My coaching comes from experience.
I’ve endured the challenges of building products first-hand.
I have obsessed over user needs, rallied teams to co-ordinate complex deliverables, and looked for answers in uncertain places. I learnt from both success and failure.
These are some of the invaluable experiences that shape how I coach today.
PRODUCT STRATEGY
I believe Product Managers should inquire deep into the strategic heart of a business. Strategy is a team sport: it requires working with wide-ranging stakeholders, tackling problems from many angles, and compelling others to follow where you lead.
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
I led cross-functional teams at both Lyst and Outfittery, combining perspectives of Business, Data, Design & Engineering to tackle complex strategic problems.
OUTFITTERY VISION
I assembled a makeshift stylist team to work in a new way, from which we established the key principles that became the basis of the new company vision.
NEW SALES PROCESS
I directed the research & implementation of a new provision scheme for over 100 sales staff, to align internal process with product strategy.
“Shaun and I worked together as Product Managers at Lyst. He quickly became my go-to person to help me reason through thorny product problems. We discussed everything from breaking down accepted company ‘truths’, to managing team dynamics and establishing intelligent metrics.
Shaun has a wise head for working through logical and philosophical product problems, and is unafraid to empathetically tackle the hardest issues. As a result, I’ve seen him inspire cross-functional teams, gain the respect of stakeholders, and solve real user needs.”
PRODUCT OWNERSHIP
Effective ownership is all about balance: giving clear guidance and structure to teams, while empowering them to find the best solution themselves. The trick is finding the sweet spot.
OUTFITTERY AUTOPILOT
We introduced order scheduling and subscription to customers, giving them complete control over future orders, and dramatically increased user retention.
LYST MERCHANDISING
We scaled merchandising across Lyst’s multimillion-deep product catalogue by building a bespoke CMS to the needs of internal teams and partnerships.
GDPR PROJECT LEAD
I brought together departments across the business to ship a user focused GDPR solution, fully satisfying legal requirements under tight deadlines.
“Shaun is the best Product Owner I’ve had the pleasure to work with.
I’ve been in software development since 2005. It took me 12 years, in many countries, to find someone that could convey the long term vision of a product in such a clear, concise fashion.
Shaun would provide our teams with not only the next milestone to aim for, but also the reasoning behind it and impact on business goals, all while keeping a keen eye on technical debt.”