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  1. The Intentional Product Manager Podcast
  2. Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach
Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast · Jan 7, 2026

Harness SVP Bala Venkatrau on scaling product orgs with an AI-first approach, a founder mindset, and the CATS leadership framework.

The 'Founder Mindset' Thrives in Large Companies by Focusing on Outcomes, Not Titles

The distinction between a 'big company' and 'small company' person is irrelevant. A founder's mindset—hustling to bring new ideas to life and driving outcomes—is equally applicable and valuable in a large corporation as it is in a startup.

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Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast·a month ago

Customers Come for Products But Stay for the Platform's Leverage

A successful platform strategy focuses on leverage. It provides building blocks that reduce internal effort to launch new products, while delivering a seamless, integrated experience that creates lock-in for customers. This leverage is the platform's core value proposition.

Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach thumbnail

Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast·a month ago

A Leader's Job is to Provide CATS: Clarity, Accountability, Trust, and Servant Leadership

An effective leadership philosophy can be simplified to the CATS framework. C: Bring clarity on the 'why'. A: Empower teams with accountability. T: Build trust through transparency. S: Practice servant leadership to make others successful.

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Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast·a month ago

Advance Your Career by Tackling the Messy Problems Your Colleagues Avoid

To get promoted, excel at your 'day job' for credibility, but actively seek out the messy, hard problems others don't want. Raising your hand for these challenges demonstrates leadership, builds confidence, and earns you more responsibility.

Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach thumbnail

Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast·a month ago

Build Product Intuition by Joining Customer Escalation Calls, Not Just Discovery Interviews

True product intuition isn't just from standard discovery calls. It's forged by directly engaging with customers' most urgent problems on escalation calls. This unfiltered feedback provides conviction and data-backed confidence for decision-making.

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Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast·a month ago

Effective AI Agents Require a Knowledge Graph Built from Your Platform's Unique Data

AI agents are simply 'context and actions.' To prevent hallucination and failure, they must be grounded in rich context. This is best provided by a knowledge graph built from the unique data and metadata collected across a platform, creating a powerful, defensible moat.

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Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast·a month ago

AI Will Evolve Product Managers into End-to-End Owners Who Also Code and Ship Features

AI tools are blurring the lines between product, design, and engineering. The future PM will leverage AI to not only spec features but also create mockups and even write and check in code for smaller tasks, owning the entire lifecycle from idea to delivery.

Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach thumbnail

Scaling Product Organizations with an AI-first Approach

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast·a month ago