In this episode of Launch With Confidence, Chris Rader sits down with Randy Ford, Director of Product Management at Fidium Fiber. Randy has spent more than 20 years leading product teams across networking, cloud, and security, but what sets him apart is his conviction that the best ideas come from observing customers in their own environments.
From stadiums packed with thousands of devices to small supermarkets with hidden connectivity issues, Randy shares how in-the-wild insights can transform product development, customer trust, and even company strategy.
If you’ve ever wondered how to bridge the gap between product roadmaps and customer reality, this conversation will change the way you think about field research and customer engagement.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
00:00 – Introduction to Randy Ford
01:01 – Randy’s role and product management scope
01:41 – Why getting out of the office matters
02:11 – Observations you only see onsite
04:14 – Problem-solving with real-world signals
05:03 – Stories from Western Digital and stadium Wi-Fi challenges
07:16 – Turning field context into product planning
08:19 – Lessons from supermarkets and everyday environments
10:05 – How observations improve customer experience
12:25 – Personas and environmental factors
15:32 – Building vertical profiles for customer segments
15:50 – Advice on connecting with customers in the wild
17:10 – Regional and environmental differences in customer needs
18:43 – Becoming a trusted partner by sharing insights
19:15 – Budgets, travel bans, and scrappy ways to stay close to customers
20:43 – Rapid-fire questions (coffee vs. tea, product mistakes, teams vs. Slack, favorite snacks, dream product
