Insights and advice from the deeper layers of product leadership
Getting your product team to take full ownership can feel like an uphill battle. It’s not just about giving instructions but about changing mindsets. Here’s how to help your team step up, take charge, and own the outcomes—inside and outside their usual boundaries.
There is no way to succeed without talking to customers. But whenever I say that, people bring up the famous quote about ‘faster horses.’ Whether the quote itself is authentic or not, you shouldn’t take it as an excuse not to talk to your customers. Instead, you should know how to do so and what to ask. Here are the concepts that you need to be aware of.
Product leaders and CEOs often see things differently. That’s how it should be. But many product leaders take it personally, and instead of partnering with their CEOs they try to minimize the interference. Here is what you really need to do when you feel they don’t get it.
We all know that good planning starts top-down by understanding the strategy and drawing your actions from it. Unfortunately, for various reasons, it’s not always possible to do so. Sometimes, you need to plan bottom-up, but don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Here is how to ensure you don’t remain at the bottom, even if you can’t start at the top.
Outcome-based roadmaps are considered the best practice; however, they are not as common as you would expect. While the idea is nice, implementation is much trickier, and many companies revert to simple feature stacking instead. Here are three reasons not to give up and stick to the important principle of working with outcomes.
Most candidates hate home assignments. They view them as a chore, an unfair or unnecessary request from the potential employer. But it doesn’t have to be this way. While home assignments are a lot to take in, they can also give you an opportunity to shine and make sure the job is right for you. Here’s how.
Home assignments are a hot topic in the product management community these days. Candidates complain, and some recruiters overuse or even abuse them. If you still want to use them (and I think you should), here are five ground rules for doing it right.
Product people attend meetings day in and day out. But many approach meetings passively—attending because it’s expected, sharing updates, or responding to questions. Effective meetings though are far from spontaneous. A well-prepared leader uses every meeting as a strategic tool to influence outcomes, build momentum, and clarify direction. Preparation is key to achieving this. Here’s a simple guide to mastering this art.
Product people at all levels need to be great storytellers. Since communication is our primary tool, we need to use it smartly to achieve the desired results and impact. However, our world is typically not so easy to explain, so great storytelling starts with knowing what you want to say. Here is a method that will help you get there.
Many companies find the promise of empowered product teams compelling. They see the problems in their existing structure and strive to adopt modern best practices. But changing structure alone won’t help; if done too bluntly, it can do more harm than good. Here is how to balance autonomy and flexibility with stability and structure.
As product managers, you often need to deal with stakeholders who are a few levels above you. At that seniority level, they don’t always see things through but still have a lot of impact on your ability to proceed in your own direction. Here are a few tips to help you maintain your leadership even in these challenging relationships.
The role of the product leader goes far beyond managing the product department. Unfortunately, in most companies, there is no one who can tell you that, simply because they haven’t seen it before. Here is your true responsibility as a product leader so that it’s no longer a secret.
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