Product Leadership Is a Team Sport
Influence without authority has always been the foundation of product management. As product leaders, this is even more important. To succeed, we must influence areas that are way beyond our control, and that’s a completely different ball game. Here are the things you must master in order to succeed.
How to Maintain a Fresh Perspective
One of the hardest things to do as a product leader or entrepreneur is to think about what you are already doing with a fresh eye. You are too immersed in what you have now to be able to see anything else. But often this is key to making the right decisions and identifying risks before they materialize. Here are two ways to do so.
3 Surprising Product Strategy Benefits
Not having a product strategy is often painful. You feel the impact of not knowing where you are going. But when you want to convince the company to invest in building such a strategy, you need to be able to explain what good it will bring. Here are three benefits of having a solid product strategy in place.
Product Strategy Iterations
A solid product strategy takes time to build. It usually involves hard decisions and non-trivial questions, which take time to answer well. It can’t be done in a rush, things need to sink in so that you can think it through. Here is the method I use for creating a product strategy that makes sense.
The Power of Not Understanding
One of the places where product leaders add the most value is by connecting the dots. Seeing a broad picture and making sure everything fits together is one of our superpowers. But what happens when the dots don’t connect? It’s your responsibility to call it out, even if you don’t fully understand why.
3 Hidden Forces in Your Customers’ Ecosystem That You Must Be Aware Of
There are many ingredients needed in order for your product to succeed. Not all of them are related to your product, or even to your product’s domain. Your customers’ ecosystem has more impact on your ability to succeed than you might think. Here is why.
You Can’t Take Everything Upon Yourself
As product leaders, our success depends on others. We are so used to helping people and making sure the company gets what it needs, that we sometimes take it too far. Where is the line that you shouldn’t cross? Here are three examples of things you shouldn’t do.
Strategic Debt Is the Silent Killer of Startups
With everything you have to do every day, it is so easy to neglect strategy. Not because it’s not important, but because it seems less urgent than everything else you have to deal with right here and now. But much like code, your product strategy also requires maintenance. And when left unhandled for too long, you might barely notice, but the impact can be deadly.
Strategic Product Bugs
Your product will always have bugs, and you will always need to chase and fix the important ones. But sometimes, the really important bugs are not showing in the product itself. These are bugs in your product strategy, and if not fixed, it will be very difficult for your product to succeed. Here are a few popular strategic bugs and how you can fix them.
Strategic Roadmap Template
So you have done your planning and now want to communicate your roadmap to management or to the team. You know that you need a little more than a timeline with features on it, but what is this more exactly? Here is a template that will help you not only communicate your roadmap better but also build it the right way from the get-go.
The Right Priorities for Your Roadmap
Roadmaps require massive prioritization. But prioritizing what exactly? Many people prioritize features, epics, or themes. It’s nice, but there is a much higher level of prioritization that needs to happen and would impact your roadmap much more. Here is how to discuss priorities at the right level.
It’s Never Black or White
As product leaders, we need to make so many decisions. Moreover, these decisions are hardly ever straightforward or simple. Here are a few techniques to help you decide nonetheless.
