Enjoying the Show? Share Your Experience!

Bruce McCarthy has spent his life building things – first with Lego, then with teams, products, and companies. In this episode, he takes us from childhood curiosity to becoming one of the most recognised voices in modern product leadership. His stories reveal how creativity becomes strategy, and how mindset becomes culture.

You’ll hear how early experiments in building boats, ecosystems, and entire miniature worlds shaped Bruce’s instinct for systems thinking. You’ll follow the transition from startup founder to product leader, and the shock of moving from small, outcome-driven companies to an organisation where innovation was discouraged. That contrast led Bruce to a realisation that would define his career – culture determines everything.

We explore the moments that transformed how he leads: cross-functional alignment, stakeholder management, strategic ownership, and the belief that product managers run “businesses within businesses”. Bruce shares the wins, the mistakes, and the turning points that taught him that leadership requires listening, that mandates never create change, and that real transformation comes from learning by doing.

Together, we unpack the origin of Product Culture, why his books reshaped the product world, and the truth behind roadmapping, OKRs, collaboration, and the power of finding your tribe. Whether you’re in product, leadership, or simply navigating change – this is a masterclass in building the environment where great work happens.

Thanks for listening!!

You can catch us on all major podcast directories - New episode every Wednesday at 3pm UK time. Give us a subscribe to make sure you don't miss out!

We're also on YouTube!

If you want to feature as a guest, and you're either a business owner who does most of their own marketing, or you're a marketer with a passion for sharing your knowledge, current trends and adding value, reach out to me directly.

This show is brought to you by Javelin Content Management.

We're a husband and wife team who specialise in helping fascinating people launch amazing podcasts, where we extract all of the content 'juice' by squeezing their episodes and repurposing the clips.

We manage podcasts across lots of industries and sectors for our clients, specialising in hosts with ADHD and neurodiversity (like us!)

We also work with existing podcasters who just want to get the hard work off their hands, or who are finding the whole process tiring and dull!