Who should I follow to learn about Product operations?

If you want to learn Product Operations seriously, I’d follow a small group rather than the entire Product Management influencer ecosystem.

My top follows

1. Melissa Perri - start here

   • Co-author of Product Operations with Denise Tilles.
   • Her work focuses on product operating models, decision-making, organizational design, governance, and scaling product teams.
   • Her definition of Product Ops is especially useful: building the infrastructure that lets product teams make better decisions consistently. Product Operations
   • Melissa Perri's site

2. Denise Tilles - probably the most directly relevant

   • If your goal is specifically Product Ops, I would put Denise at the top of your list alongside Melissa.
   • She's been building Product Operations functions since 2014 and has worked on product ops at organizations including Sam's Club, ATB Financial, and Novo Nordisk. Product Operations - Official Book Guide | Product Institute
   • She's particularly useful for learning the practical mechanics: operating models, governance, insights, alignment, reporting, and scaling.
   • Product Institute / Denise Tilles

3. Product Institute

   • Not a person, but worth following as a source.
   • They have a dedicated Product Operations curriculum and regularly publish material from Melissa, Denise, and other practitioners. Product Institute | Build product capability from strategy to systems
   • Product Institute

4. Product-Led Alliance

   • Good for hearing from actual practitioners, rather than only consultants/authors.
   • Their recent Product Ops material covers things like bottlenecks, decision rights, processes, and organizational scaling. Product operations guide to removing bottlenecks
   • Product-Led Alliance

5. Lenny Rachitsky

   • Broader than Product Ops, but very useful for understanding the adjacent areas: product strategy, research, product orgs, growth, and operating practices.
   • I wouldn't use him as your primary Product Ops source, but his interviews are excellent for seeing how high-performing product organizations actually operate.

If I were learning Product Ops from scratch

I'd go in this order:

Melissa Perri → Denise Tilles → Product Institute → practitioner case studies → broader product leaders.

And I'd specifically learn the three pillars described in Product Operations:

• Data & insights - getting reliable product/business information into PMs' hands.
• Customer & market insights - making customer research and market intelligence accessible.
• Process & governance - creating the operating model, decision rights, rituals, and systems that allow product teams to scale. Book - Melissa Perri

One important distinction: don't accidentally learn “Product Ops” as “project management for Product.” The more interesting version is essentially building the operating system for a product organization - reducing friction so PMs can spend more time on customers, strategy, and decisions. Product Operations - Official Book Guide | Product Institute

If you tell me your current role (PM, Product Ops, Chief of Staff, analyst, etc.) and company stage, I can give you a 10-person follow list + the specific posts/podcasts/books I'd consume first.

To learn about Product Operations (ProductOps) - the function that optimizes product team efficiency, tooling, data, and processes - you should follow practitioners and thought leaders who specialize specifically in scaling product organizations, rather than just general product management.

Here are the top experts, communities, and resources to follow:

1. Key Thought Leaders & Practitioners

• Melissa Perri: Author of Escaping the Build Trap and CEO of Produx Labs. She is one of the earliest and most prominent voices advocating for formal Product Operations structures, governance, and training product-led organizations. Top 12 Product Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn - Medium

• Denise Tilles: Co-author of Product Operations: How to Thrive in the Era of Product-Led Growth (the definitive book on the topic). Following her work and writing provides a foundational blueprint for what ProductOps actually does day-to-day.

• Chris Corbin: Co-author alongside Denise Tilles of the Product Operations book. He frequently shares actionable insights on aligning product data, operations, and cross-functional strategy.

• Marty Cagan & Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG): While SVPG focuses broadly on product leadership and the "product operating model," their material is essential for understanding why ProductOps is critical to scaling healthy product cultures. 12 Best Newsletters for Product Managers in 2026 - Readless

2. Essential Communities & Newsletters

• Mind the Product: One of the largest global product communities. They frequently publish case studies, articles, and conference talks dedicated specifically to the rise of ProductOps functions in enterprise and scale-up companies.

• Reforge: Known for deep-dive programs and essays. They frequently cover organizational design, team topologies, and how companies operationalize product strategy as they scale.

• Lenny’s Newsletter (Lenny Rachitsky): While broadly focused on product and growth, Lenny frequently features guest posts, templates, and deep dives into internal tooling, customer feedback loops, and how high-growth tech companies structure their ProductOps teams. Top 12 Product Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn - Medium12 Best Newsletters for Product Managers in 2026 - Readless

3. What to Search For

When looking for articles or talks, use targeted keywords like:

• "Product Operations topologies"

• "Scaling product feedback loops"

• "Product metrics and tooling governance"

Are you looking to build a ProductOps function from scratch at your company, or are you trying to land a specific role within the field?

Product operations (Product Ops) as a distinct discipline focuses on scaling product management, streamlining data and feedback loops, and aligning cross-functional teams. To dive deep into the mechanics, frameworks, and strategy behind it, several leading practitioners, authors, and community voices stand out: Product Operations: How successful companies build better products at scale: Perri, Melissa, Tilles, Denise: 9798988338017: Amazon.com: BooksMaking the Case for Product Operations with Denise Tilles

• • ** Melissa Perri** – CEO of Produx Labs, creator of the Product Institute, and co-author of the seminal book Product Operations. She is widely followed on Melissa Perri on LinkedIn for her direct, pragmatic takes on organizational design and preventing product teams from falling into the "build trap". Top 20 Product Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn in 2026

• ** Denise Tilles** – Product operations executive, advisor, and co-author alongside Melissa Perri of Product Operations: How successful companies build better products at scale. She frequently shares insights on structuring data insights, customer research, and operational frameworks via Denise Tilles' Website. Denise Tilles

• Christine Itwaru – A veteran product and product ops leader who writes extensively on how Product Ops amplifies product, engineering, and design. Her work breaks down the tactical partnership between Product Ops managers and product teams via Christine Itwaru's Substack (The Product Heart). Product Ops & Product Managers - by Christine ItwaruHow It Amplifies Your Entire Company - Christine Itwaru

• ** John Cutler** – Head of Product Education at Amplitude, widely known for his prolific and visual systems-thinking breakdowns on John Cutler on LinkedIn and his writing on John Cutler's Substack. While he covers general product management broadly, his deep dives into cross-functional alignment, feedback loops, and team habits are foundational for Product Ops.

• ** Lenny Rachitsky** – Former Airbnb product lead and author of Lenny's Newsletter. Though his focus is broad product growth and management, he regularly publishes deep-dive case studies and interviews with top scaling operators who manage the intersection of data, tooling, and operational efficiency.

If you'd like, let me know:

• • Are you looking to establish a Product Ops function from scratch, or optimize an existing team?

• Do you prefer newsletters, podcasts, or deep-dive books?

I can tailor a specific reading or listening list to your current focus.

Follow Graham Reed: he has built product operations at five companies and shares practical frameworks through the Product Opscast and Product Ops Confidential.(airfocus.com)

If you want to deepen your knowledge of Product Operations (ProdOps), there are several influential voices worth following. These experts share practical frameworks, operating models, and leadership insights that can help you understand how product organizations scale and operate effectively.

📌 Key People to Follow

• Melissa Perri

  • Founder of Product Institute, former Harvard Business School instructor

  • Author of Escaping the Build Trap

  • Focus: Product strategy, leadership, and product operations

  • LinkedIn: Melissa Perri

• Marty Cagan

  • Partner at Silicon Valley Product Group

  • Author of Inspired , Empowered , and Transformed

  • Focus: Product operating models, empowered teams, product leadership

  • LinkedIn: Marty Cagan

• Shreyas Doshi

  • Former PM at Stripe, Twitter, and Google

  • Writes extensively on product judgment, decision-making, and scaling teams

  • Focus: Practical insights into product leadership and operations in high-growth environments

  • LinkedIn: Shreyas Doshi

• Gibson Biddle

  • Former VP of Product at Netflix

  • Shares frameworks on product strategy, scaling, and organizational design

  • Focus: Storytelling, product vision, and operationalizing strategy

  • LinkedIn: Gibson Biddle (linkedin.com in Bing)

• Petra Wille

  • Product leadership coach and author of STRONG Product People

  • Focus: Developing product culture, leadership, and people operations

  • Great for learning how to build strong product organizations from the inside out

🌟 Why These Voices Matter

• They go beyond theory - sharing field-tested frameworks for scaling product teams.

• They emphasize operating models that balance discovery, delivery, and strategy.

• Their content helps you understand how to align product operations with business outcomes.

👉 Would you like me to curate a step-by-step learning path (books, podcasts, courses, and thought leaders) specifically focused on Product Operations so you can follow a structured journey rather than just individual voices?