PRODUCTHEAD: Finding the positives

PRODUCTHEAD: Finding the positives

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

anyone can manage products


tl;dr

Lockdown has accelerated existing tech adoption trends

You need to be asking different questions about product strategy now

25% discount available on my Product Management Masterclass

How to make your résumé stand out from the competition

5 lessons from transforming culture in government

Avoid the biases and traps of user and market research

How to use product strategy to influence dysfunctional corporate strategy


hello

This week I’ve been looking for the positives of lockdown.

Taking customer geography and physical presence out of the equation has been helping some businesses to grow:

Conference organisers are able to draw on speakers from a wider pool, and to open their event to a wider audience for marginal additional cost;

Product managers are finding more opportunities to work remotely for a wider range of companies; to name just a couple of examples.

As with everything, change brings pros and cons.

One the one hand, I’ve given talks virtually in Australia and Sweden within days of each other, which would otherwise have been impractical. And without the usual associated environmental impact.

But on the other hand, like so many other people, I’m missing seeing people in person. Video calls are a great way to remain connected – and even increase connectedness – but I feel it’s never quite the same as chatting with someone in person over a good coffee or tea. All in good time.

Speak to you soon,

Jock



what to think about this week

Apple, Amazon and common enemies

Ben Thompson predicted on Stratechery in early April that COVID-19 would not cause dramatic change, but would instead allow existing tech trends to happen faster.

A few months on, this would seem to be borne out by businesses adopting remote working in weeks rather than years, and the surge in services delivered direct to the home, such as Amazon purchases and Disney+.

Extend your reach and accelerate

[STRATECHERY]

What do we do now?

The novel coronavirus has devastated the economy and changed how many of us live and work. It’s also well and truly screwed up product roadmaps the world over.

Randy Silver guides you through the questions you need to be asking – and the conversations you need to be having – to ensure you and your team are working on the right things, right now.

All profits from the book are going to COVID-19 relief efforts.

Start working on the right things

[OUT OF OWLS]


25% off my Product Management Masterclass

I’m running a series of four live, conference-style sessions on Tuesdays in October.

  1. What Do Product Managers Do (And Not Do)?
  2. Understanding User Needs
  3. The Secrets of Meaningful Product Roadmaps
  4. Landing and Starting Your Product Manager Job

Each session is USD $20 to attend, and right now if you buy tickets to all four, you’ll get 25% off.

Tickets

recent posts

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?”

Put your résumé above the competition

[I MANAGE PRODUCTS]

5 product leadership lessons learnt from the UK’s Ministry of Justice Digital team

Video, slides and transcript of what I learnt about digital transformation and working with autonomous, empowered delivery teams.

If government can change culture, any organisation can

[I MANAGE PRODUCTS]

You wouldn’t drive blindfolded, would you?

Imagine yourself jumping into your car, strapping in, and firing up the engine. You have a quick look around then pull on a blindfold before launching yourself into traffic. Likelihood of an accident? (Quite high.)

So why do so many take the exact same approach when it comes to creating products?

Take off the blindfold

[I MANAGE PRODUCTS]

Save yourself from product management hell

You know you’re in product management hell when you realise corporate strategy is absent or dysfunctional. I’ve certainly been there. This video shows you how to define your product strategy and use it to (hopefully) influence corporate strategy.

‘Get of hell free’ cards available here

[I MANAGE PRODUCTS]

upcoming talks and events

22nd September 2020, 16:00 BST / 11:00 EDT

ProdPad Webinar

Open, Honest and Always Improving: Product Management in Government

Free registration

25th September 2020, 12:00 BST / 07:00 EDT

Growing Together: Developing and Retaining your Product Team

Free registration

6th October 2020, 16:00 BST / 11:00 EDT

Product Management Digital Masterclass

What Does a Product Manager Do (and Not Do)?

Tickets

13th October 2020, 16:00 BST / 11:00 EDT

Product Management Digital Masterclass

Understanding User Needs

Tickets

20th October 2020, 15:00 BST / 10:00 EDT

Product Management Digital Masterclass

The Secrets of Meaningful Product Roadmaps

Tickets

27th October 2020, 15:00 GMT / 11:00 EST

Product Management Digital Masterclass

Landing and Starting Your Product Manager Job

Tickets

can we help you?

Product People is a product management services company. We can help you through consultancy, training and coaching. Just contact us if you need our help!

Product People Limited logo

Helping people build better products, more successfully, since 2012.

PRODUCTHEAD is a newsletter for product people of all varieties, and is lovingly crafted from recycled car tyres.


Read more from Jock

The Practitioner's Guide to Product Management book cover

The Practitioner's Guide To Product Management

by Jock Busuttil

“This is a great book for Product Managers or those considering a career in Product Management.”

— Lyndsay Denton

Jock Busuttil is a freelance head of product, product management coach and author. He has spent over two decades working with technology companies to improve their product management practices, from startups to multinationals. In 2012 Jock founded Product People Limited, which provides product management consultancy, coaching and training. Its clients include BBC, University of Cambridge, Ometria, Prolific and the UK’s Ministry of Justice and Government Digital Service (GDS). Jock holds a master’s degree in Classics from the University of Cambridge. He is the author of the popular book The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management, which was published in January 2015 by Grand Central Publishing in the US and Piatkus in the UK. He writes the blog I Manage Products and weekly product management newsletter PRODUCTHEAD. You can find him on Mastodon, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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