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This time we talked to Matt Woods, a Product Manager focused on Product-led Growth, who helped companies like Coda increase key activation metrics by 60%, and introduce personalization experience that combines great UX and business impact. Matt also contributed to Reforge artifacts to share examples of his work as one of the earliest contributors to their program. Being a Product Manager, Matt has a fantastic website built with Coda full of insightful case studies. I personally learned so much from Matt, and if you listen to this episode, you will learn about:

* The process of defining activation and aha-moment with examples from Coda

* How connection to customers helped to uncover meaningful wins

* The secrets behind collaboration between product managers and designers in Growth

* and much more

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Where to find Matt Woods (Product Leader, ex-Coda):

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewchristopherwoods/

* Website: https://portfolio.mattwoods.io/

Where to find Kate Syuma, Growth Advisor (ex-Miro):

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma/

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What we’ve covered in this episode:

00:00 Introduction and Website Creation

03:11 Learning and Mission Statement

07:12 Coda's Success Factors

10:07 Product-Led Growth and Experimentation

14:32 Defining Activation and User Behavior Insights

34:33 Building a Partnership

35:23 Challenges in Working Together

36:23 Trust and Inclusion

37:34 Understanding Motivations

38:31 Embracing Collaboration

39:44 Overcoming Communication Issues

42:25 Fostering Creativity

50:26 Building Healthy Partnerships

56:25 Favorite Artifact: $100 Voting

58:41 Favorite Book: Setting the Table

Resources referenced:

* Reforge Artifact “Weekly outcomes update message at Coda”: https://www.reforge.com/artifacts/weekly-outcomes-update-message-at-coda

* Welcome doc onboarding: https://portfolio.mattwoods.io/case-studies-how-i-work-3

* 100-Dollar Voting Exercise: https://coda.io/@lshackleton/100-dollar-voting-exercise

* “Radical Candor” by Kim Scott: https://www.amazon.com/-/en/Kim-Scott/dp/1250103509

* “Managing Humans” by Michael Lopp: https://www.amazon.com/Managing-Humans-Humorous-Software-Engineering/dp/1430243147

* “Setting the Table” by Danny Meyer: https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Table-Transforming-Hospitality-Business/

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Unlocking Activation at Coda and Building Trust Between PMs and Designers | Matt Woods (Product Leader, ex-Coda)

Growthmates: Create and Grow Meaningful Products & Careers