Product Momentum Podcast

  Change the world. It’s a pretty tall order, even for today’s modern product leaders. But that’s precisely what product managers do, according to Adrienne Tan, who joins Sean and Paul in this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast. Co-founder and CEO of Brainmates, Adrienne Tan is a pioneer in the world of modern product management. Her impact on the product management community has been felt and appreciated both at home in Australia and around the world. “Product Managers are the key part of the business – the engine that drives the business forward,” Adrienne says. “They are the people who make the products and the people who change the world. That’s what product managers do.” Changing the world is a lot like eating an elephant. Trying either in one colossal bite will lead to certain failure – and a fair bit of indigestion.  But do it “one bite at a time,” like product managers do, and you may just have a chance. For Adrienne, bringing products to market that people love requires an approach that goes way beyond a series of sprints, ceremonies, and releases. Over the years, so many different kinds of tools and templates have emerged in response to trying to do better product management. Adrienne prefers to operate on first principles – foremost among them, putting the customer front and center. “I think when you start with the customer, that makes for a better product,” she adds. “The things that we put in the market are to serve our customers, so we need to be empathetic to who they are and empathetic to the people who build our products for us. Because if we aren’t and we don’t, it shows up in the product.” Adrienne’s insightful nuggets cover a broad range of topics, each focused on giving voice to product managers and leaders and guiding us on how to level up our technical and adaptive skills, build great product culture, and hire thinkers not doers. Adrienne Tan brings to the pod the same high level of energy that she and her Brainmates team bring to their product management conference. Going all digital in its 6th year, Leading the Product 2020 is designed for the product people and by the product people, bringing together some of the best minds in the product space. Listen to hear this and more from Adrienne Tan: [02:01] I wish there were a secret sauce. I think we all do. But that’s part of our problem. We’re all searching for some secret sauce. [02:57] Making sure we’re not ‘the tall poppy.’ Maybe it’s a cultural thing; Australians don’t want to be sliced down by others and that could be part of the way that we operate. [05:05] Avoiding tools, templates, and flash-in-the-pan gimmicks. I prefer to operate on first principles. But my favorite tool is definitely the customer journey map. It puts the customer front and center. [07:03] Agile: friend or foe? Agile and lean practices are enormously beneficial tools and methods, but we sometimes get so far down in the weeds that we forget what we’re trying to achieve. [07:54] The 7 Ps of Product. Problem, Purpose, Position, Performance, Price, Promotion, and Practice. [09:10] What’s old is new again. I’m looking back at the tools that were designed in the 60s and 70s to really reframe and rethink a modern way of doing product. [09:43] Technical Skills + Adaptive Skills. The connective tissue that brings together what we do on a day-to-day basis with our vision and strategy – where we want to take our products. [10:52] The Palm Model. The Brainmates product management framework addresses an over-emphasis on the technical aspects of the product manager role. [12:32] Hiring for product managers. We want and need their technical skills. But do they know how to show up? Do they bring empathy to their work? [13:59] Develop thinkers, not doers. [14:40] Empathy. If we are not empathetic to our customers, or to our people, it shows up in the product.   [16:48] Be yourself; you cannot succeed as somebody else. You cannot be another company. If you try, well then, you’ve already lost your secret sauce. [17:33] What’s your competitive advantage. People is our competitive advantage. Culture is our competitive advantage. If you want to adopt somebody else’s culture, what is your competitive advantage? [18:58] A step-by-step guide to building great product culture. [21:25] Leading the Product 2020. Going all digital in its 6th year, Australia’s favorite product conference is designed for the product people, by the product people, bringing together some of the best minds in the product space. [23:40] Helping product managers find their voice. I’ve always believed product managers to be the key part, the engine that drives the business. [24:10] A purpose in life. It may look like we sell training and consulting and a conference, but if you strip it all back what we sell is belonging. We all want to belong at some level. [26:03] Innovation. It’s great product management. I don’t see innovation as separate to what we do… The post 34 / Product Managers ‘Change the World’ appeared first on ITX Corp..

  Experimentation is not about right or wrong. It’s about learning things that you genuinely didn’t know. The secret is to become comfortable with the uncomfortable and to make room for your own sense of vulnerability, says Holly Hester-Reilly. When you’re able to embrace not knowing something, or have experiments come back that disprove your hypotheses, you’re going to discover amazing insights that benefit you, your team, and your organization. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean and Paul welcome Holly Hester-Reilly, Founder and CEO of H2R Product Science. In this dynamic and fast-paced conversation, Holly discusses her approach to the product science method, one that focuses on using science and empathy to manage risk while building high-growth products and teams. “Our job as product people is to manage the risk of product failure,” Holly says. “Part of that risk is to avoid looking bad in front of our teams, peers, and managers. We have to shift the mindset and the conversation away from right or wrong so that we can begin to pride ourselves on learning new things.” Product leaders have an enormous role to play in encouraging experimentation, Holly adds. “The only way for us to make that mindset shift is for us to be the example by calling out when the people around us learn something new and saying, ‘that’s what we want to see more of!’” Listen in to catch more from Holly Hester-Reilly: [02:16] The product science method. It’s really about the difference between what people say they will do and what they actually do. [02:58] Design experiments around past behaviors, not abstracts and hypotheticals. [04:51] The role of data and metrics. The cool thing about software is we can actually measure how users behave. The right metrics …that’s the best possible predictor of future behavior. [07:42] Why smart companies with reams of data still make flawed product launches. They’re too comfortable. [08:25] The Emperor’s New Clothes. Do we have the willingness to be uncomfortable, to be the person who will stand up and say to the boss, “here are the reasons why your pet project is going to fail.”? [10:12] Confirmation bias. Channeling Richard Feynman, “you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” [10:45] Rapid research. You have to be super-focused on the most important thing to learn and let go of the idea that you might not learn the other things. [12:38] Exposure therapy. The more times that you’re exposed to something, the more comfortable you become with it. [15:05] Optimism bias. Gets in the way of making good business decisions like so, so much. [16:14] How long does it take to change somebody’s mind about their pet project? [17:49] The role of experimentation. It’s not about being right. It’s about learning things we don’t already know. [21:19] Premortem risk assessment. Put yourself in a place where risk is already assumed to be real. [22:34] Our job as product people is to manage the risk of product failure. [24:02] The difference between good and fantastic product research. [25:46] Take a snapshot. Make sure that your team is situating who your customer is within the strategy of the product. [27:22]  Practicing discovery. As a product leader, you should have a strategy that is a series of product-market fits. [28:27] Measuring the value of research. Two parts: quantify the value of research and know when you’ve done enough of it. [32:10] “Faster horses.” At least you know what outcome your users want. [33:48] Innovation. Innovation drives a significant change. It doesn’t just increase the amount of something you’re selling: the revenue, the number of users. It changes the rate of that. The post 33 / Learn Fast, Learn Well With Experimentation appeared first on ITX Corp..

A lot of times product managers take a overly narrow view of prioritization without giving full consideration to the impact of decisions we make. Whether to add another new feature to our backlog – and which one? Is there a new market segment we should explore? Do we need a new vision for our product? For the organization? Too often, Jeff Lash says, stakeholders see the viability of an opportunity but not its feasibility (and vice versa). We take an overly subjective approach to prioritization and lose sight of the vision we set for the product and organization. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean and Paul catch up with Jeff Lash – Vice President of Product Management Research at Forrester. Listen in as Jeff describes his approach to prioritization. By applying a more objective standard – in fact, Jeff recommends establishing a prioritization framework – product teams act with confidence guided by a vision and strategy that are both clearly articulated and widely communicated across the organization. Product managers, he believes, need to be general managers of their “commercially minded enterprise, so we need to act like the business owner, running our products like a business.” Here’s more: [02:51]  Why the product manager role is so misunderstood. Has anyone ever taken the time to explain, “this is what we expect of you.”? [03:39]  Vision and strategy. Do product managers understand that this is part of their role? [05:11]  Balancing the tactical and strategic. It’s about mindset, understanding all the responsibilities. [07:03]  Product management in a remote environment. The more distant you are from your team, the more you need to document and communicate. [08:40]  What’s your horizon? If your vision and strategy hold true for the long term, avoid dramatic shifts. [10:21]  3 levels of prioritization. Sprint, Release, Organization. [11:36]  Is there such a thing as the perfect formula? [13:12]  Decision making in the absence of strategy and vision. Good luck. [15:07]  Frameworks. Help the process along by making it as objective as possible. [18:53] The definition of product management. [20:32] Which personas need your attention most? Understand (and balance) the broad range of user personas as well as buyer personas. [21:41] Incremental revenue vs. Retention effect. One addresses why people buy, the other why people stay. [26:30]  Guiding principles. Does this feature help one of our guiding principles? If yes, add it to the backlog. If not,.… [28:44] Fly your banner. Discipline in the face of initial challenges. [29:29] Decision making is not about yes and no. It’s about understanding the impact of both. [31:32] Hidden treasures. If you want to find those hidden treasures, the unmet needs, you have to apply different techniques. [33:10] Citing Margaret Mead. “What people say, what people do, and what people say they will do are entirely different things.” [35:15] Innovation. How do you take an idea and make it a reality? How do you take an idea and turn it into something that is actually in the market? The post 32 / Take An Objective Approach to Prioritization appeared first on ITX Corp..

In tech, as in life, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. That might be one of the coolest aspects about building super-exciting software products. There’s any number of ways to get the job done. As product people, we lend our education, our experience, and our intuition to improving people’s lives. Our varied life circumstances inform both our efforts and the many potential means by which we pursue success. For April Dunford, who joins Sean and Paul in this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, getting your product Positioning right is the straw that stirs the drink. “Positioning is foundational to everything that follows,” April confidently points out. “It essentially defines how your product is uniquely qualified to be a leader at something that a well-defined set of customers cares a lot about.” April isn’t shy in proclaiming the mission-critical role that Positioning plays in product success. Nor is she bashful in calling out product-market fit as “a myth” (and making an interesting case in the process). Listen in to catch thoughts from April Dunford on the following: [02:20]  Product managers & product marketers. We’re sort of becoming hip. We’re cool now. [04:27]  Positioning is foundational. In fact, it’s so foundational that we either think it’s already been done…or that we can’t do anything about it anyway. [06:32]  Positioning. What it is; what it isn’t. [09:16]  Good-fit customers. You want a pipeline of those. [09:38]  Bad-fit customers. Cull the herd. [13:13] Good fit means “good for the customer and good for the business.” [13:50]  Segmentation. So much more than demographics and firmographics. [15:51]  Actionable Customer Segmentation. Catch how April’s discovery process leads to actionable customer segmentation. [19:45]  Product-market fit. “I do have a bit of hate on for product-market fit.” [26:10]  Product-market fit part deux. “It’s baloney. It’s not a thing.” [27:32]  Magic marketing moment. When everything feels easy. Like you’re running down hill. [30:01]  (product + category) x Trend. Trends are accelerants to positioning. They make your stuff seem sexier. [31:04]  Trends part deux. The trend answers the question, “Why now?”. [32:49]  In competition with the status quo. Doing nothing is always an option for customers. [34:00]  Positioning: investors vs. customers. Why the pitch is so different. (hint: it’s about value) [36:39]  Innovation. There’s lots of ways to be innovative outside of the technology. [38:23]  Acquisition features and retention features. One to set the hook, the other to make sure it stays there. [43:23]  Positioning as a superpower. It can change the way both your team and the world think about the problems you solve, your technology, or even your entire market. The post 31 / How To Get The Positioning Right appeared first on ITX Corp..

Before we jump headlong into implementing Lean or Agile. Before we decide that OKRs offer the best chance to set goals and measure results. And before we determine that a particular design methodology will lead us to successful product development, product leaders need to understand the “underlying cultural things about teams and about companies that need to be addressed first,” Bruce McCarthy says. “You’ve got to get straight the ‘why are we here?’ questions,” says Bruce McCarthy, who joined Sean and Paul in this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast. According to Bruce, the founder of Product Culture and author of the book, Product Roadmaps Relaunched, we cannot meet our lofty goals – let alone the aspirational ones – without first embracing the cultural aspects that explain our place in the world. What problems are we solving? Why, and for whom? How will we work together to achieve our objectives? What is our mission – our purpose in the world? When we focus on these questions, we begin to understand the intersection of product culture and product management. In many ways the two overlap, Bruce explains. Product management is “a role, a discipline, and a set of tools and responsibilities.” Product culture, on the other hand, is less tangible. It gives valuable insight about how product managers prioritize resource allocation, formulate decisions, and deliver value for their customers. In many ways, good product culture is a “we know it when we see it” sort of thing. What’s most enlightening is the way Bruce brings to life an organization’s culture through the eyes of the customer. Product culture has a Vision that empowers the customer, a Plan that delivers value in incremental steps along the path to vision fulfillment, and an outcome-based effort by a diverse Team aligned around that common vision. Tune in to hear more from Bruce, including: [02:01] Product Culture talks about those cultural aspects of why we’re here, how we work together, how we think about the purpose of going to work every day that’s mostly on my mind. [03:49] Product management and product culture. Considerable overlap, but significant differences. [03:49] Three elements of product culture: vision, plan, team. [06:45] “Things are impossible until they’re not.” It’s the history of Innovation. [07:52] Innovation is not about changing technology. It’s about our perception of what’s possible. [10:33] Have you heard the story of General Magic? [13:29] Product as vehicle. Radhika Dutt: “A product is a vehicle for making change in the world.” [14:01] What killed Blackberry? They forgot, or never realized, that they were a status symbol. [15:15] Product success and the Venn diagram. When feasible and viable come into overlap. [15:59] The product manager’s role in roadmapping. Speak vision into the roadmap. [17:30] The right feature? It depends on what problem you’re trying to solve. [21:20] Outcome teams. The 4th level of product teams. [24:49] The nature of software development. Building one-offs for the first time, every time. [28:04] Prioritization. Why it’s the fundamental skill of the product manager. [32:34] Tactics for up-and-coming PMs. Agree, prioritize, align, repeat. [37:40] Imagination. The ability to envision something that does not yet exist. [40:31] Innovation. Feasible, viable, badass. The post 30 / Essential Components of Product Culture appeared first on ITX Corp..

Design thinking calls on product people to put themselves in their customer’s shoes. To empathize with them. Saleema Vellani agrees, but adds that empathy is borne out of self-awareness and that understanding others requires us first to understand ourselves.  In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean and Paul welcome Saleema Vellani, author of the soon-to-be-released Innovation Starts with I. Saleema explains how practicing empathy, more specifically compassionate empathy, requires a shift in mindset that helps us truly connect with our product’s users in deeper, more meaningful ways.  “Compassionate empathy is becoming increasingly important,” Saleema says. “It’s not about just understanding a person, what they’re feeling. It’s actually feeling moved to help them.” To understand that connection, she adds, is to be the catalyst for innovation. Listen in to catch easy-to-implement practical tips for product managers and their teams from Saleema Vellani. What you’ll hear: [01:59] The future of our product space. AI, machine learning, and automation is creating a lot of job displacement. But with it is coming exciting new product roles and opportunities. [02:12] The “Augmented Age.” The human skills (e.g., emotional intelligence, empathy, critical thinking, cultural intelligence, technology, and data science.) [03:39] 3 types of Empathy. Emotional empathy, cognitive empathy, and compassionate empathy. [03:46] Innovation Starts with I. Practicing empathy starts with first understanding oneself. [03:55] Design thinking guides us understand our customers, to put ourselves in their shoes. [04:00] Associative thinking helps us first understand who we are and then connect seemingly unrelated things. [04:50] Be a “dot connector.” Applying associative thinking to move from self-awareness to compassionate empathy to innovation. [05:02] Can empathy be learned? [06:03] Empathy and innovation. Empathy is the engine behind innovation. [07:12] The “sweet spot” of innovation lies at the intersection of feasibility, viability, and desirability. [09:11] Product radical listening. The key to a more holistic understanding of the problem. [09:50] Groupthink. Creativity’s kryptonite. [10:44] Product people, heal thyself. Starting with I requires an openness to learning about yourself. [11:52] Product thinking. A newer concept in which product managers need to become product coaches, and more organizations must become product-led. [12:15] Product thinking, part deux. It’s not just about the products; it starts from understanding yourself. [13:50] Inclusion as the catalyst for innovation. Inclusion requires learning as much as possible about different stakeholders using tools like empathy mapping, journey mapping, and user experience mapping. [15:22] Innovation. The process of taking all the things that are already out there and reassembling them in a new way. [15:49] A “recovering perfectionist.” Wanting to be perfect is counterproductive. [16:25] Outcomes > outputs. Perfectionists think about outputs. Problem solvers think about outcomes and how they make us feel. [17:17] GSD (get stuff done). Better to implement something that’s not perfect than have a bunch of half projects hanging waiting for perfection. [17:56] Compassionate empathy. The kind of empathy that actually moves us to help. It’s solution focused. [19:59] Tips for product managers. Create psychological safety; let failure be OK. Practice inclusion. Be outcome focused. So many more! [20:53] The job of product managers is to give value. Giving value starts with using empathy to understand yourself and your customer. [21:44] Be an intrapreneur in an organization. Help others by giving them autonomy and flexibility, understanding what will make them happy in their work. [23:50] The difference between listening and making a person feel heard. [25:06] Understand the problem before jumping to hypotheses. When we take the time to understand the problem, we often learn that the real problem is very different than we initially thought. [25:14] Innovation is putting together existing things in new ways that create value. The post 29 / Empathy is the Catalyst for Innovation appeared first on ITX Corp..

  It was the best of jobs; it was the worst of jobs. (apologies to Mr. Dickens) While everyone else has carved out their own place in the organization, the product manager is the person nobody works for. And who, it often seems, works for everybody else. But their role also puts them at the center of the action, wielding influence that drives product success, Rich Mironov says. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean and Paul welcome Rich Mironov – a 40-year Silicon Valley product veteran, executive coach, writer, and self-proclaimed smoke jumper (more on that later in the pod). The product manager’s sphere of influence isn’t limited to the user, Rich says, or even to the client. PMs dance to the beat of many drummers, working to convince finance, sales, and customer support – not to mention industry analysts and C-suite executives – why their product is worthy of investment. As the non-hierarchical leader in the organization, product managers have to meet our audiences where they are, Rich adds, “instead of expecting them to love product management so much that they just want to do it my way.” Whether you’re a junior product manager still practicing the hard skills or a savvy product leader refining the soft ones, the job of the product manager is about understanding all your audiences and how each rewards you for delivering what’s important to them. What you’ll hear from Rich Mironov: [00:51]  Validation & discovery. Convincing the C-suite to invest here is really hard. [02:09]  Mistakes we make. We believe our users when they tell us how to fix the problems instead of doing the hard work to figure out what problems they actually have. [04:20]  Timing. The time to figure out what the market wants is 9, 12, even 15 months before we give the product to the sales team and tell them to go bring money in. [05:29]  Shock me and surprise me. Use open-ended questions when interviewing users to extract everything out of their heads. [06:52] Don’t lead the witness. Only after drawing unprompted, unaided insights from customers should you show them mock-ups of your design. [07:12]  Validate ideas way before we code. Most ideas don’t play out. Better to have them fall flat before we spend the next $2 million dollars building it. [08:20]  The job of salespeople is to bring money in, not to get all fussy about the technology. [08:30] When PMs aren’t helping salespeople bring money in, they should make sure they’re building the right product and preparing answers to questions users are going to have. [09:17]  2 huge changes in product management. The availability of data to help make decisions, and the social network to talk them through. [10:50]  Why product management is like parenting. We’re not really parents until we’ve gotten some poop on our hands – and laughed about it. [13:12]  Why product management is like smoke jumping. In both roles, we’re bringing order to chaos. [14:29]  A note to CEOs. When you’re looking for a product leader, hire for the right skill set. [16:48] KPIs, OKRs, MAUs, and GA. Performance metrics are not one-size-fits all. [18:14] The mark of success. Be sure you’re measuring your users’ success, not your own. [20:23] Keep your developers happy. When they love the product as much as PMs do, they’ll do anything to make it right and keep it that way. [23:16] Guerilla discovery. How eager are you to embarrass the executive team? [24:56]  Discovery. You can pay for discovery now, or you can pay later. But make no mistake. You are going to pay – whether by design or default. [26:10]  The evolution of a product leader’s skills. From the hard skills and workflows to the soft skills and communication. [27:08]  Outputs vs. outcomes. Which should you invest in? [27:41]  Resilience. A measure of the product leader’s emotional range. [28:20]  Product Managers are the product person nobody reports to. [32:09]  Innovation exists at every level of the organization, at every level of scale. [34:12]  It’s okay to “beat your chest.” We have to not only love our products; we have to make sure our team gets the credit. [35:01] Saying ‘thank you’ doesn’t cost a nickel. The post 28 / Savvy PMs Engage All Their Audiences appeared first on ITX Corp..

A product’s vision communicates the change we want to bring to the world, Radhika Dutt says. It starts with why, but in the same breath also answers for whom. That’s why a great vision statement is outwardly focused. Product teams craft them not to declare our own goals and aspirations, but to focus attention and energy around the problems we want to solve for our users. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Radhika Dutt sits down with Sean and Paul to explain how vision-driven products not only clarify the why and for whom. But they also resist the common diseases that afflict product success. In the absence of a clear vision statement that is uniquely our own, we work without direction. We confuse activity with purposeful effort. And we deliver solutions to problems our users don’t have. But bringing vision and strategy isn’t enough. Product leaders and their teams need to translate vision and strategy into action. Radical Product Thinking, a movement co-founded by Radhika, provides a step-by-step approach to help teams build game-changing products. It guides teams through a process of applying sound vision, actionable strategy, and effective prioritization to prevent the ailments that end up killing products. What to listen for: [01:09]  Maintaining momentum through iteration. The right way to build products is through iteration, but we also need to limit the number of iterations by eliminating the unnecessary ones. [03:29]  The 2 extremes of Vision statements. One aims to disrupt, reinvent, or revolutionize. The other is focused on business objectives. [05:03]  Vision statements must be outwardly focused. Users don’t care about a company’s “best in class” aspirations. [05:36]  3 product diseases. Strategic swelling, obsessive sales disorder, pivotitis. [06:21]  Radical Product Thinking. It’s a response to repeatedly running into these same diseases no matter the size of the company or the industry you’re in. [07:58]  Follow your North Star. But don’t be afraid to step back and say, “Wait a minute; we’re following the wrong star.” [10:34]  Is there risk in being too tied to a vision? [13:00]  Use your vision as a filter. Does this feature I’m working on align with my vision? [14:07]  A strategy has to be flexible enough to allow you to adapt in the face of market realities. [16:25]  Anything can be a product. Based on the commonalities, even a government policy can be a product. [21:05]  Align your vision to where people want to go anyway. That way, the product isn’t forcing people to change. It’s adapting to what is going to be. [22:41]  Serving multiple personas in 2-sided markets. Use your North Star to determine where your true loyalty lies. [25:19]  How to prioritize a feature. A balance between helping me survive the quarter and fulfilling my vision. [27:37]  Business KPIs and Product KPIs. The Ying and Yang that helps you progress toward the vision while tracking your business success. [31:14]  Innovation. Changing people’s lives for the better. [32:00]  Accidental Villains. As you change one person’s life for the better, you’re changing someone else’s for the worse. [33:36]  Empathy. It’s not just about product managers showing empathy for their users. It has to happen across the whole organization. [34:05]  Organizational cactus. The internal friction that leads to the accumulation of vision debt. The post 27 / Product Success Starts with a Clear Vision appeared first on ITX Corp..

The difference between the best product companies and the rest is pretty stark. And you don’t have to wait until the end of the fiscal quarter to figure which is which. Those lagging indicators will tell you only what happened. Past tense. On the other hand, if you’re more interested in what will happen, begin by examining the level of empowerment within those companies. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, Sean and Paul sit down with Marty Cagan, product thought leader, mentor, and founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG), to discuss the power of empowerment. The job to be done by empowered teams, Marty says, is to solve the hard problems. Sounds simple, but the implications are enormous. So take heed, product people. Whether you’re new to the field or a seasoned product veteran, there’s something for you in our no-holds-barred conversation with Marty Cagan. What to listen for: Feature Teams, Product Teams, Delivery Teams (06:47). The differences between them and empowered teams are real, and significant. Empowered Teams (08:33). Like start-ups, they need to figure out the products customers are willing to buy (value) and whether those products can sustain a business (viability). Innovation (11:25). Solutions to hard problems that add value for our customers and our business. Role of the Product Manager (13:13). They have to go figure out something worth building. So they have a bigger responsibility on an empowered team. For New & Up-and-Coming Product Managers (16:32). What hiring managers are looking for is much more about how you think about solving problems, coming at it with a different perspective. The Best Single Source of Innovation (21:56). Marty’s comments may surprise you…though maybe not. Value of Developers (25:00). If you’re just using your developers to code, you’re only getting about half their value. The post 26 / Empowered Teams Build the Best Products appeared first on ITX Corp..

Trust is the ultimate collaboration tool within teams. So says Stephen Covey, who joins Sean and Paul on this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast. In fact, trust is so vital that innovation cannot occur in its absence. Steven is the best-selling author of The Speed of Trust who has taught leadership around the world. Trust is the currency that inspires innovation, which Stephen sees as a “continuum of staying current and relevant with our product and service offerings.” It is the enabler, guiding teams from coordination to cooperation to collaboration. Innovation cannot be achieved by one person working alone. These are such simple statements, but important not to confuse simplicity with underlying truth. Creating a culture of trust takes time and intention. There are so many takeaways from our conversation with Stephen Covey; here are just a few – Discover the 5 ways Trust inspires Innovation. Product leaders need to speak the language of trust. We never used to talk this way, but today it’s what makes a leader credible. Trust is foundational to all great product development. This is as true for our product’s users as it is for the team working on it. Listen in to learn even more. The post 25 / 5 Ways That Trust Inspires Innovation appeared first on ITX Corp..