In this episode of Bridging the Gap, coach and author Itamar Gilad, known for his product work at Google and Microsoft, sits down with co-hosts Marta G. Coloma and Jan Bílek to cut through the noise around evidence-guided decision-making. We skip the buzzwords and get to the crux of the matter: how can you make data-based decisions without completely ignoring your intuition? We unpack where product teams often get stuck and explore how this approach saves resources when foraying into new markets.

📝 The highlights 🔗

It’s not about removing human judgment 🔗

Itamar compares product managers to judges and doctors who always rely on evidence before making decisions. Judges ask for proof and doctors run tests, so product teams should do the same when building. This means that, while intuition and experience remain important, they must be paired with solid evidence to avoid costly mistakes and improve outcomes. In the end, experimenting hoping untested approaches work ends up being much more expensive than build strategies based on data.

Does it slow you down? 🔗

Many fear evidence-guided approaches will delay product development. Itamar challenges this by showing how rushing into development without proper research wastes time because many ideas fail. Instead, by testing and eliminating weak ideas early, teams actually speed up delivering meaningful value, because the goal isn’t just to ship features, but to ship what truly matters.

As Itamar puts it eloquently, "If you take the time to do research and discovery, to eliminate the bad ideas and double down on the good ones, you're actually expediting the delivery of value, which is really what we care about. We're not in the business of shipping bits. We're in the business of shipping value."

Localization decisions backed by data 🔗

Expanding internationally requires thoughtful decisions backed by data. Localization teams face plenty of challenges, and applying an evidence-based mindset helps prioritize efforts, validate market assumptions, and reduce costly errors. We loved hearing Itamar’s practical tips to make this a reality —  and we hope you enjoy the conversation below, too!

🌟 Star quote 🔗

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🎙️ Watch & listen 🔗

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🗞️ Additional resources 🔗

Marketing strategies to propel your growth | Bridging the Gap Podcast, S01 EP01
In our first episode ever, we explore how to choose the right go-to-market strategy and stay patient with growth with CMO consultant Lukas Mehnert.
LocalazyBridging the Gap
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💌 Connect with the guest & hosts 🔗

📚 More on the blog 🔗

The GIST framework by Itamar Gilad is something we have tested ourselves at Localazy, and it significantly boosted our team's performance. You can read about our experience in the overview below. For more product management content related to localization, check out our articles here.

How GIST helped the Localazy team track progress & thrive
Does producing good ideas that suit your customer needs and following up with them without excessive management overhead sound like a dream? It isn’t: it’s called GIST planning. Here’s how Localazy has adopted this business framework.
LocalazyMarta G. Coloma

🚀 About Localazy 🔗

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