Product Ops Gets Cut First. Here's How To Survive

Three Product Ops leaders on why invisible teams get cut first — and the frameworks that make your function impossible to remove. SHOW NOTES: If the business doesn't know what you do, you don't exist. And when layoffs come, invisible teams get cut first. Ross Webb sits down with three Product Ops leaders to unpack how to transform an "overlooked support function" into a strategic powerhouse leadership can't operate without. This episode is brought to you by airfocus by Lucid — the structured foundation that keeps strategy intact as you scale. Find out more at airfocus.com WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: ▶ Ninon La Force (Senior Product Operations, Enable) — The NPI (New Product Introduction) process that stops product launches failing at scale. Why 100 employees is the tipping point where launches start to break, when to bring CS, implementation, and revenue teams into the cycle, and why "agile" doesn't mean "no sequence." ▶ Juan Sanchez Martinez — Why your most elegant process is worthless if nobody adopts it. How to diagnose where your company sits in its life cycle, when to use a "big bang" rollout vs. piloted social proof, and why different parts of the product org absorb change at very different speeds. ▶ Heather Hansma — The four-level communication framework that makes Product Ops bulletproof: Why → What → How → Success. The "tell them five times" rule, how to build champions at every level, and why cultivating sponsors in Sales might be the single thing that saves your job during a reorg. Build it properly. Get it adopted. Protect it through visibility and sponsorship. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Why Invisible Product Ops Teams Get Cut First 00:49 — Sponsor: airfocus by Lucid 01:00 — Episode Preview 01:30 — Ninon La Force: The NPI Process & The 100-Employee Tipping Point 05:20 — Juan Sanchez Martinez: Why Adoption Beats Design Every Time 07:37 — Heather Hansma: The Four-Level Communication Framework 10:38 — Your Next Steps 11:27 — Sponsor: airfocus by Lucid If this episode helped you, please follow Product Team Success on your podcast app of choice and leave a quick rating. It genuinely helps other Product Ops and Product Leaders find the show.