Several years ago a leader in the radio industry reminded me of how easily we get distracted by shiny new things. He pointed out that having great radio shows and lucrative advertising deals was seen as so important for a radio station. The first drove listenership and the second drove profits. As a radio station …
Product Management
What are you walling out?
I find myself quick to say no, to shut out an idea that I don’t like at first glance. Sometimes it’s a coping mechanism because I feel too busy. Other times it’s because I prejudged without fully understanding. But Robert Frost in his poem, “Mending Wall” puts it this way: “Before I build a wall …
Books for a quiet Thanksgiving
Since I was a kid, I’ve loved to read, but as I’ve gotten older, I found myself more distracted and with less focused time to read. This Thanksgiving we find ourselves with more downtime than usual, and so I thought I’d share two books that have been valuable to me over the years, and that …
Are you leaving dirty dishes?
The Man Who Didn’t Wash His Dishes by Phyllis Krasilosky is an old kids story where a man decides one day, tired after a big meal, to put off doing the dishes. The next day, the same thing happened, and the next, and the next, until there are no dishes left! You can find the …
Are you running an assembly line?
Many companies want to be innovative. They launch innovation programs, hackathons, and more. Then they go out and manage as if their company was an assembly line. They create standardized processes, controls and approvals, hierarchies and reporting structures, meetings about meetings. All of these to refine a process leading in the wrong direction. How can …
What are you celebrating?
I was rereading Marty Cagan’s book Inspired and I came across this quote: “Good teams celebrate when they achieve a significant impact to the business results. Bad teams celebrate when they finally released something.” Marty Cagan, Inspired It’s a good reminder that as a leader we need to pay attention to what we celebrate. Launching …
Our Product Is Not For You!
I attended a talk several years ago by the CEO of a very successful software company, and afterward a current customer asked about a product enhancement. Most CEO’s would respond with something like, “It’s on our roadmap” or “That’s good feedback, we’ll take it under consideration.” Not this CEO! His response, “Our product is not …
What are you invested in?
I’m in the process of selling my car, and making a 20-year old truck my dad gave me my primary vehicle. The car was paid off, reliable, comfortable, and I really enjoyed driving it. So why get rid of it? Because I realized I didn’t want to invest my money in it any longer. I’m …
The Illusion of Progress
Clayton Christensen in Competing Against Luck calls out how many companies have activities that give the illusion of progress, without actually causing it. To use Yogi Berra’s word, “We’re lost, but we’re making good time!” This happens when we fail to understand the “why”. Why do our customers choose our products? Why do they choose …
Table stakes in product management?
I sometimes hear the phrase “table stakes” used to describe a feature. Basically a shorthand for a feature we can’t possibly leave out because the competitors have it, and the customer expects it. As a product manager, this assumption of “table stakes” is dangerous because it assumes knowledge of our customer’s needs and leads to …