I got a lot of things wrong when I became a #productmanager. I was asked to take over a product that was rapidly declining in revenues and relevance. Before that I was an engineering manager who had done well. Like many who are promoted rapidly in a fast growing organization. I was aggressive, sometimes arrogant and sometimes ignorant; taking over
This is a classic trap. For many startups I fell into this a couple of times. Founders study the market. It’s usually filled with solutions. Many solutions. Same or similar problem. There is overlap, but nothing does it alone. Or hardly anyone seems to be. Grand strategy is unveiled. Be the one-stop-shop. Unfortunately, it’s a bad idea. More often than
In business as in life you don’t get what you deserve you get what you negotiate. I read this for the first time several years ago in a book on #negotiation (Later I found out that there is even a book with that as its title). At the time I was seeking a pay raise and promotion after working in
10 out of 10 tech CEOs and startup founders say this. When asked what do they want to achieve. They want to grow. They want more customers. They want more revenue. If you ask what will it take to achieve that? 8 out of 10 will say: Better GTM. More leads. More sales people. If you are in a commoditized
Do you believe that college is useless? That expertise is of no value? That experience is just for old people… Experts, thought leaders and social media teachers are exploding. It’s a common misconception that anything you want to learn, you can learn on YouTube. Tell me the names of people who have built a rocket by watching videos. Done breakthrough
As a B2B startup, are you missing out on revenue boosting opportunities? Maybe you feel you can’t go after the big fish? Or does the role you’re selling to not have a high enough budget? Sound familiar? Have you considered targeting C-suite decision makers? Higher roles have access to larger budgets, are keen on embracing the latest technologies… And can
Do you remember the first time you used Zoom? Probably a friend or colleague messaged you something like “I’ll send you the link to a Zoom meeting.” That’s how you started using it and before you knew it you had created your own meeting and sent a Zoom link to someone else. This is how Zoom spread like wildfire. Zoom
A few days ago, I was talking to a senior product professional. He said something that struck me. It wasn’t the first time I heard this. A product manager is expected to know “everything”. Indeed! It’s often the case. It’s possibly the biggest boon or curse of product management You have to know tech when you talk to engineering You
“AI is a menace,” she said. “And a nuisance.” This was a fellow product manager who stunned me with the statement I was about to pounce on that statement Good thing, I didn’t She started explaining… “What is the way most people’s life intersects with AI?” It’s chatbots. Whether you are dealing with your bank, phone company, insurance company, food
It was the winter of 1999 I was a recent graduate With a masters from MIT, no less Working at one of the hottest companies in the US Just over 25 years old, a year into my first job (Paper $millionaire already!) I was attending a conference on innovation And the future by local business group When called on stage
What is the top challenge facing Product Managers? Last week’s poll of product professionals revealed the following: The top challenge is not what we thought… It is “Ideation and creativity” – nearly 50% of those surveyed find this to be the top challenge. Does seem to make sense? Product Managers often orchestrate innovation. They are required to collaborate between teams,
FOMO and YAFO can kill. FOMO – you know this one well YAFO – Yet Another F…ing Opportunity, in case you don’t Are you a founder? Are you building a tech product startup? Please read on… One of the ADVANTAGES of tech products is that underlying tools and tech can be often used to solve multiple problems. One of the
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