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Feb 4, 2020
Skills Over Tools, People Over Certificates
Product management advice often focuses on mastering tools, but tools are just a means to an end. Spending too much time on them can distract from what matters most - understanding customers and solving their problems.
Instead: Focus on learning customer research, prioritisation, and communication skills. Tools come and go, but these skills are timeless. Build your foundation on these, and the tools will follow naturally.
People overplay the impo... read more -
Apr 4, 2017
The benefit of a small product team
In an organisation, when a decision to create a new product is made, there is a high chance that one of the existing teams will be allocated to the task right away. Management expectation is always high, and it's usually assumed that the team can shift gears immediately and become productive in a matter of days.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work this way. And let's not forget that it takes much longer for a completely new team to jell and perform.
T... read more -
Mar 13, 2017
Running Lean: Forget the business problem...for now
Often in companies of different sizes, the product team is either forced, or voluntarily switches, to ‘solution mode' hoping to solve a business challenge. A much better way forward is to fully understand the customer problem.
You might get lucky and guess the right customer problem to solve based on your experience, insights and gut feeling. But, realistically, what are the odds of that? It's a bet!
Sadly, in most organisations, stakeholders alr... read more -
Mar 13, 2017
Creating Successful Products in a Corporation
How do you go about improving your chances of creating a successful product in a corporation?
Have you ever tried to create a new digital product in a large corporation? You have? Well then, you know it's damn hard! And if you haven't…it's damn hard!
In a modern corporate environment, it is a huge challenge to build a digital product that is commercially viable, technically feasible and irresistible to customers. Business priorities change, often... read more -
Jun 26, 2016
Five ways to improve your team’s dynamics
Doesn’t it feel great when on top of solid job performance your team is buzzing, joking and having a good time? Yes, it does without a doubt!
Daniel Pink, in his book, Drive, lists 3 elements of the motivation formula: (1) Autonomy — the desire to direct our own lives; (2) Mastery — the urge to get better and better at something that matters; and (3) Purpose — the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselve... read more -
Feb 29, 2016
The First 2 Weeks in a Product Role
Starting a new job is often thrilling and overwhelming. Like a rollercoaster ride, I get pumped up and excited to get on but also my heart starts pounding and palms get sweaty.
Do you get the same feeling?
I like all the new opportunities that come with a new job such as learning extra skills, applying my expertise, meeting new people and making friends. On the other hand, the first few weeks can be particularly stressful, trying to fi... read more -
Building a Thinking Team Culture
When a product leader decides to forge a new feature or even build a new product it's a good idea to brief the team and draw a couple of diagrams on a whiteboard. What does your team do next though?
I bet the chances are the devs have already started thinking about technical implementation, the designers are creating UI elements in their heads, and the testers are coming up with scenarios to break whatever they can.
At that point interru... read more -
Jan 9, 2015
Four Ways to Develop a Good Reading Habit
I've never read more than 15–20 books in a year. One of the excuses I had was that I'm a very busy person - with 2 children, a full-time job, a local soccer team I play for, plus a million other things to do.
Last year, I set a goal to read 36 books. My objective was to learn more about leadership, business, product management and, of course, enjoy a few fiction books (sorry, “Fifty Shades of Grey” isn't one of them).
What's more, I realised my... read more
