Tamara Adlin - The Power of Alignment

The UX Consultants Lounge

In this episode of the UX Consultants Lounge, host Kyle Soucy speaks with Tamara Adlin, owner of Adlin, Inc., a consultancy specializing in helping early-stage startups and larger companies with product alignment and redesigns. They discuss her impressive career journey and her profound impact on the field of UX consulting. Tamara shares her experiences transitioning from a corporate role at Amazon to establishing her own consultancy, along with the lessons learned from a brief stint co-creating an agency.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Challenges and Rewards of Specializing: Insights into the implications of specializing in early-stage startups and how it shapes business prospects and networking.
• Her Quick Hit Process: Tamara introduces her unique approach to initial client engagements, distinguishing it from typical assessments and emphasizing the importance of alignment before design.
• Women in Tech: Tamara provides candid advice for female consultants navigating the tech landscape, underscoring the necessity of advocating for proper titles and compensation.
• Career Coaching and Support: Tamara discusses her commitment to mentoring and coaching. She talks about the importance of having open conversations about career advancement and salary negotiations, highlighting her involvement with the "Never Search Alone" network to support job seekers.
• New Ventures: Discussion on Tamara's latest podcast, "Corporate Underpants," which delves into how internal politics affect digital products. She also hints at her upcoming book, Align Before Design.

Connect with Us:

• Host: Kyle Soucy | Usable Interface (https://usableinterface.com/)
• Guest: Tamara Adlin | Adlin, Inc. (https://www.adlininc.com/)

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

• Corporate Underpants - Tamara’s Podcast: https://www.adlininc.com/underpants
• Align Before Design - Updates on Tamara’s New Book: https://www.adlininc.com/align-before-design
• Tamara’s Article about Being an Experienced Woman in Tech - https://medium.com/@tamaraadlin/elation-deflation-the-reality-responsibility-of-being-an-experienced-woman-in-tech-92deb07bd358
• Never Search Alone: https://www.phyl.org/
• Taking the Work Out of Networking: https://karenwickre.com/book/
• Aligned by Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/aligned/9781098134419/

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Chapters

1. Tamara Adlin - The Power of Alignment (00:00:00)

2.   Introducing Tamara Adlin (00:00:41)

3.   Tamara's consulting services (00:07:05)

4.   Tamara's volunteer work with Never Search Alone (00:08:59)

5.   Requiring measurable goals in order to start a project (00:14:37)

6.   Tamara's Quick Hit process (00:15:56)

7.   Tamara reflects on co-creating an agency and why that didn't work out (00:17:50)

8.   Why Tamara wanted to be a consultant (00:21:56)

9.   Specializing in startups, Web3, and blockchain (00:23:33)

10.   Tamara's marketing strategies (00:29:37)

11.   How Tamara knows if a client is the right fit (00:31:13)

12.   Depending on word of mouth for marketing (00:33:07)

13.   Tamara's podcast and upcoming book (00:35:24)

14.   Tamara's thoughts on being a woman in tech (00:40:48)

15.   More about Tamara's new book that she's writing (00:49:12)

16.   What makes a consultant good (00:51:37)

17.   The best piece of business advice Tamara ever received (00:53:13)

18.   Tamara's recommended resources for consultants (00:53:25)