In this episode, I talk with Radhika Dutt, MIT-educated engineer, startup founder, and author of Radical Product Thinking, about how leaders solve complex problems by changing the way they think, not just the way they act. She shares lessons from her early startup years and the “product diseases” that trap teams into chasing big logos, funding, and metrics instead of meaningful outcomes.

Radhika reframes a product as a mechanism for creating change, which applies just as much to healthcare as it does to tech. We walk through how leaders can clarify the problem, challenge the status quo, define the end state, and then design workflows and processes that actually move the system forward. We also dig into her newer idea of puzzle thinking, replacing goal-and-target obsession with better questions and real understanding.

We close with practical ways to build psychological safety without settling for fake harmony, and a simple loop for improving any process: How well did it work? What did we learn? What will we try next?

This is crucial learning for all leaders regarding an area that is often overlooked. We look forward to having you join our audience of listeners.

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