Blog

» Coaching allows you to leap ahead — it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you » Active listening helps you restrain the urge to jump in early with a solution » Performance management is retrospective; performance development looks forward » A lack of clear goals and simplistic evaluation are ways performance management goes wrong

» Mind The Product pivoted in 8 weeks, then spent the next 8 months refining the concept » When working remotely, post information in at least 3 places to ensure everyone sees it » Pivots that align with the existing corporate vision tend to be more successful » The shift to digital during the COVID-19 pandemic will not be as sticky as some assume

» Change in your organisation may be inhibited by a small number of constraints » Your product, your company is always part of a wider ecosystem » A product strategy needs to be clear on what metrics to focus on and how to move them » Finding product-market fit is the beginning, not the end

“I have a PM in my team who I regularly find digging into areas of the business that are unrelated to the initiatives they’re responsible for. [As a result,] they also have a track record of being extremely slow to bring anything to market.”

» Identify the key stakeholders whom you need to trust you and collaborate with you regularly » Understand the real reason for anger – whether in others or ourselves » Remember where stakeholders’ help starts and ends » To be trusted, you need to demonstrate your competence

» Problems come and go, but culture is forever » Psychological safety presents a new set of social norms » Product managers should be at the forefront of helping organisations to do things better for people » The corporate vision explains why the company exists » Open forums and communication lines between teams helps to maintain alignment

» Customers are seeking more value from digital technologies — “liquid experiences” » Services by nature don’t always fit current organisational structures » Service design and business analyst roles require a different type of focus and mindset » Key to becoming a service designer is not finding a new job, but transforming your current job » “Seamless services” means bringing together people from across professional boundaries

» Product managers must understand the impact of their products on society as a whole » Now is the time to push for broader product management accountability » No company, individual or set of activities, yet provides a clear-cut example of ethical best practice » What we build must not be at the cost of another group’s needs » Nothing in traditional product training prepares you for making ethical decisions

Even if your product’s achieved product-market fit, you’re wrong if you think you never need to worry about it again.

» Avoid waste by by first researching “shallow” user personas then progressively elaborating as needed » Product managers can and should conduct user research when demand outstrips the researchers available » Connect user personas to people’s actual goals for more emotional impact » Good interviewers listen, not talk

» Keeping your users’ attention means minimising cognitive drain » Customer onboarding is a continuous process » Video games use contextual nudges to teach players how the game works » A new customer success team builds trust by prioritising people, then process

» Use sensitivity analysis to identify the make-or-break metrics for your business » Your analytics approach needs to change over time to keep up with your evolving product » Blindly copying best practices results in an imperfect copy » Analytics tools don’t do the thinking for you