Deep Product

Insights and advice from the deeper layers of product leadership

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How Fast Is Fast Enough? Understanding Speed in Startups

Everyone knows startups need to move fast. It is often part of their advantage against larger and more traditional companies. But what does moving fast really mean, and why is it that important anyway? To answer this question we need to break speed down to its various meanings and treat each differently, as well as holistically where they all converge. Here is the detailed breakdown as well as tips to increase each type of speed.

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Black Box vs. White Box Product Leadership

There is an inherent conflict between the product leader and the CEO, which can often be summarized into one question: who has the final say. To start resolving it, remember that it is not a zero-sum game. Here are two leadership styles that define the spectrum, and a guide that will help you find your sweet spot between them.

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How To Help Your Team Make Better Decisions

Managing smart people is a privilege, but can also be confusing at times. When is it time for you to step in, and where should you let them lead without interference? When it comes to decision making, especially with important decisions, there is a lot you can do to help this balance feel natural and beneficial for everyone involved. That’s true even if your people are more experienced than you are.

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How To Manage People Who Are More Experienced Than You Are

Product management requires so many diverse skills that most likely your people are more experienced than you at least in some of them. When these skills are core to what your team needs to achieve, it can become confusing. If the people reporting to you know better how to do their job, what is your role as a manager? Don’t worry, you are still needed. Here’s why and how.

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Your Problem Isn’t the Leaky Bucket, It’s the Clogged Pipe

The leaky bucket is a known metaphor in sales. If your funnel isn’t converting well, there is no point in adding more leads into it, since they will not convert and there is no gain here. But the truth is, that not only will it not result in a positive impact, it can also actually cause you harm. To understand why, we need to switch to another water-related metaphor: the clogged pipe.

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The Four Components of Product Success

Strategic product thinking is hard. Especially when done as an afterthought – when the product is already in the market – it is nearly impossible to rise above specific features and metrics. Here is a framework that will help you do just that.

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Are You a Real Problem Solver?

Problem-solving is one of the core characteristics of product managers. But the ability to solve customer problems does not always translate into the ability to solve problems for your own company. It is a slightly different skill to master, but very important for your ability to succeed.

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The Product Cannot Be Your Only Tool

When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. As a product leader, other people, and maybe you as well, will lead every conversation with you towards features and product capabilities. While this is where your direct ownership is, as a product leader you don’t have the luxury to focus only on that.

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3 Ways Your Metrics Can Help You Even if You Never Use Them

Fully applying a data-driven approach to your product is hard. You need to invest a lot in building the infrastructure that will allow you to measure everything you want, see it clearly in a dashboard, and take action based on it. But metrics are a very powerful tool that you don’t want to give up on, even if you will never measure anything.

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Who Owns the Technical Debt?

Technical debt is always a hot discussion topic between product managers and engineers. It is not always clear how to handle it right, and who is the decision-maker. My recommendation is that product managers own it like they own any other feature. But beware – with great power comes great responsibility. Are you ready for it?

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Registration for the 11th

CPO Bootcamp

in now open!

Registration for the 11th

CPO Bootcamp

is now open!

A special earlybirds discount:

10% off

the early registration price,

until April 13th.