If you have seen my work throughout 2025 using Airtable, you’ll have seen how I’ve embedded detailed workflows covering planning, delivery, communicaton and performance reporting into the Operating System of the technology division at HeliosX, and in 2026 AI is taking on an even greater responsibility and bulk of the work. So it was an honour to speak to the plans of Airtable’s field agents and Omni copilot in this interview, along with other experts.

Watch the full Playbook video now (free but requires marketing emails signup):

Airtable 2026 Playbook

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“Product ops is not necessarily solving new problems; it’s solving the problems that nobody was ever solving properly before.”

As product managers are pushed to deliver more, better, and faster, the need for a dedicated function focused on the craft of product management has become essential.

I [Graham Reed, Head of Product Operations at HeliosX], have built product ops teams from the ground up in five businesses. This interview extract tells the lessons I have learnt along the way.

1. Communication: Sometimes, less is more

Effective product ops relies on strong communication frameworks. However, Graham’s years of experience have made him aware of the risks of overcommunication. His advice?

• Not everyone cares: “The trap I’ve fallen into is assuming that businesses should be communicating left, right, and center, and that every part of the business is equally interested in what’s being shared – and the reality is, that’s not the case.” In Graham’s words, “It’s a wasted effort.”

• Understand the business: A deep understanding of the business’s structure, employee roles, and actual communication patterns must come before implementing any solution. In one of his product ops roles, Graham strived to establish a wide-reach communication framework, only to find out it was “incredibly underused.” Between warehouse employees and customer service agents, “actually, half of the business never even interacted with product.”

• Target your content: Instead of expecting everyone to be curious, push specific, easily consumable assets. TikTok-style videos have been successful for Graham. “They allow for async consumption, but with targeted information for specific audiences, from operators to senior leadership. A library of shareable, specific assets, pushing that to audiences rather than expecting them to be curious and discover for themselves.”

2. Avoiding the bureaucracy trap

“It’s about understanding whether teams don’t want to do something because it’s more work, or because that something is taking three steps when it should only take one.”

Product ops should oil the product team’s engine, not add sand to it. To Graham, it’s about asking, “How do we embed these ways of working so that people don’t even notice that they’re doing it?”

• Don’t be the process police: This is exactly what product ops teams can be mistaken for when they fall into the trap of overengineering or bureaucracy. Graham has been there, “trying to solve six problems with the same tool, and not managing to solve any of them particularly well.”

• Be your stakeholders’ advocate: The key is making sure stakeholders know you are on their side. Graham does this by holding “very honest, informal, feedback sessions with stakeholders where I ask them what’s working, what’s not working, what areas I’ve missed, where I’ve overengineered.”

• Empathize with friction: Understand if teams are resisting a process “because it’s more work, or because that something is taking three steps when it should only take one.” And then, work to remove that friction.

Read the full interview, covering ‘Bridging gaps with leadership’ and ‘The delicacy of change management’, here:

Full Interview Here

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With: Jana Debusk, Brian Miller, Alex Castro, Vivienne Duclos, Jason Lott, Laurel MacDonald & Nicole Hack.

Our topic for the evening: How do you set yourself up for success in Product Ops, covering:

🧐 How you define Product Ops in your organisation (which is not the same as anywhere else).
🙏 Having CPO buy-in
📈 How to measure success (yep, that big one again!) - Jana Debusk had some great insights to share on this (which I am hoping we’ll soon be able to share with you via this newsletter!)
🫰 The value of reminding the business what Product Ops is there to do - and not do.

This was hosted c/o the Product Led Alliance. Join the next Pulse event in October (check out the PLA Slack)

Graham

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speaks on The Product Pivot, hosted by Santi Brace and Meagan Gleen, to unpack the rise of Product Ops and what it really means for growing teams.

Graham shares how he “fell into” the role after a decade in product management and why he’s built Product Ops functions from scratch at multiple companies. Graham also digs into the messy middle between scrappy and established teams, and why Product Ops is more about change management and influence than tools or processes.

Highlights:

• The magic number of employees that signals it’s time to hire Product Ops.

• Why starting as a team of one works, and how to make it sustainable.

• The real difference between product management & Product Ops.

• The critical soft skills that matter more than experience - empathy, listening, and influencing.

• How to pivot into Product Ops by spotting and solving problems in your current org.

If you’ve ever wondered when (or why) to invest in Product Ops, or how to break into the role yourself, this one’s for you.

Watch Now

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Strategic planning doesn’t have to be chaotic. Whether you’re wrestling with prioritisation, juggling competing goals, or trying to get cross-team clarity, you’ll walk away with…

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Producers: Talking Roadmaps

In this guest spot, chatting with my friend and renowned product expert Justin Woods, I unpack how ProductOps can transform teams from overwhelmed to outstanding. From driving audience-centric communication to setting up ops from 0 to 1, this is a must-watch for anyone scaling product functions or navigating roadmap chaos.

Watch here:

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Producers: Product Team Success

In this guest spot, I talk about my Audience-Led approach to product communications and why this is critical in grabbing, and keeping, the attention of your stakeholders.

Part of a wider episode from my friend Ross Webb, also featuring:

02:10 Graham Reed: Audience-Led Communication Approach

06:33 Justin Woods: Roadmaps as Communication Tools

10:06 Anna Peterson: Handling Inevitable Pushback

12:30 Raymond Carvill: Building Trust Across Organizational Levels

13:53 Denielle Booth: Creating Authentic Partnerships

If you're a product leader struggling to get buy-in for your roadmap or feeling like your updates fall on deaf ears, this episode provides actionable strategies to transform how you communicate with stakeholders, engineers, and cross-functional teams.

Watch here:

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Producers: Product Heads Podcast

In this guest spot, I delve into the evolving role of Product Operations within organizations, how Product Ops as a function is defined, focusing on the operational processes within product management and the wider tech function, emphasizing the importance of data, communication, and collaboration.

With Tim Wilkinson, we discuss the boundaries between Product Ops and product management, the strategic importance of Product Ops, and the signs that indicate a need for Product Ops in a growing organization. The conversation also touches on onboarding, recruitment, and the initial steps to implement Product Ops effectively, highlighting the challenges of data management and communication.

Watch here:

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Guest: Graham Reed

Producers: Product Management Stories

Here I dive deep into the evolving role of Product Operations and how it is shaping business through operational excellence - the whole business not just the product managers.

I cover:

• How the role partners across the business to enable all teams to do their best work

• Trade-offs that impact product/tech teams

• Where Product Ops typically comes in, in the scaling of a business

• It’s about people - it isn’t just process process process

• The right mindset to be great at Product Operations.

• What does the first 90 days in role look like

Listen Here:

I talk a lot more about the first 90 days in role for Product Operations in a series of articles:

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Guest: Graham Reed

Producers: Product Confidential

I discuss the practicalities of Product Operations and the importance of defining the role for hiring managers.

I also discuss my other passion in my professional life: Mental Health & Wellbeing for Product Managers, and what led me to build the Product Mind Community - a safe space community for product professionals to come together and share their challenges in both role and outside.

Listen here:

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Guest: Graham Reed

Producers: Product Voices

Unlock the power of data as I reveal how data can transform your product management strategies. Can you imagine how understanding data can help to build better products and make effective decisions? I share interesting insights from my journey in the world of product management, a trip that has been filled with data-informed decisions, challenges, and triumphs.

I also tackle the hot topic of AI, its potential and limitations. Are we overlooking the ethical considerations of AI? I urge us not to rush into AI without fully understanding its implications, especially in relation to the lack of transparency with AI datasets. This conversation is not just about data, it's about the approach to data as a tool for product management.

Listen here:

Transcript here: Product Voices - Graham Reed

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Guest: Graham Reed

Producers: ProdCamp

Here I share real-world examples, particularly the transformative work I did at Cobalt, emphasising the critical importance of tailored communication between product teams and the commercial side of businesses.

This is not just about understanding the systems but delving into the psychology behind effective change management, prioritising people, and nurturing a culture of efficiency and consistent improvement.

Whether you're a budding product manager, a seasoned professional, or anyone interested in the dynamics of product operations, this podcast offers a treasure trove of knowledge, strategies, and a fresh perspective on driving success in the tech industry.

In this podcast, I discuss:

• The essence of Product Operations

• My transition from product management to Product Operations

• The significance of people and psychology in Product Operations

• Identifying and addressing common challenges in Product Operations

• The transformative impact of Product Operations on efficiency and consistency

• A deep dive into a successful Product Operations project at Cobalt

• The evolving landscape of Product Operations and its increasing necessity

• My approach to consulting and overcoming internal challenges

• The future of Product Operations and the importance of education and community

• The undeniable value of product operations

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