Episode 266: Building for Builders

Episode notes

What does it take to keep product teams focused on meaningful work? In this compilation episode, Melissa Perri brings together three product leaders to explore how to cut through overhead, dig into real problems, and resist the pull of shiny technology. Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, shares how clunky tools burden PMs with admin work and how his team uncovers real problems behind feature requests. Andrew Davidson, SVP of Product at MongoDB, explains what makes developers a uniquely demanding audience to build for. Jody Bailey, CPTO at Stack Overflow, reflects on what went wrong when companies rushed to ship AI without solving real user problems. Together, these leaders show that great product work starts with understanding real people in real moments. You'll hear us talk about: Reducing PM administrative overhead Nan Yu explains how poorly designed tools push admin work onto PMs. When engineering tools are too clunky, developers disengage and PMs end up doing data entry instead of talking to customers. Speed and directness in tooling keep teams focused on real value.