Apr 06, 2023 | 2 min read

Managing Product Innovation with Tommy Richardson

By: Patrick Emmons

Managing Product Innovation with Tommy Richardson

When Tommy Richardson enlisted in the United States Army at 18, he narrowed his options to operating a tank or going into computer operations and programming. In selecting the latter, he launched a lasting career in the field, has led several major companies in C-suite positions, and recently arrived as Chief Product and Technology Officer for Litmos, leading product innovation.

In this episode, Tommy discusses balancing technology evolution to remain competitive, feature development to meet customer demand, and product innovation to keep ahead of the curve. He shares insight into establishing the right resource allocation for the various product development workstreams, including security, tech debt, enhancements, defects, and support. Tommy also dives into lessons learned from his time at startups and in private equity, as well as what’s ahead for Litmos this year.

  • (01:01) – Product at Litmos
  • (04:21) – Training in a rapidly changing world
  • (06:29) – Feature-richness as a differentiator
  • (08:23) – Individualized content
  • (10:10) – Technology innovation and prioritization
  • (18:57) – The journey and the destination
  • (21:13) – Learning from startups
  • (23:35) – The world of private equity
  • (24:57) – Major influences

About Our Guest

Tommy Richardson is the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Litmos with over twenty-two years of experience across industries. He’s held executive leadership roles at FinThrive, BARBRI Global, Vector Solutions, Nextech Systems, Teradata, Siemens Healthineers, ADP, and more. Introduced to computer programming in the United States Army, Tommy studied at Auburn University in Montgomery and earned an MBA from The University of Georgia.

Subscribe to Your Favorite Podcast

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps others find the show.

Podcast episode production by Dante32.

About Patrick Emmons

If you can’t appreciate a good sports analogy, movie quote, or military reference, you may not want to work with him, but if you value honesty, integrity, and commitment to improvement, Patrick can certainly help take your business or your career to the next level. “Good enough,” is simply not in his vernacular. Pat’s passion is for relentlessly pushing himself and others to achieve full potential. Patrick Emmons is a graduate of St. Norbert College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. Patrick co-founded Adage Technologies in 2001 and in 2015, founded DragonSpears as a spin-off dedicated to developing custom applications that improve speed, compliance and scalability of clients’ internal and customer-facing workflow processes. When he is not learning about new technology, running a better business, or becoming a stronger leader, he can be found coaching his kids’ (FIVE of them) baseball and lacrosse teams and praising his ever-so-patient wife for all her support.

Recent Episodes

We interview leaders from early-stage start-ups to billion-dollar enterprises who distill their lessons from their victories and their failures. Learn how these high-performing leaders organize their teams, establish a growth-minded culture, and leverage new technologies such as DevOps and Cloud.