I imagine a make-believe history of an old-timey racecar driver. The hero fixes up a car and starts racing it….
Read moreHow much should you invest in a team of ever-betterers?
The pit crew at work. Photo by Elliot Stallion
The Scope is _Supposed_ to Creep
Don’t rob yourself of the game-changing adjustments that will present themselves, simply because you didn’t predict them ahead of time. That’s betting against your own success!
Read moreIt's Not Cheap. And It's Not Simple.
It takes money and brains to do technology well. Just like anything else that matters.
Read moreGet Out From Behind Your Ticketing Queue
A couple years ago I tore up my knee playing middle-aged softball. The long road back from injury included a staggering number of physical therapy appointments over the course of two years. And it didn’t take long to realize that there was a serious issue with the scheduling software….
Read moreWhat makes a great 7th grade math teacher? (And what it means for your technology team)
We often talk about how a high level of technical proficiency is not what distinguishes greatness in the role of Product Manager. In fact we’re looking for an entirely different emphasis altogether.
Here’s an analogy that arose as we watch our kids progress through school: What makes an amazing 7th grade math teacher?
It Costs More Than That
I get a bit antsy when I’m asked how much something will cost. It’s an important question, it deserves a solid answer. But somehow the question seems to frame things up in a misleading way….
Read moreSink or Swim
Show us an organization that doesn’t have a team of capable people focused on their technology and we’ll show you a hundred ways they are squandering everything….
Read moreThe Product Chief: "Protector of the Realm" and "The Greatmaker" →
The product team needs a chief. A great chief. A steward and protector, a guide and a field general. Every role on the team is important, but getting the right person steering the ship will differentiate whether the product team becomes an organizational gamechanger or just spends its time fixing things.
Read moreAll-Stars and Jedis
Your all-stars may be right under your nose, in or around your organization already, waiting to be discovered. Most we’ve encountered are. In Star Wars before Rey was Rey or Luke was Luke, they were both kicking around dusty planets bullseyeing womprats. Someone had to spot something special in them and hand ‘em a lightsaber.
Read moreThe incredible thing 350.org's Product Team is doing today
You may know that today is the big day for the Global Climate Strike. What you may not know is that the platforms driving and supporting much of this effort have been created, managed, and supported by the product team we’ve told you about at 350.org….
Read moreThriving in the Land of Uncertainty
Do we build a team that is good at handling uncertainty? Or do we build a team that is good at pretending they're certain.
Read moreA Product Team Begins
I’m over here slapping my forehead. Because even though we talk about it almost daily, when you witness it coming to life it’s a thing of beauty.
Read moreYou're missing a piece
It’s as if the car was invented without a transmission. Everyone used cars and they did a lot of great work – but they maxed out at 20 mph and that was that. And after a certain amount of years, someone invents a transmission, and the people building cars with transmissions are setting new standards for performance. But transmissions are complicated, so it’s not the first thing anyone wants to bite off. So they work on other things, they install the power windows, the sound system, the better seats, because none of those things require them to re-engineer significant pieces of the engine.
Read moreCoverage
If a baseball team doesn’t have anyone in left field, they will consistently lose. Sure, they may handle long balls to center exceptionally, they may pitch great games, handle everything in the infield just fine. But if no one is covering left field, those fly balls will go unfielded and end up giving a significant advantage to the other team.
Read moreDevelop Slow, Respond Fast
If you want your product to succeed, don't think the road to that is by putting every bell or whistle you could imagine. Think first of making sure the people using your product are helped every step of the way to remove roadblocks to their use. No more arms crossed disappointed looks when they're not doing it right, despite "having got the training, twice!" We have to move to a support mentality that recognizes that if the product isn't used, it's useless.
Read moreWhite paper: Resourcing your Salesforce CRM Product Team
Over the years we’ve worked with organizations to not just implement Salesforce, but to also build and incubate internal staff or teams who are ready to take full ownership of their system’s and organization’s success. This white paper offers models and specifics for how to put in place engaged, dedicated, thoughtful internal capacity to guide your technology.
Read moreDetangling "Digital" →
In today’s rapidly evolving world, we should admit that the big-D “Digital” umbrella has outlived its usefulness.
Read moreChanging Your Mind is a Feature, Not a Bug
It’s true, changing your mind might alter budget and timelines. It may vex project managers. But the truth is that understanding evolves, and changing your mind based on the latest landscape is not a sign of negligence. It’s a sign of careful attention and thoughtfulness.
Read moreYour Timeline is a Lie
In the realm of technology builds, timelines are most helpful if we can all admit that they are, by nature, an initial best guess.
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