James Mays, co-founder of Mind the Product, discusses the rise of invasive remote employee monitoring software during 2020 pandemic lockdowns.
Insight
Mays: Relationship outcomes drive business value over employee hours worked
“Whether she made 40 hours or 20 hours, that doesn't affect my bottom line. What affects my bottom line is, did she build the right relationships with the right companies and make them super happy so they come back and keep working with us in future?”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Mays: Low-Code Tools Won't Destroy Engineering Jobs, Just Evolve Them
“Do you think that's going to result in engineers and designers the world over going out of work? Of course not. They'll just be working on more and more complex problems and taking those platforms forward. So I don't think you'll see jobs necessarily disappear…”
Insight
Mays: Virtual conferences do not require fewer staff than in-person events
“It's quite possible to move a conference online and do a cool thing in the virtual world, but it doesn't necessarily take any less people to do it because the sheer amount of moving parts involved, most of which are human. Your sponsors, your speakers, your de…”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Mays: Humans will never be entirely eliminated from recruiting
“It's the reason why you fundamentally won't ever eliminate humans from the recruiting chain entirely. They'll always be in there somewhere.”
Insight
Mays: Diverse product teams are essential for robust AI algorithms
“The value of having diversity, particularly in product teams, because you have people who've come up in different educational backgrounds, different philosophical backgrounds, different religious backgrounds. They've experienced different pressures through the…”
Insight
Mayes: $300-$800 PM memberships work because salaries and employers cover them
“In the Western world, product management salaries are pretty damn decent. You can easily be talking 6080, a hundred grand a year, those kinds of numbers. So if we can put a membership model together, there's maybe 300 bucks a year for a mid-level person and 80…”