Human Insight Podcast

Welcome to our second annual roundup of book recommendations from guests on the Human Insight Podcast.

It is a good mix of books, covering creativity, money, innovation and product development. There is even a children’s book recommendation, as well as one for a newsletter.

And don’t forget, our own Janelle Estes and Andy MacMillan also wrote User Tested, which was published earlier this year.

• Brave New Work by Aaron Dignan
• Gerrard: My Autobiography by Steven Gerrard
• Nudge: The Final Edition by Richard H. Thaler
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition by Richard Bach
• Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell
• The Gruffalo in Scots by Julia Donaldson
• The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama
• The Marginalian by Maria Popova
• Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
• The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan Housel
• Birdgirl By Mya-Rose Craig
• End of Bias: A Beginning by Jessica Nordell
• Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
• How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky
• Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
• The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob Fitzpatrick
• Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie
• The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing by Benjamin Graham
• Lean Enterprise: How High Performance Organizations Innovate at Scale by Jez Humble
• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships by Marshall Rosenberg

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Welcome to our second annual roundup of book recommendations from guests on the Human Insight Podcast.

It is a good mix of books, covering creativity, money, innovation and product development. There is even a children’s book recommendation, as well as one for a newsletter.

And don’t forget, our own Janelle Estes and Andy MacMillan also wrote User Tested, which was published earlier this year.

• Brave New Work by Aaron Dignan
• Gerrard: My Autobiography by Steven Gerrard
• Nudge: The Final Edition by Richard H. Thaler
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition by Richard Bach
• Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell
• The Gruffalo in Scots by Julia Donaldson
• The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama
• The Marginalian by Maria Popova
• Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
• The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan Housel
• Birdgirl By Mya-Rose Craig
• End of Bias: A Beginning by Jessica Nordell
• Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
• How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky
• Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
• The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob Fitzpatrick

Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter

Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes

Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan

Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd

UserTesting | @usertesting

Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights

Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

Julia Austin is a strong advocate for feedback never stopping, whether she is pushing her students to get out and talk with customers or talking with business leaders.

“I'll get this question, especially from founders early on, of ‘when do I stop talking to my customers and getting feedback and start building my product?,’” said Austin, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship where she currently teaches Startup Operations. “And I'm like, ‘Never ... You need to be talking to them all the time.”

In this episode of the Human Insight Podcast, Austin joins UserTesting’s CEO Andy MacMillan and Chief Insights Officer Janelle Estes to discuss the importance of customer feedback, as well as:

• What makes a great product manager?
• How do you know when you have product market fit?
• Her advice to legacy companies making the digital transition and developing new products or reinventing how their current products are offered in the marketplace?

Links in the show:

• Julia on LinkedIn
• Julia on Twitter
• Julia's page at the Harvard Business School
• Course description for her class, StartupOperations
• Good for Her

Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter

Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes

Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan

Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd

UserTesting | @usertesting

Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights

Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

Julia Austin is a strong advocate for feedback never stopping, whether she is pushing her students to get out and talk with customers or talking with business leaders.

“I'll get this question, especially from founders early on, of ‘when do I stop talking to my customers and getting feedback and start building my product?,’” said Austin, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship where she currently teaches Startup Operations. “And I'm like, ‘Never ... You need to be talking to them all the time.”

In this episode of the Human Insight Podcast, Austin joins UserTesting’s CEO Andy MacMillan and Chief Insights Officer Janelle Estes to discuss the importance of customer feedback, as well as:

• What makes a great product manager?
• How do you know when you have product market fit?
• Her advice to legacy companies making the digital transition and developing new products or reinventing how their current products are offered in the marketplace?

Links in the show:

• Julia on LinkedIn
• Julia on Twitter
• Julia's page at the Harvard Business School
• Course description for her class, StartupOperations
• Good for Her

Follow our new show: Insights Unlocked

You have to understand how people work, and why, says Kaj van de Loo, UserTesting’s Chief Technology Officer, on this week’s episode of the Human Insight Podcast.

“What do they actually want to do or need to do to reach their goals, vs. what are they doing as weird workarounds or because they are being told to do,” he said. “Look at the former, and support it. In our case, every product manager, designer, and engineer wants to understand our customers and users and they all want to hear about how our product is being used, what people think of it, and how we can make it better. We lean into that.”

In their conversation with Kaj, co-hosts Andy and Janelle ask him about business workflows and how the pandemic and digital acceleration changed the way we think about processes and workflows.

The also discuss how understanding how people work, and how they leverage tools and technology, as well as customer insights, to launch products successfully.

Follow our new show: Insights Unlocked

You have to understand how people work, and why, says Kaj van de Loo, UserTesting’s Chief Technology Officer, on this week’s episode of the Human Insight Podcast.

“What do they actually want to do or need to do to reach their goals, vs. what are they doing as weird workarounds or because they are being told to do,” he said. “Look at the former, and support it. In our case, every product manager, designer, and engineer wants to understand our customers and users and they all want to hear about how our product is being used, what people think of it, and how we can make it better. We lean into that.”

In their conversation with Kaj, co-hosts Andy and Janelle ask him about business workflows and how the pandemic and digital acceleration changed the way we think about processes and workflows.

The also discuss how understanding how people work, and how they leverage tools and technology, as well as customer insights, to launch products successfully.

Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter

Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes

Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan

Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd

UserTesting | @usertesting

Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights

Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

Producer’s note: This week’s episode is a conversation Janelle had with futurist and author Brian Solis at The Human Insight Summit held last week in New Orleans. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Do you know how your customers experience your brand today? Do you know how they really feel? Do you know what they say when you're not around? You think you know your customers, but you really have no idea–until you talk to them!

Brian Solis, author of X: The Experience When Business Meets Design, joined Janelle Estes, UserTesting’s Chief Insights Officer and co-author of User Tested, met onstage in a fireside conversation at The Human Insights Summit last week in New Orleans to discuss the importance of customer understanding and empathy in an always-on world, and why today customer experience is your brand.

Solis is a world-renowned digital anthropologist, futurist, 8x best-selling author, and international keynote speaker. He serves as VP, Global Innovation at Salesforce and has consistently been recognized as one of the world's leading voices in innovation, business transformation, and leadership for over two decades.

Leveraging insights from each of their books and professional experiences, Brian and Janelle spoke about the parallels in their books and beliefs on powering customer-centric experiences.

Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter

Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes

Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan

Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd

UserTesting | @usertesting

Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights

Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

Producer’s note: This week’s episode is a conversation Janelle had with futurist and author Brian Solis at The Human Insight Summit held last week in New Orleans. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Do you know how your customers experience your brand today? Do you know how they really feel? Do you know what they say when you're not around? You think you know your customers, but you really have no idea–until you talk to them!

Brian Solis, author of X: The Experience When Business Meets Design, joined Janelle Estes, UserTesting’s Chief Insights Officer and co-author of User Tested, met onstage in a fireside conversation at The Human Insights Summit last week in New Orleans to discuss the importance of customer understanding and empathy in an always-on world, and why today customer experience is your brand.

Solis is a world-renowned digital anthropologist, futurist, 8x best-selling author, and international keynote speaker. He serves as VP, Global Innovation at Salesforce and has consistently been recognized as one of the world's leading voices in innovation, business transformation, and leadership for over two decades.

Leveraging insights from each of their books and professional experiences, Brian and Janelle spoke about the parallels in their books and beliefs on powering customer-centric experiences.

Follow our new show: Insights Unlocked

Amanda Renteria, the CEO of Code for America, joined the Human Insight Podcast to talk about using technology AND regularly talking with your audience to reimagine government to better serve communities.

Amanda has worked in the financial sector, been a teacher in her hometown, and spent most of her career in the public sector, from serving as Chief of Operations at the California Department of Justice to being national political director for Hilary Clinton’s 2016 US presidential campaign. And, oh yeah, she ran for the U.S. Congress and for California’s state governor.

Among the topics discussed include:

• Simplifying tax filing
• Code for America’s Safety Net Innovation Lab
• What is human-centered government
• Amanda’s thoughts on Hispanic Heritage Month following her recent appointment by President Biden to his Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics

Links in the show:

• Amanda Renteria on Twitter
• Code for America
• Safety Net Innovation Lab
• Simplified tax filing

Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter

Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes

Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan

Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd

UserTesting | @usertesting

Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights

Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

Amanda Renteria, the CEO of Code for America, joined the Human Insight Podcast to talk about using technology AND regularly talking with your audience to reimagine government to better serve communities.

Amanda has worked in the financial sector, been a teacher in her hometown, and spent most of her career in the public sector, from serving as Chief of Operations at the California Department of Justice to being national political director for Hilary Clinton’s 2016 US presidential campaign. And, oh yeah, she ran for the U.S. Congress and for California’s state governor.

Among the topics discussed include:

• Simplifying tax filing
• Code for America’s Safety Net Innovation Lab
• What is human-centered government
• Amanda’s thoughts on Hispanic Heritage Month following her recent appointment by President Biden to his Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics

Links in the show:

• Amanda Renteria on Twitter
• Code for America
• Safety Net Innovation Lab
• Simplified tax filing

Follow our new show: Insights Unlocked