and resources on features that might not deliver value.

To illustrate the power of simplicity in prototyping, John shared a historical example: Microsoft Word in 1987. The original product came on two 5.25-inch floppy disks and offered just the essential text editing capabilities—type, format with a few fonts, underline, and bold text. It was, by today’s standards, incredibly basic.

Yet even this minimal version was sufficient to test the core value proposition. John pointed out that what we consider essential functionality today was built incrementally over decades, not delivered all at once in the first version.

Pretotyping: Fake It Before You Make It

John highlighted Alberto Savoia’s concept of “pretotyping”—creating even simpler simulations of product ideas to test market interest before building actual prototypes. This approach focuses on quickly validating whether people would use a product concept before investing in development.

The core principle is “fake it before you make it”:

1. Create the simplest possible simulation of your product idea



2. Test it with potential users to see if there’s genuine interest



3. If people use it, proceed to more developed prototypes



4. If people ignore it or lose interest quickly, move on to other ideas

John shared how he encourages students to test their concepts with classmates, friends, and family first. For example, one student with a sustainable clothing concept was advised to test it with friends before investing time in more elaborate prototypes. If the idea doesn’t resonate with their immediate circle, it’s unlikely to work at a larger scale.

This “fail fast” approach to prototyping aligns perfectly with lean innovation principles. By recognizing that most new product ideas will fail, teams can use rapid prototyping to discover which ideas have promise without wasting resources on elaborate development for concepts that won’t succeed in the market.

Teaching Innovation in Graduate Programs

John shared how he structures his graduate-level innovation course to help students develop practical skills they can apply in their organizations.

The innovation course at Daemen University is part of a Leadership and Innovation graduate program that attracts professionals from diverse backgrounds—healthcare, higher education, industry, and nonprofits. Rather than focusing solely on theoretical concepts, John helps students understand how to apply innovation frameworks in their specific organizational contexts.

John structures the first four weeks of his course rigorously, setting a solid foundation of innovation principles. Then, as he observes how students are progressing, he adapts the curriculum to address their specific challenges. This mirrors how product teams should approach innovation—starting with a framework but remaining adaptable as new information emerges.

Creating “Aha Moments” About Innovation

One of John’s primary goals is to help students experience breakthrough moments when they truly grasp how product development works. These “aha moments” typically occur about 3-4 weeks into the course, when students begin to understand how to use customer feedback to develop viable products.

John brings a cardboard box into the classroom and asks students to consider how ubiquitous this innovation is—appearing in countless forms across the world—and how different our lives would be without it. This helps students recognize that innovation isn’t always about dramatic technological breakthroughs; sometimes it’s about simple solutions that solve widespread problems effectively.

This teaching approach offers valuable lessons for product leaders. By focusing on the fundamentals while remaining adaptable, and by recognizing innovation in everyday objects, professionals can develop a more nuanced understanding of what makes products successful.

Conclusion

Innovation is never a straight line from problem to solution. As John Spero shared through Robert Quinn’s quote about “building the bridge as you walk on it,” effective product managers must balance structure with adaptability. The frameworks and tools he discussed—from design thinking and divergent-convergent problem solving to facilitation techniques like Six Thinking Hats—provide practical resources that can immediately improve how product teams innovate together.

Perhaps most importantly, John’s journey reminds us that innovation requires continuous learning. Even after 15 years as an R&D leader, he found tremendous value in comprehensive product management training. For product managers looking to enhance their capabilities, his advice is clear: understand the entire product development landscape, not just your specialty; learn practical frameworks; master facilitation tools; and don’t overlook leadership development. By approaching innovation as a continuous learning journey rather than a destination, you’ll be better equipped to create products that truly solve customer problems.

Useful Links

• Connect with John on LinkedIn



• Learn more about Daeman University’s Leadership and Innovation program



• Read about the Phoenix Checklist

Innovation Quote

“Build the bridge as you walk on it.” – Robert Quinn

Application Questions

1. How could your team implement the divergent-convergent thinking approach in your next innovation challenge? What specific areas of your product development process would benefit most from deliberately separating idea generation from evaluation?



2. How might your understanding of team members’ work styles and preferences (like DISC profiles) improve collaboration on your current product initiatives? What tensions exist between different work styles on your team, and how could you address them?



3. How could you apply the “fuzzy front end” acceleration technique to reduce uncertainty in the early stages of your next product concept? What would a 1-2 day intensive session look like for your team, and who would need to be involved?



4. In what ways could your prototyping process be simplified to test core concepts more quickly? What are you currently over-building in your prototypes that could be eliminated without compromising your ability to validate key assumptions?



5. How might you incorporate facilitation tools like Six Thinking Hats or the Phoenix Checklist into your next product decision meeting? Which specific product challenges would benefit most from these structured approaches to thinking?

Bio

John Spero has had a long and successful career in product development and management and related roles, including being a senior R&D Manager at Praxair and then Lean Specialist as well as an Agile Coach for the same organization, including after the acquisition by Linde, the global industrial gases company based in Ireland. Now he is an adjunct professor at Daemen University in their Leadership & Innovation program, focusing on critical thinking, decision making, and problem-solving skills for complex innovation situations.

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the journey to product mastery and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.

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