Why is product so hard? - Charity Ibhadon (Global Product Director, WPP)

Charity Ibhadon is a Global Product Director at WPP, where she leads the development of an AI marketing tool. With 15 years in product — including three formative years at ASOS during its high-growth heyday — she came to the discipline via a decade in investment banking and an executive MBA. She has operated at VP and CPO level, leading large international teams across consumer technology and media.

We discuss: — Why the explosion of product frameworks, books, and LinkedIn benchmarks has made it harder, not easier, to feel like you're doing the job well — regardless of seniority — How the physical symptoms of burnout can masquerade as markers of success, and why high-achieving women in particular are vulnerable to that misreading — What it actually takes to recover: stepping away, finding what your body needs outside of work, and stopping short of making your job your entire identity — Why being genuinely enjoyable to work with is a more durable career advantage than any certification or methodology — How the Eisenhower matrix — do, defer, delegate, delete — can be a practical daily tool for protecting energy, not just a poster on a wall — The case for "happy high status": remaining calm and unflappable under pressure as a learnable leadership behaviour, not a personality trait — Why commercial curiosity — understanding what moves the business and staying interested in the world — will matter more for long-term product careers than AI certificates

Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:29 Charity's background 4:00 Why product feels harder than ever 6:34 Why fun at work matters 8:45 Recognising burnout 10:25 When burnout feels like success 12:13 Finding your way back 16:18 Fun as a strategic advantage 18:00 Staying calm under pressure 22:26 The "CEO of the product" myth 22:41 Mindset for a long career in product 24:45 Building resilience 26:35 Wrap-up

Referenced Eisenhower matrix | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priorit... Charity's keynote at #mtpcon London | • Product is Hard. It should still be fun: C...

Our Hosts Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.