Podcast Summary: The Marketing Millennials

Episode: How to Build Marketing Systems That Actually Work with Erika Storli, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Trello | Ep. 359

Date: October 22, 2025
Guest Host: Tamara Kaminski
Guest: Erika Storli, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Trello

Overview

This episode is a tactical masterclass for marketers feeling overwhelmed by scattered to-do lists, endless Slack pings, and fire drills from all angles. Guest host Tamara Kaminski welcomes Erika Storli, Senior PMM at Trello, to uncover how marketers—especially in lean product marketing teams—can move from reactive chaos to operating with true strategic intent. The conversation covers Erika’s hard-won systems for prioritizing work, setting boundaries, building stakeholder alignment, and saying "strategic no’s" without burning bridges. Erika draws from her real-life experience weathering a drastic team downsizing while keeping impact high.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Rethinking Productivity and Boundaries

• Old vs. New Perspectives

  • Erika used to believe productivity meant immediate responsiveness to every notification and task ([01:52]):
    • “I used to have the mindset of needing to always be on and constantly being on top of every Slack ping, every JIRA ticket...” —Erika Storli ([01:55])
  • A major shift was learning to set boundaries and communicate realistic timelines with stakeholders.

• The Importance of the Strategic 'No'

  • Being strategic means not saying yes to everything ([02:48]):
    • “If you're always saying yes to everything, like you're not being strategic.” —Tamara Kaminski ([02:48])
  • Erika highlights the extra challenge women can face around people-pleasing and the need to cultivate comfort with boundaries ([03:14]):
    • “As women we have a bias… of not having the ability to say no because you want to just be there for the other person... but that can lean into people pleaser tendencies.” —Erika Storli ([03:14])

The Realities of a PMM Day-to-Day

• Juggling Multiple Stakeholders

  • Erika outlines her daily reality: rapidly context-switching between product, sales, PR, social, community—and handling “whatever Slack channel needs me most” ([04:06]).
  • Increasing responsibility for PMMs, highlighted by industry reports.

• The Breaking Point

  • Major organizational change: PMM team shrinks from 10 to 2, workload remains ([05:55]).
    • “My team that I had originally joined was over 10 PMMs and then it downsized to just myself and my teammate…” —Erika Storli ([05:59])

• First Steps Toward Sustainable Systems

  • Erika and her teammate audited all in-flight projects, used Trello to visually organize and prioritize, and had candid discussions on what truly needed their attention vs. what to (strategically) say no to ([07:49]).

Prioritization Models and Alignment

• OKRs over Ad Hoc Prioritization

  • While informal matrices (like Eisenhower) help, the team moved to OKRs for more rigorous alignment with broader company and product goals ([09:22]):
    • “Every project we work on aligns or maps to that appropriate goal… PMMs are being a little bit more strategic in the last year.” —Erika Storli ([10:34])

• Outcome-Orientation vs. Task Lists

  • Discussion on balancing being “task-oriented” with outcome-focused work:
    • The danger of over-scheduling tasks at the expense of time for strategic thinking ([11:13])
    • Erika’s new Head of PMM is encouraging more space for strategic work and creative rituals ([11:57], [13:30])

• Building Team Rituals for Creativity

  • Weekly team syncs, “rose and thorn” check-ins, and kudos rituals foster intentionality and keep space open for both personal connection and strategic brainstorms ([13:52]).

Building and Adapting Systems

• Start with Tools that Serve the Team

  • Choose platforms (Trello, Notion, Google Docs, etc.) that work for your team, and don’t force-fit tools that create friction ([15:23], [17:20]).
    • Notable moment: “You don’t want to get to the point where you make somebody so frustrated that they cry because they don’t enjoy using the platform…” —Erika Storli ([16:19])

• Internal System vs. Cross-Team Tool Alignment

  • It’s more important to have an internal system that works for your team before worrying about broader tooling alignment ([17:20]).

• Transparency and Stakeholder Management

  • Use “altitude” to tailor status sharing: Trello for internal tracking, Confluence/Google Docs for reporting out to stakeholders ([19:51]).
  • Adjust communication depth by stakeholder group: “Sales just wants when, Product may want detail” ([22:08]).

• Asynchronous Updates & Flexibility

  • Embracing async tools (Slack, Loom) reduces unnecessary meetings and status report calls—especially crucial for distributed remote teams ([19:51]).

Intake, Boundaries, and Managing Requests

• Public Intake Channels

  • Move from private/DM-based requests to a public Slack channel for triage, delegation, and transparency ([23:39]):
    • “I had to say no to a lot of individual DMs… making sure people would start going into a public Slack channel and putting in their ask...” —Erika Storli ([24:00])

• Formalizing Intake Process & SLAs

  • Set up intake forms or ticketing processes, and negotiate service-level agreements (SLAs) with stakeholders (“co-create” the process) ([25:10], [27:46]):
    • “Co-create that SLA so it doesn’t feel like you’re just pushing back… each team might require a different SLA...” —Tamara Kaminski ([27:46])
  • Recognize that timelines for requests differ drastically depending on complexity (e.g., an email vs. a video asset).

Practical Tips for Overwhelmed Marketers

• Start Small: Own Your To-Do System

  • Find where you have control; choose a system that works for you now ([29:51]).
  • Erika’s current hack: Trello’s “Quick Capture” with AI pulls in tasks from Slack/email and organizes them automatically ([29:51]).
    • “If you don’t have [a to-do system], that’s where you need to start… It starts with yourself.” —Erika Storli ([30:26])

• Model the Behavior

  • “Model the behavior you want to see in others.” —Tamara Kaminski ([31:31])

Erika’s Marketing Hill to Die On

• Precision Beats Scale
  • In lean teams with limited resources, clarity and precision in user and message always outperform scattershot approaches ([31:45]):
    • “Make sure you have precision, making sure that precision beats scale every time…that will outperform the noise to your competitors.” —Erika Storli ([31:45])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Boundaries:

  • “Despite being on a lean team, I think it's being aware of where your most needs are at the moment and just being authentic and real with people...” —Erika Storli ([01:55])

• On Saying No:

  • “As women we have a bias…of not having the ability to say no…But that can lean into people pleaser tendencies.” —Erika Storli ([03:14])

• On Team Shrinkage:

  • “My team…was over 10PMMs and then it downsized to just myself and my teammate.” —Erika Storli ([06:06])

• On Systems:

  • “You don’t want to get to the point where you make somebody so frustrated that they cry because they don’t enjoy using the platform...” —Erika Storli ([16:19])

• On Tools:

  • “Life is short. No one needs to be crying over software.” —Tamara Kaminski ([19:19])

• On Intake:

  • “[Requests] started coming my way, so I had to be very clear with like where are we going to intake the requests or the asks...” —Erika Storli ([23:43])

• On Co-Creating SLAs:

  • “Co-create that SLA so it doesn’t feel like you're just pushing back all the time…” —Tamara Kaminski ([27:46])

• On the Hill to Die On:

  • “Precision beats scale every time. That one's going to be on a loop in my brain for a while.” —Tamara Kaminski ([32:44])
  • “Making sure you have precision… will outperform the noise to your competitors every time.” —Erika Storli ([31:45])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:40: Erika’s old view of productivity vs. new view (boundaries, responsiveness)
• 03:14: Gendered dynamics of saying “no” and people-pleasing
• 05:55: The PMM team downsizing and the “wake-up call” for systems
• 07:49: Building a system from scratch—mapping active projects and workload
• 09:22: How Erika prioritized without initial OKRs, then moved to more formal models
• 11:57: Scheduling for strategic space, team rituals, and creative thinking
• 13:52: Examples of team rituals, wins, and kudos
• 15:23: Why the right tool for your team matters more than top-down mandates
• 17:20: Adapting systems for team needs vs. forcing cross-team tool conformity
• 19:51: Transparency, sharing project status at varying “altitudes”
• 23:39: Stopping individual DMs; moving to public intake and shared triage
• 27:46: The value and process of co-creating SLAs with internal partners
• 29:51: Erika’s top productivity tip: start with a personal to-do system that you control
• 31:45: The “marketing hill” Erika would die on: precision > scale

Takeaways

• Boundaries and the strategic 'no' are critical to real productivity and sustainability in marketing roles—with extra nuance for women in the field.
• Building the right system is about honest audits, clear communication with stakeholders, and choosing tools that your team will actually use.
• Prioritize outcome orientation, stakeholder alignment (especially via OKRs), and always tailor communication to your audience’s altitude.
• Intake processes, public triage, and (co-created) SLAs are invaluable for managing the constant inflow of requests—and building empathy.
• Start modeling the behavior you want to see—own your system, share your process, and improve incrementally.
• Precision and clarity in user targeting and messaging vastly outweigh brute-force or scattershot volume, especially for lean teams.