» The art of influence is the highest-leverage skill remaining for product leaders
» AI agents require the same strategic clarity as humans do
» Building fast necessitates more human selectivity and expert judgement
» Bare facts by themselves are not persuasive; they must be “storified” in a way that triggers people’s sense of self
» A smaller initial ask can increase the likelihood of agreement to a larger, related ask
I’m chatting with Voxgig’s Richard Rodger about common challenges in product management and DevRel:
» Why learning by soundbite gives a superficial understanding of the craft
» Why we’re finding it hard to communicate value to our bosses
+ more :-)
» The only thing you can truly control in life is yourself
» Securing buy-in is meaningless if you let people go back on their agreement without challenge
» Common challenges leaders encounter are a lack of trust for their teams and executives, a lack of coaching, and letting go of control
» How others perceive the value and effectiveness of the product team’s work holds immense transformative power
» Use empathy to appreciate the context, needs and pain points of your stakeholders
» Understanding people’s social style helps you influence stakeholders more effectively
» You can use different modes of persuasion to craft a more compelling argument
» Picking the right time to make your point can amplify your persuasiveness
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.
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, …
What skills do I need to be a freelance product manager? Read more
There are several common dysfunctions plaguing product teams in B2B companies the world over. How can you stop them? Read on for suggestions.
For those of us who are artistically challenged (read: crap at drawing), it can be daunting to contemplate the use of pictures over text to make a point. I’m a perfect case in point.
