Article archives
Here you can find links to all the articles published on this website.
85: The agency trap
How can product management fit into an agency business model? Spoiler alert: _not easily_
Whatever this is, this web3 product manager role is not a product manager
Jason Shah says that joining a web3 company can be “an opaque process and a risky decision”. I’d add “ethically challenging and morally grey” to that description.
Read more › Whatever this is, this web3 product manager role is not a product manager
Sorting the signal from the noise — a guide to fact-checking
One of the most important, and arguably hardest jobs we have as product managers is to work with our team to sift through information, read between the lines, and verify what is fact and what is merely opinion.
Read more › Sorting the signal from the noise — a guide to fact-checking
Q&A: What’s the difference between a growth hacker and a growth product manager?
Hi Jock,
I was reading your article about growth product managers. What is the difference between ‘growth hacker’ and ‘growth product manager’?
Read more › Q&A: What’s the difference between a growth hacker and a growth product manager?
84: Start building a community of practice with the 3 minute challenge
When you start out as a head of product, you’ll probably need to create a community of product people. In this article I share my advice to help you get the ball rolling with your own community of practice.
Read more › 84: Start building a community of practice with the 3 minute challenge
Should a growth product manager even be a thing?
There’s an ongoing debate about generalist product managers versus emerging product manager specialisms (such as ‘growth product manager’). I think there is room in our profession for both. Let me explain.
Read more › Should a growth product manager even be a thing?
6: 6 tips for presenting slides that don’t suck
All product managers will need to stand up and present to others at some point. You won’t be helping yourself (or your audience) if your slide deck is atrocious. So here are my 6 tips for presenting slides that don’t suck.
Q&A: My boss wants to set me an OKR on revenue growth. Is this right?
Revenue growth is the ultimate vanity metric. It’s lagging and measures an output, not an outcome. That’s why it’s a terrible choice of OKR.
Read more › Q&A: My boss wants to set me an OKR on revenue growth. Is this right?
83: 5 tips to ace your first impression at a new job
Because so much of product management is about working with people, it’s important to take time to reflect on the kind of first impression you make to those people. In this latest entry for my series of 100 things I’ve learned about product management, I pass on my coaching advice to help you make the best possible impression every time.
Read more › 83: 5 tips to ace your first impression at a new job
82: Replatforming the cash cow
Engineering teams are choosing to work on projects that make them look busy, but which don’t actually move things forward. What they’re usually working on is a convoluted — and arguably doomed — attempt to replatform a legacy ‘cash cow’ product.
81: The unifying principles of product management
A recent tweet by John Cutler provoked some interesting reactions. It got me thinking about whether there are underlying principles of product management that apply in all contexts.
Read more › 81: The unifying principles of product management
What to do when service transformation goes wrong
When companies set out to redesign a product or service, the results can sometimes be underwhelming. Instead of delivering service transformation, the team recommends only minor efficiency tweaks. If this has been happening to you, there can be many underlying causes. I’ve identified a few common problems and what you can you do about them.
Read more › What to do when service transformation goes wrong
Q&A: I’m overwhelmed — can you help?
“I’m 4 weeks into a new [product manager] job, having moved states for it, and I’ve recently become a parent for the first time. Currently, I am feeling overwhelmed.”
Q&A: How do you find the balance between autonomy and focus for PMs you’re managing?
“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.”
Read more › Q&A: How do you find the balance between autonomy and focus for PMs you’re managing?
80: The neverending quest for product-market fit
Even if your product’s achieved product-market fit, you’re wrong if you think you never need to worry about it again.
Read more › 80: The neverending quest for product-market fit
Mission to Mars
Imagine you’ve just been told that you’ll be a member of the team responsible for the first manned mission to Mars.
Now imagine someone asks you how much the mission’s going to cost. The whole thing. There and back. By close of business on Thursday.
79: The product leader’s guide to interviewing
I’m often involved in the interviewing and hiring interviewing process, so I’d like to share with you my product leader’s guide to interviewing product managers.
Q&A: Should a product manager have responsibility for profitability?
“Should the product manager have some level or perhaps a great deal of responsibility for the profitability of the product? Should they understand things like the unit economics, that sort of thing?”
Read more › Q&A: Should a product manager have responsibility for profitability?
78: How to start a new product manager job
Starting a new product manager job can be daunting, particularly if you don’t change jobs very often. I work freelance, so I find myself in a new organisation roughly every 3-6 months. Let me share with you my tips for your first few months in a new role.
Q&A: What technical skills do I need to be a product manager?
“I was looking for inspiration and guidance as I am searching for a career change and Product Management/ Project Management are my areas of interest. I was looking to understand if in such roles technical skills are required.”
Read more › Q&A: What technical skills do I need to be a product manager?
77: The only article you’ll ever need on prioritization
When faced with all the things you could and should be doing, it can be tremendously hard to decide which to do, let alone which to do first.
Read more › 77: The only article you’ll ever need on prioritization
Q&A: What lessons from antiquity would you apply to product management?
“So this this might seem a bit odd, but are there any lessons from antiquity given your background in Classics that one might apply to product management in the year 2020?”
Read more › Q&A: What lessons from antiquity would you apply to product management?
76: Manage the whole product
A whole product is often a complex combination of several products and services. Some you create yourself, some are created by others. You’re responsible for the whole lot, even if they’re not all directly in your control.
Managing product managers
A virtual roundtable discussion for product leaders and C-level roles.
We’ll be discussing:
how to measure product manager performance;
how to provide opportunities for career growth; and
the challenges of managing teams of product managers and product owners.
Q&A: What’s the difference between a product manager and a business analyst?
“Hi Jock, What’s the difference between a product manager and a business analyst?”
Read more › Q&A: What’s the difference between a product manager and a business analyst?
75: The dirty little secrets of decision-making
I’ve been thinking about decision-making. What makes one decision better than another?
Misunderstood metaphors: Product manager as conductor
Product managers are sometimes referred to as the conductor of the orchestra. Some people think that the conductor’s job is to direct the players, to lead them through the music. That would be to misunderstand the relationship. Instead, here’s a different take.
Read more › Misunderstood metaphors: Product manager as conductor
Growing together: developing and retaining your product team
34.2% of product managers said they left their previous role because there were no opportunities to grow.
In this panel discussion, Lucie McLean (Zalando) discusses growth and career progression for product managers with Jock Busuttil (Product People Limited) and Daniil Pavliuchkov (Tier).
Read more › Growing together: developing and retaining your product team
Podcast: Voxgig Fireside for professional speakers
In Voxgig’s Fireside podcast for professional speakers, I reveal how I turned my flair for product management into a speaking career, and how I set up a home studio for live streaming using an old television.
Read more › Podcast: Voxgig Fireside for professional speakers
Open, honest and always improving
In government, product is borne out of transparency, quite a lot of cake and a fanatical desire to serve the needs of users. Video and slides!
74: The black art of designing content
This week I learnt the phrase ‘black art’ comes from the world of printing presses. Eventually I found a product management angle.
Saving yourself from product management hell
If you recognise the symptoms such as not being allowed to talk to customers, and my personal favourite, “screw research, let’s build!”, then you may be in product management hell.
73: You wouldn’t drive blindfolded – why you need user research
I heard a story of an octogenarian who drove himself to the hospital for his eye cataracts operation. (Just let that sink in a bit.) On his surprisingly safe return home, his relatives queried the sense of his actions. He replied that what he lacked in sight, he made up for in driving experience.
Read more › 73: You wouldn’t drive blindfolded – why you need user research
Upcoming live talks – September and October 2020
I’m giving some more live talks in September and October. The first is for ProdPad’s regular webinar series. I’m also giving a series of four talks on Tuesdays in October for my Product Management Digital Masterclass.
Read more › Upcoming live talks – September and October 2020
5 product leadership lessons learnt from the UK’s Ministry of Justice Digital team
I talk about the 5 product leadership lessons I learnt about digital transformation and working with autonomous, empowered delivery teams.
Read more › 5 product leadership lessons learnt from the UK’s Ministry of Justice Digital team
Q&A: How do I make my CV stand out?
“I am currently looking for a new PM role but there is so much competition because of the pandemic. Do you have any suggestions on how to stand out as a PM in these turbulent times?”
How to measure product management – ProductBeats talk
I gave a talk on Tolpagorni’s ProductBeats weekly webinar series about how to measure product management.
Read more › How to measure product management – ProductBeats talk
72: All the world’s a stage – how to launch a product
The other day, I was asked how to launch a product successfully. Two competing responses sprang to mind: the way I would have answered a couple of decades ago and the way I actually suggested.
Read more › 72: All the world’s a stage – how to launch a product
Q&A: What’s the best way to focus teams on outcomes not outputs?
What’s the best way to help agile teams move away from feature delivery to focus on outcome over output?
Read more › Q&A: What’s the best way to focus teams on outcomes not outputs?
Upcoming live talks – July 2020
I’ll be giving a couple of live talks this month in Sweden and Australia. Unsurprisingly, I’m giving them virtually, so you can come along too. Read on for talk details and how to attend.
Q&A: What’s the name for ‘continuing to find product-market fit’?
Do you have a name for continuing to find/refine product-market fit? Or is product-market fit something you find once and then ignore after you found it?
Read more › Q&A: What’s the name for ‘continuing to find product-market fit’?
Reading aloud
I’m trying to make my blog and other websites as accessible as possible. This has led me to all sorts of questions that I need your help to answer.
71: The PMO strikes back
Okay, okay, so maybe likening the Project Management Office (PMO) to the Empire hunting down the Rebel Alliance is perhaps a teensy bit combative. But it’s how I feel sometimes. Just don’t let my desire for a weak pun give you the wrong impression. Let me explain.
What does a product manager do (and not do)?
Compared to when I started out in product management, we’re a lot better at defining what a product manager does. It’s always worth a reminder, so I’d like to share with you a talk I gave last summer, What does a product manager do (and not do)?
70: You need a delivery manager on your team
In the UK government digital teams, you don’t see project managers or even Scrum masters. Why? Because they have delivery managers instead. In this article, I’m going to convince you why you need delivery managers on your teams.
May you live in interesting times
Not an article about product management per se, but a justification (to myself, if anything) for continuing to write not-entirely-serious articles about product management in the middle of a really-quite-serious global pandemic.
69: It matters what you say and what you do
I perhaps naïvely assume that a company’s stated product vision and corporate mission are what the organisation is actively working towards. Disappointingly, this is not always the case.
68: 4 common user persona mistakes
More often than not, user personas are just a laborious way to decorate the walls. Are you making these common mistakes?
67: Why cake is important for product leaders
Building or changing a product culture in your organisation isn’t just about having the right ingredients, it’s about knowing how to combine them successfully.
66: Show the thing
‘Show the thing’ sessions encourage a culture of openness, of sharing information. They create opportunities for peers to learn from each other, thus multiplying the value of the thing created or learned that someone shows.
Podcast: Learning Product Leadership
I’ve just been on Ross Webb’s new Product Coach podcast talking about learning product leadership. You can listen to it on the widget below or on Podcast.co.
Q&A: Interview for Working Products conference
3 questions and answers: What exactly is a “Freelance Head of Product”? What is a great product? What are the key criteria for a great team?
Q&A: What makes a good UX designer?
Hi Jock, what makes a good UX Designer from the perspective of a product manager?
Speaking at DevTalks Romania 2019
Get articles when they’re published My articles get published irregularly (erratically, some might say). Never miss an article again by getting them delivered direct to your inbox as soon as they go live. Never miss an I Manage Products … Speaking at DevTalks Romania 2019 Read More »
Q&A: Can I pick your brain about product roadmaps?
“Hey Jock, I would love to pick your brain about product roadmaps.”
Read more › Q&A: Can I pick your brain about product roadmaps?
65: The secrets of meaningful product roadmaps (redux)
Product managers often struggle to keep on top of their product roadmap. I recently gave this talk on the secrets of meaningful product roadmaps at Landing Festival Berlin to explain where people often get lost.
Read more › 65: The secrets of meaningful product roadmaps (redux)
Speaking at Landing Festival Berlin 2019
Get articles when they’re published My articles get published irregularly (erratically, some might say). Never miss an article again by getting them delivered direct to your inbox as soon as they go live. Never miss an I Manage Products … Speaking at Landing Festival Berlin 2019 Read More »
Q&A: Should I take a different role before applying to become a product manager?
Hi Jock, I’m an entrepreneur, product/program manager and hardcore gamer. I’m facing a dilemma in my career’s direction.
Read more › Q&A: Should I take a different role before applying to become a product manager?
How do you establish an effective product management team?
Here are some tips from Founders of South West tech scale-up businesses, taken from the 2019 series of Threads meetups, helping you determine how best to identify the right person to look after your product.
Read more › How do you establish an effective product management team?
Threads II – The Sequel
If you’re in or around Bristol and are a tech founder or leader, I’ll be hosting the February Threads meetup again. Like you, I have no idea why they invited me back. We’ll be talking about when and how to … Threads II – The Sequel Read More »
Speaking at ProductCamp L’viv
I’ll have the pleasure of visiting L’viv in Ukraine again this Saturday to give a talk on ethics in product management. Hope to see you there :-) Update: Slides from the talk are available after the break. Get articles when … Speaking at ProductCamp L’viv Read More »
Product management has evolved. Has your company?
This month’s topic was on product management in general. For most around the table, it was a completely or relatively new concept, so our lively discussion started with the fundamentals.
Read more › Product management has evolved. Has your company?
Q&A: What skills do I need to be a freelance product manager?
People ask me from time to time about how they can get into freelance product management. Here’s a recent question: Hi Jock, I’ve been working as a product manager for 5 years now. I worked in different industries (financial, loyalty, … Q&A: What skills do I need to be a freelance product manager? Read More…
Read more › Q&A: What skills do I need to be a freelance product manager?
64: Good product management
What does it mean to be a good product manager in 2018? It’s not just about being agile and creating products users need – we need to be more human.
Speaking at DevTalks Bucharest in June
Hello! I’ve not published a great deal on the blog recently. In my defence, I’ve been doing a fair amount of paid writing work and my brain has run out of words temporarily. If you’re interested, I’m writing (then delivering) … Speaking at DevTalks Bucharest in June Read More »
Q&A: How do I make myself more suitable for a senior product role in UK government?
Here’s a question I’ve been asked recently: Hi Jock, I’d appreciate your advice on working for the GDS and different ministries. I have recently applied for senior positions (Deputy Director and Head of Product) at GDS and another UK government … Q&A: How do I make myself more suitable for a senior product role in…
Read more › Q&A: How do I make myself more suitable for a senior product role in UK government?
Q&A: I need a product manager with specific experience, can you help?
Good product managers are agnostic of technologies (and markets).
Read more › Q&A: I need a product manager with specific experience, can you help?
63: The whole agile thing
“Agile” is a term that has been abused by organisations to such an extent that its original meaning is all but forgotten. Here’s a reminder of what it should mean.
Q&A: How on earth am I going to start managing a second product?
“How on earth am I going to start managing a second product?”
Read more › Q&A: How on earth am I going to start managing a second product?
62: How to measure product manager performance
A real-life case study for measuring the performance of a team of product managers, with examples to download
61: The 16 most important technical skills every product manager needs
In addition to the ‘soft’ skills I discussed in the last post, a good product manager also needs ‘hard’ skills (product management techniques). Read on for my list of the 16 most important technical skills a product manager needs.
Read more › 61: The 16 most important technical skills every product manager needs
60: The 12 most important soft skills every product manager needs
I’m often asked what skills a product manager needs. In my view at least, a good product manager needs both ‘soft’ skills (emotional intelligence) and ‘hard’ skills (product management techniques). Read on for my list of the 12 soft skills every product manager needs.
Read more › 60: The 12 most important soft skills every product manager needs
59: Find the tipping point in your user research
The more closely we examined the problem, the more complicated it became. When this happens to you, it can feel overwhelming. Don’t quit your research too soon.
Read more › 59: Find the tipping point in your user research
Q&A: Getting into product management
This is an interview I did a little while ago with a user experience author living on the US East Coast. She was interested in moving into freelance product management.
Q&A: what’s the one thing retailers are doing wrong in ecommerce?
When it comes to the ecommerce checkout process, what’s one thing that retailers are doing wrong? What’s one thing they’re doing right?
Read more › Q&A: what’s the one thing retailers are doing wrong in ecommerce?
58: What Eurovision taught me about product management
For a glitzy song contest, Eurovision has a lot to answer for.
There is a product management angle to this post. Eventually.
Read more › 58: What Eurovision taught me about product management
57: Cut through red tape
If bureaucracy and organisational inertia frustrate you, read on.
Q&A: how do you keep user needs front and centre?
I was recently asked this question: How do you keep user needs at the centre of your product management process? Read on for my answer: Get articles when they’re published My articles get published irregularly (erratically, some might say). Never … Q&A: how do you keep user needs front and centre? Read More »
Read more › Q&A: how do you keep user needs front and centre?
The secret behind meaningful product roadmaps
I gave a talk recently about how I’ve been using data and analytics to guide my decisions in product management. I’ve edited the transcript a little and split it into bite-size parts for your entertainment. This final bit tells the secret behind meaningful product roadmaps.
56: The coffee shop problem
How much of a problem is it if something similar to your shiny new product idea already exists on the market?
The benefits of open and transparent data
I gave a talk recently about how I’ve been using data and analytics to guide my decisions in product management. I’ve edited the transcript a little and split it into bite-size parts for your entertainment. This bit is about the benefits of open and transparent data.
Q&A: what sources of information should people use to build products?
Here’s a question I was asked recently:
What sources of information do you suggest folks building their product plans today rely on, so that they can get the evidence they need to build the product that will meet the needs of end users?
Here’s my answer:
Read more › Q&A: what sources of information should people use to build products?
Q&A: What user trends do you see?
I was recently asked this question:
Are you seeing any key trends from the user perspective that companies need to be thinking about at the aggregate level?
Here’s my answer:
Q&A: what kinds of questions should I be asking in discovery?
I was recently asked this question:
During the problem exploration phase, what kinds of questions should I be asking and how do I go from 1000 problems to the core problems that will unlock the solution?
Read on for my answer:
Read more › Q&A: what kinds of questions should I be asking in discovery?
How UK government digital services gather and use evidence
I gave a talk recently about how I’ve been using data and analytics to guide my decisions in product management. I’ve edited the transcript a little and split it into bite-size parts for your entertainment. This bit is about how UK government digital services gather and use evidence.
Read more › How UK government digital services gather and use evidence
Q&A: how closely aligned should product organisations be with marketing and personas?
Here’s another question I was asked recently:
If you’re concerned about buyer needs and their objectives, how closely aligned do you suggest product organisations be with marketing and with the persona development to ensure they are creating a solution that does meet those needs in the market?
Here’s my answer:
Read more › Q&A: how closely aligned should product organisations be with marketing and personas?
Why we can’t help jumping to conclusions
I gave a talk recently about how I’ve been using data and analytics to guide my decisions in product management. I’ve edited the transcript a little and split it into bite-size parts for your entertainment. This bit is about why we can’t help jumping to conclusions.
Q&A: How much evidence is sufficient for decision-making?
I was recently asked this question:
Do you have a rule of thumb for deciding how much evidence is sufficient for decision making? I often see decisions made on the basis of a sample of one.
Here’s my answer:
Read more › Q&A: How much evidence is sufficient for decision-making?
Expensive and risky assumptions (and why you should check them)
I gave a talk recently about how I’ve been using data and analytics to guide my decisions in product management. I’ve edited the transcript a little and split it into bite-size parts for your entertainment. This bit is about expensive and risky assumptions (and why you should check them).
Read more › Expensive and risky assumptions (and why you should check them)
Q&A: How do I get my waterfall organisation to be more agile?
I was recently asked this question:
How would you recommend working with organisations who are used to a traditional / waterfall approach, transition towards agile / iterative development?
Here’s my response:
Read more › Q&A: How do I get my waterfall organisation to be more agile?
- PRODUCTHEAD: A primer on analytics for beginners
- PRODUCTHEAD: Defining services
- 85: The agency trap
- PRODUCTHEAD: Component teams, feature teams and centralised skill teams
- PRODUCTHEAD: The hidden patterns within design systems
- PRODUCTHEAD: Performance appraisals are underperforming
- PRODUCTHEAD: Service mapping for product managers
- Whatever this is, this web3 product manager role is not a product manager
- PRODUCTHEAD: Outcome-driven product roadmaps
- PRODUCTHEAD: More product coach, less line manager
- PRODUCTHEAD: Async working and communication
- PRODUCTHEAD: 3 product leaders share what they’ve learned
- Sorting the signal from the noise — a guide to fact-checking
- PRODUCTHEAD: The ethics of information (data ethics)
- Q&A: What’s the difference between a growth hacker and a growth product manager?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Product ops — cynical rebrand or division of labour?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Exploring the solution space with prototyping
- 84: Start building a community of practice with the 3 minute challenge
- PRODUCTHEAD: The joy of metrics
- PRODUCTHEAD: Obtaining an optimal organisation
- PRODUCTHEAD: Dealing with discomfort
- PRODUCTHEAD: When your product is a blank canvas
- Should a growth product manager even be a thing?
- PRODUCTHEAD: The rise of the growth product manager
- PRODUCTHEAD: Managing mature products
- PRODUCTHEAD: New year’s resolutions
- 6: 6 tips for presenting slides that don’t suck
- Q&A: My boss wants to set me an OKR on revenue growth. Is this right?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Your favourite articles of 2021
- PRODUCTHEAD: Dear Santa …
- PRODUCTHEAD: Incentives and behaviour
- PRODUCTHEAD: John Cutler’s North Star Metric
- PRODUCTHEAD: To specialise in product management?
- 83: 5 tips to ace your first impression at a new job
- PRODUCTHEAD: Prize winners / reinventing HR
- PRODUCTHEAD: Dear younger me …
- PRODUCTHEAD: Win a VIP ticket to #ProductCon Online
- PRODUCTHEAD: Tsundoku (piles of books waiting to be read)
- PRODUCTHEAD: Facilitating workshops
- PRODUCTHEAD: Product management in charities
- 82: Replatforming the cash cow
- PRODUCTHEAD: Rapid prototyping
- PRODUCTHEAD: Working well with user researchers
- PRODUCTHEAD: Becoming a product leader
- PRODUCTHEAD: Should we be saying no or not?
- PRODUCTHEAD: 9 of the best product management podcasts
- 81: The unifying principles of product management
- PRODUCTHEAD: (Re)discovering discovery
- PRODUCTHEAD: Acting like a startup seeking funding
- PRODUCTHEAD: Starting your next role in product
- PRODUCTHEAD: Success theatre
- What to do when service transformation goes wrong
- PRODUCTHEAD: Basics of finance for product managers
- PRODUCTHEAD: 5 product strategy tips
- PRODUCTHEAD: To err is human
- PRODUCTHEAD: Better than okay OKRs
- PRODUCTHEAD: Pimp my system
- Q&A: I’m overwhelmed — can you help?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Listen all y’all, it’s a sabotage
- PRODUCTHEAD: Everyone needs coaching
- PRODUCTHEAD: Product management post-COVID-19
- PRODUCTHEAD: World Product Day 2021
- Q&A: How do you find the balance between autonomy and focus for PMs you’re managing?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Stakeholders are people too
- PRODUCTHEAD: “Don’t f**k up the culture”
- PRODUCTHEAD: Service design and product management
- PRODUCTHEAD: Ethical product management
- 80: The neverending quest for product-market fit
- PRODUCTHEAD: User personas or creepy caricatures?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Trust and customer success
- PRODUCTHEAD: Why do my houseplants keep dying?
- Mission to Mars
- PRODUCTHEAD: What’s the fuss about Jobs To Be Done?
- PRODUCTHEAD: The new lamplighters
- PRODUCTHEAD: Recruiting the right stuff
- 79: The product leader’s guide to interviewing
- PRODUCTHEAD: When did storytelling become so hard?
- PRODUCTHEAD: It’s payback time on technical debt
- Q&A: Should a product manager have responsibility for profitability?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Wrap your ears around these podcasts
- PRODUCTHEAD: The what, why and how of user research
- 78: How to start a new product manager job
- PRODUCTHEAD: Remind me, what am I meant to be doing?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Rethinking product roadmaps
- Q&A: What technical skills do I need to be a product manager?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Creativity is borne of constraints
- PRODUCTHEAD: Pricing – everything and nothing has changed
- 77: The only article you’ll ever need on prioritization
- PRODUCTHEAD: The good, the bad and the ugly of machine learning
- PRODUCTHEAD: Better teams need better leaders
- Q&A: What lessons from antiquity would you apply to product management?
- PRODUCTHEAD: There are only 5 product strategies
- 76: Manage the whole product
- PRODUCTHEAD: Being able to see the chessboard
- PRODUCTHEAD: Digital inclusion and accessibility
- Managing product managers
- Q&A: What’s the difference between a product manager and a business analyst?
- PRODUCTHEAD: Content design
- PRODUCTHEAD: Rearranging the deckchairs
- 75: The dirty little secrets of decision-making
- PRODUCTHEAD: Have you been having visions?
- PRODUCTHEAD: The plummeting price of power
- Misunderstood metaphors: Product manager as conductor
- PRODUCTHEAD: Hardware’s harder to manage
- PRODUCTHEAD: Hieranarchy
- Growing together: developing and retaining your product team
- PRODUCTHEAD: A single point of failure
- Podcast: Voxgig Fireside for professional speakers
- PRODUCTHEAD: Introverts, extraverts and just a smidge of pseudoscience
- Open, honest and always improving
- PRODUCTHEAD: Tricksy interviews
- 74: The black art of designing content
- PRODUCTHEAD: Living your brand values
- PRODUCTHEAD: Finding the positives
- Saving yourself from product management hell
- 73: You wouldn’t drive blindfolded – why you need user research
- Upcoming live talks – September and October 2020
- 5 product leadership lessons learnt from the UK’s Ministry of Justice Digital team
- Q&A: How do I make my CV stand out?
- How to measure product management – ProductBeats talk
- 72: All the world’s a stage – how to launch a product
- Q&A: What’s the best way to focus teams on outcomes not outputs?
- Upcoming live talks – July 2020
- Q&A: What’s the name for ‘continuing to find product-market fit’?
- Reading aloud
- 71: The PMO strikes back
- What does a product manager do (and not do)?
- 70: You need a delivery manager on your team
- May you live in interesting times
- 69: It matters what you say and what you do
- 68: 4 common user persona mistakes
- 67: Why cake is important for product leaders
- 66: Show the thing
- Podcast: Learning Product Leadership
- Q&A: Interview for Working Products conference
- Q&A: What makes a good UX designer?
- Speaking at DevTalks Romania 2019
- Q&A: Can I pick your brain about product roadmaps?
- 65: The secrets of meaningful product roadmaps (redux)
- Speaking at Landing Festival Berlin 2019
- Q&A: Should I take a different role before applying to become a product manager?
- How do you establish an effective product management team?
- Threads II – The Sequel
- Speaking at ProductCamp L’viv
- Product management has evolved. Has your company?
- Q&A: What skills do I need to be a freelance product manager?
- 64: Good product management
- Speaking at DevTalks Bucharest in June
- Q&A: How do I make myself more suitable for a senior product role in UK government?
- Q&A: I need a product manager with specific experience, can you help?
- 63: The whole agile thing
- Q&A: How on earth am I going to start managing a second product?
- 62: How to measure product manager performance
- 61: The 16 most important technical skills every product manager needs
- 60: The 12 most important soft skills every product manager needs
- 59: Find the tipping point in your user research
- Q&A: Getting into product management
- Q&A: what’s the one thing retailers are doing wrong in ecommerce?
- 58: What Eurovision taught me about product management
- 57: Cut through red tape
- Q&A: how do you keep user needs front and centre?
- The secret behind meaningful product roadmaps
- 56: The coffee shop problem
- The benefits of open and transparent data
- Q&A: what sources of information should people use to build products?
- Q&A: What user trends do you see?
- Q&A: what kinds of questions should I be asking in discovery?
- How UK government digital services gather and use evidence
- Q&A: how closely aligned should product organisations be with marketing and personas?
- Why we can’t help jumping to conclusions
- Q&A: How much evidence is sufficient for decision-making?
- Expensive and risky assumptions (and why you should check them)
- Q&A: How do I get my waterfall organisation to be more agile?
- Q&A: How do I distil users’ wish lists of requirements to a core handful?
- 55: How to beat writer’s block
- Modernising your product in 2017 – webinar for Logi Analytics
- Starting with a guess: how to use data creatively
- Building a product community in government
- 54: How to stop common B2B dysfunctions in the product team
- How product managers can build a healthier relationship with the sales team
- 53: THIS is what product-market fit looks like
- 52: It only takes one bottleneck
- The £20 bottle of Blue Nun
- 3 ways to build a better sales team
- Should I start a bank?
- How to show your team the benefits of experimentation
- 51: Assemble the right product team
- Getting better at public speaking
- 6 simple rules of product management
- 50: A novice’s introduction to service design for product managers
- 49: How to prioritise your product portfolio
- 48: Mac or PC? You don’t have to pick a side
- Making myself redundant
- Interview with Wade Danielson of The Entrepreneurs Library
- Q&A: I’m about to launch a website. Any advice?
- Becoming a product manager at MOJ Digital
- Want a free copy of ‘The Practitioner’s Guide …’?
- Q&A: What’s it like working as a product manager at a startup?
- The Practitioner’s Guide… a best seller and selling out fast!
- The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management – out tomorrow
- 47: How I learned to stop hating job interviews
- Link of the Day: Data-driven products now! (by @mcfunley)
- 46: How to qualify yourself for a product management job
- 45: Three ways you’re DEFINITELY doing MVPs wrong
- Analytics and decision-making on Mind the Product
- Should the product manager and product owner be the same person?
- Guard against the SSLv3 Vulnerability (“POODLE”) in Zeus Web Server
- 44: A good picture can save 1,000 words
- ‘I Manage Products’ now 14% more efficient!
- 39-43: Four more things I’ve learned about product management
- Change management and product management on Mind the Product
- 10 top tips for reading your users’ minds – talk at Product Management Festival 2014
- 38: Product managers learn by doing
- Product roadmapping, prioritisation and portfolio management on Mind the Product
- B2B Product Management on Mind the Product
- A day in the life of a product manager – guest post for Silicon Milkroundabout
- Product Management and the Internet of Things on Mind the Product
- 14th May: The $100 million assumption – MVP down under
- 37: Unexpected delights – a geek’s guide to the Kano model
- Product Management in Commerce on Mind the Product
- 2nd March: Calling all entrepreneurs – Cofounders Bootcamp
- Back(log) to the Future – story arcs, roadmaps and product themes
- 24th February: How to build a minimum viable product (MVP) at General Assembly London
- 24th January: How to build a minimum viable product (MVP) at General Assembly London
- 36: Product roadmaps are like DVD box sets
- Product Management in Online Payments on Mind the Product
- 35: Product management skills to pay the bills
- Happy Christmas + where I’ve been hiding
- Product Management and the Internet of Things on Mind the Product
- 34: Pick your battles
- 4th November: How to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) @GA_London
- Link of the day: The Agile Business Gap by @brainmates
- Ich bin ein Produkt-Manager: round-up from inaugural Product Management Festival 2013 in Zürich
- Join me to learn Product Management with General Assembly
- Cycles within cycles
- Crack out the Ferrero Rocher*
- Needs, features and benefits
- Blast from the past
- Fun, fun, fun at ProductTank London!
- 33: The “Field Of Dreams” is fiction
- Win-win-win with Wigwamm – an interview with Rayhan Rafiq Omar
- 32: Be flexible
- 31: Learn to enjoy networking
- What you should expect when recruiting a product manager
- Product managers make GREAT dinner guests
- 21st February: Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) @GA_London
- Don’t look back in anger – 2012 round-up
- My new favourite things
- 30: Reserve time for housekeeping
- UPDATED – 10th December: How to run effective usability testing @GA_London
- 29: Never commit to written word something you’ll be ashamed of later
- Top tip: fixing broken dynamic content in WordPress admin dashboard
- Link of the day: Agile Product Ownership in a nutshell
- 28: What’s the big idea?
- The 8 traits of a successful web API
- Why sales needs to align with product management to win more business
- Introducing Product People — interim product management, coaching, training and content creation
- 27: Don’t be scared of angry customers
- import.io – Live from Big Data London & Strata
- 26: The customer is king
- 18th October: How to Run Effective Usability Testing
- Link of the Day: Pricing your product – it doesn’t have to be so complicated
- Link of the Day: LaunchRock
- 25: “Don’t let roUtINe draw U IN to danger!”
- Link of the Day: Kano tutorial via Mountain Goat Software
- Facebook is like the drinking game “I Have Never…”
- 24: Variety is the spice of life
- What questions do YOU have about product management?
- Link of the day: Klok – free time tracking software
- How to double the speed of your WordPress site in 3 easy steps
- Link of the day: Product Focus’s journal
- 23: Too much choice can be overwhelming
- 22: Blow your own trumpet
- 21: Seven KPIs for customer insight
- Big data – big deal?
- Cookie cookie cookie COOOKIE
- 20: Leave work when you’re meant to
- 19: How to regain control of your inbox
- 18: Five ways to manage distractions better
- 17: Remember your manners
- Link of the day: MindJet Connect
- 16: You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone – Joni Mitchell
- 15: Product management is selling
- Drowning in product documentation? Start swimming – Part 2
- 14: There is always more work to do. Don’t burn yourself out
- 13: You’ve got to start the race before you can finish it
- 12: Keep it simple, stupid
- Drowning in product documentation? Start swimming – Part 1
- 11: You are allowed to say ‘no’ – it’s strategic
- 10: Give yourself time to think in a straight line
- Book recommendation – The Case for Working with Your Hands
- 9: Everything benefits from a good start in life
- 8: Empathise, empathise, empathise
- Live on ProdMgmtTalk July 25/26 – the love/hate relationship with Sales
- 7: Public speaking is as much about how you say it as well as what you say
- 6: Good presentation skills are not the same as good PowerPoint skills
- Lean, green, micro machines
- 5: The best possible way may not necessarily be the right way
- 4: Don’t focus on what’s stopping you
- 3: Know your subject matter
- 2: Find problems rather than guess solutions
- 1: Be fluent in the language of your audience
- OMG EOL – LOL (or: How to take a product to end of life)
- Painting the Forth Bridge
- Lo-fi usability testing – Part 3: Ten top tips
- Lo-fi usability testing – Part 2: Preparation
- Lo-fi usability testing – Part 1: Background
- What will your leaving speech sound like?
- New WordPress theme
- How to get your sales team selling value instead of discounting
- Link of the day: The Equity Kicker
- ProductCamp London: Why product managers and entrepreneurs need to be more alike
- Pre-empting customer churn
- Q&A: What should product managers keep an eye on in 2011?
- Link of the day: Buzz Marketing for Technology
- 7 guiding principles for product install / upgrade usability
- Easier product forecasting
- 33 cut-out-and-keep usability requirements for your product
- DIY Eco Linux Fileserver (part 2)
- DIY Eco Linux Fileserver (part 1)
- The thorny issue of pricing
- The problem with successful products
- Net Promoter EU Conference 2010
- Why aren’t sales selling my new product?
- Ill communication
- “Why the heck should I upgrade?” – 4 things you’re probably missing
- Positive procrastination
- 4 key ways to spot a successful product manager
- Context is everything
- Hello. I’m new.
- Questions you need to be asking
- Pay attention to local requirements
- By way of an introduction