Shall I get a product certification? Or a Product Management training/class? Which book do I have to read to become a good PM? 🤔 I get these questions every day, from PMs who are new to the job and from people who’ve been in the industry for some time, including in leadership positions. Today was […]
Organization
Time to hire a Chief Product Officer (CPO)?
Weighing the pros and cons of hiring a CPO at different phases of the company, and some practical alternatives if the timing isn’t quite right. In two recent articles, I’ve covered the concept of Companies that “think product” and how a solid Chief Product Officer can go a long way in helping any CEO who […]
Is alignment overrated?
I don’t believe that alignment is overrated but is absolutely true that alignment without understanding is counterproductive. You’d think you’re aligned, while in reality, everybody is pulling in a different direction. That’s why I usually force the understanding and clarity part, by pushing a comparative/trade-off approach. To take your example on aligning on a top […]
Salespeople know what customers want. Really?
Has any salesperson (or CEO, …) told you “I know the customers’ needs very well because ONE customer told me that…” Why did this happen? There are many reasons, but certainly the “hype” we see lately in product management does not help to bring product teams closer to the rest of the functions. On the […]
About #layoff and suistainable business
Is this an economic downturn? Or did we hire too much? When “Time to hire becomes the measure of success” companies kind of lose their North Star, get dazzled by a (wishful) perspective of growth, and stop looking rationally at building on the right foundation. Layoffs are a natural consequence. This is pretty much what […]
being #credible as a product person
⚡ Here is a short outburst about PM credibility (with a concrete suggestion at the end 😎 ) ⚡ One of the dangerous things about #productmanagement , #ux and #design, is that it is that everybody feels the right to have an opinion about your product. Everybody “knows what you should do” better. An opinion […]
#mentorship to grow in your Product Management career
Working in a favorable environment, with an inspiring boss, and on a challenging product, are probably the main ingredients to progress in your product management career. If you cannot count on one or more of the 3 (actually, even if you can), a mentor can go a long way in helping you unlock your full […]
#Productfundamendalism is killing #ProductManagement
Good product management can contribute a long way to making companies able to navigate the unknown, reducing business risk, being customer-centric, and ultimately generating (and collecting) more user value. I call companies that do so the companies that “think product” However, recent trends toward hyped buzzwords and Product Fundamentalism have created a rift in the […]
Do we need a Chief Product Officer (CPO)?
A quick guide for CEOs, business leaders, executive search professionals, and CPOs themselves to set expectations about Chief Product Officers right. In a recent article, I covered the concept of companies that “Think product” and why they’re in a better position than the average to create and capture value from their users. Thinking product is […]
Does your organization “think product”?
A pragmatic and non-dogmatic approach to product management, that helps companies generate and capture more value from their users. Product management has popularized a set of principles that have greatly benefitted certain technology companies in terms of creating and capturing value from their users. These companies, which I call the “Think Product” companies, have embraced […]