Who Owns the Experience of Work? Managers as Product Managers | Alex Komoroske

03/11/25 • 57 min

This is the third in a series of episodes with world-leading product management experts about how we might build product management best practices into team leadership.

Alex Komoroske spent years as either a Product Manager or Director of Product Management for platforms that most of us use every day: Chrome, Google Maps, Google Earth, and others. He then went on to lead corporate strategy at Stripe, another platform \most of us use every day. While at Google, Alex wrote an internal how-to called “Practical PM Stuff” that many Google PMs referred to as the Product Managers Bible. It covered everything from basics like how to answer an email to esoterica like the difference between complexity and ambiguity or how Schelling points form in organizations.

In this episode, Dart and Alex discuss:
- Work as an ecosystem, not a machine
- Indirect influence over direct control
- How frameworks can kill creativity
- The role of product management in work design
- How companies stifle innovation
- The power of riding momentum
- Managers as curators, not controllers
- Balancing autonomy and structure
- Why great ideas bypass leadership
- And other topics...
Alex Komoroske is a product leader and systems thinker who specializes in platforms and ecosystems. Alex is known for his "Gardening Platforms" approach, which encourages guiding ecosystems toward greatness instead of controlling them. Now Co-CEO of Common Tools, he continues to explore how technology and organizations evolve.
Resources Mentioned:
Finite and Infinite Games, by James Carse: https://www.amazon.com/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713

The Stacy Barton conversation about Disney storytelling and work. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/immersive-experience-design-how-to-use-story-to-design/id1612743401?i=1000599527522

The Marty Cagan conversation about product management and work https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-design-products-people-love-principles-and/id1612743401?i=1000668997003

The David Obstfeld conversation about brokering social networks and work https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-networks-the-1-predictor-of-economic/id1612743401?i=1000677462011

Connect with Alex:
Website: https://www.komoroske.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-komoroske-6597336/
Twitter: https://x.com/komorama

Work with Dart:
Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.

This is the third in a series of episodes with world-leading product management experts about how we might build product management best practices into team leadership.

The Stacy Barton conversation about Disney storytelling and work. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/immersive-experience-design-how-to-use-story-to-design/id1612743401?i=1000599527522

The Marty Cagan conversation about product management and work https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-design-products-people-love-principles-and/id1612743401?i=1000668997003

The David Obstfeld conversation about brokering social networks and work https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-networks-the-1-predictor-of-economic/id1612743401?i=1000677462011

Connect with Alex:
Website: https://www.komoroske.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-komoroske-6597336/
Twitter: https://x.com/komorama

Previous Episode

Beyond Accommodations: How Personalization at Work Benefits Everyone | Charlotte Dales

Most employees need some form of support to thrive at work, whether it’s flexible hours to care for a loved one, mental health resources, or a quieter space to focus. But asking for help can feel risky. That silence holds people back and costs companies more than they realize. Charlotte Dales is trying to fix that.
As the co-founder and CEO of Inclusively, Charlotte is building a platform that helps employees easily and privately access the support they need to do their best work. From mental health tools for sales teams to caregiving support for frontline workers, Inclusively is proving that when employees thrive, businesses thrive too.
In this episode, Dart and Charlotte discuss:
- Why everyone needs accommodations at work
- The hidden costs of silence and burnout
- What sales teams need to thrive
- Small adjustments that unlock performance
- Why benefits fall short and what people really need
- Gen Z’s push for personalized work
- ERGs as engines of workplace change
- Why supporting employees is smart business
- And other topics...
Charlotte Dales is the co-founder and CEO of Inclusively, a platform helping companies design personalized, inclusive work experiences. Starting with a focus on disability accommodations, Inclusively has expanded to offer “success enablers” for all employees, allowing businesses to match individual needs with existing resources. Before founding Inclusively, Charlotte co-founded CAKE Technologies, a mobile payment solution later acquired by American Express. She started her career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank in London.
Resources Mentioned:
Inclusively: https://www.inclusively.com/
Connect with Charlotte:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-dales-57868713/

Next Episode

Designing Work Like a Subscription Product: How to Retain Top Talent | Luke O’Mahoney

Luke O’Mahoney is one of the leaders of the movement to reframe work as a product that every company sells to employees. In particular, Luke has gone deep into the implications of recognizing work as a subscription product, and brings an absolute wealth of ideas to bear on how to create the kind of work experience product that employees want to buy every day. People don't stay in jobs because of free snacks, ping pong tables, or flashy recruiting campaigns. They stay because work works for them.
Luke is now a chief people officer - in recovery. As the founder of Sapienx, he helps organizations stop playing the short game and start designing work experiences that drive long-term retention and advocacy. In this episode, Dart and Luke discuss why hiring funnels are broken, what it really means to design work as a product, and how companies can build flywheels that continuously reengage employees. They also explore why transparency, not perks, keeps people invested in their roles.
In this episode, Dart and Luke discuss:
- Why work should be designed as a subscription product
- Funnels vs. flywheels in hiring and retention
- How bad recruiting leads to employee buyer’s remorse
- The role of delight in keeping employees engaged
- How hiring attracts more hiring and losing creates churn
- Why transparency in recruiting matters more than perks
- What Luke hires his job to do for him
- How to build work experiences people want to subscribe to
- And other topics...
Luke O'Mahoney is a people strategist and founder of Sapienx, where he helps companies design work experiences using product-led thinking. With a background in recruitment, talent operations, and startup leadership, he applies lessons from subscription business models to hiring and retention. Previously, he led people and operations at a high-growth startup, overseeing product, marketing, and GTM strategy alongside HR. His work focuses on building sustainable people strategies that drive engagement, retention, and advocacy.
Resources Mentioned:
Good to Great by Jim Collins: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others-ebook/dp/B0058DRUV6
Built for People by Jessica Zwaan: https://www.amazon.com/Built-People-Experience-Management-Principles/dp/1398608025
Connect with Luke:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukeomahoney