I do it because it’s good business '18
This year, by partnering with Founder Fuel, Founder Institute and D3 Innovation Center I set a lofty goal to undertake pro bono advisory work. I gave over a hundred hours of advisory services in the startup interest. Including to individuals, fast scaling tech companies and incubator groups. I ... →
Be the CRO (Chief Repeating Officer)
The tyranny of the urgent can lead product managers down slippery rabbit holes. These are the ones that set you up to those "unconnected dots" discussions where all you do is puke out frustration. You improvise, make up emotional reasons why certain features will take priority over others. You sa... →
Empathy is the mother of all product roadmaps
Empathy is key to building great products. Give it to your office community, and they will love you. Be a good listener. Encourage them to talk about their product ideas. Talk in term of their interests, let them feel that the idea is theirs and use it to firm up your roadmap. The empathic compon... →
Appeal to the nobler motive
A business usually has two reasons for doing a thing: one that sounds good and a real one. The product manager will think of the real reason. Their job is about finding monetizable market opportunities. Business results matter and acquiring new customers and increasing average revenue per user i... →
Product man, Renaissance man
Software development has become a strategic priority for all companies in today’s digital era. In turn, the product management role has expanded. The product manager of today is wearing many hats, using a broad knowledge base to define the problem-solution-fit, make trade-off decisions, bringing... →
The Product Manager's Guide to Backlog Grooming
Wish lists are a pain. It looks like a small request – at best. It comes top down, it guts your strategy, it unbalances all the hard work you put in prioritising and forces you to make difficult trade-offs. Great news: you need to validate that it’s actually useful and/or important, Less-great... →
Product opportunity, It’s all about timing
Product management is empirical, verifiable by observation, experience, and practice. I’m amazed at how calculated and theoretical some make it be. Put yourself into the right critical thinking mindset, do some customer research, think through your market and validate if there is a product oppo... →
Use a decision-making framework
Make the right hard calls. Prioritize ruthlessly. As a product leader, you’re most often evaluated by your ability to make difficult trade-offs quickly. When considering new features to enhance the existing product, what are the critical elements to look for? In the following lines, I’ll descri... →