• Napa Surgical Strike

    Napa Surgical Strike

    Yesterday, I did a quick trip to Napa Valley. The first one since before I moved to Arizona back in 2003. Being a weekday, and off season, it was a pleasant drive with not too much traffic. A bonus. The reason for the quick day trip? My father is celebrating his 84th birthday this coming…

  • Sleazy Sniping Domain Registrars

    Sleazy Sniping Domain Registrars

    I have a few sites, most of them I have paid the extra bucks for the “privacy” options. But there are two that I just forgot this extra. Bad idea. Yesterday, I got in the mail two letters for the two domains where I didn’t pay for the privacy option. They were identical. They look…

  • The Dreaded Zombie Product

    The Dreaded Zombie Product

    At every company I have been at with some history (more than a decade or two), I have found there to be at least one product that is long beyond the “Milk it” stage. Orders have dropped off, and customers have moved to either a different technology, or into a replacement product. Of course, you…

  • Three Generations

    Three Generations

    Old passports provide ample memories from many trips around for business and for pleasure.

  • Strategic Marketing Definition

    Strategic Marketing Definition

    The words “Strategic Marketing” evokes grand ideas and concepts. But as with many phrases, there is more than a little bit of ambiguity in the perception of those who hear it. Different groups within the organization will likely have quite different interpretations of “Strategic Marketing” Sales When Sales hears the term “Strategic Marketing,” they think…

  • Managing un-sexy products

    Managing un-sexy products

    If you follow the #prodmgmt or #prodmktg hashtags on Twitter, and the ever increasing variety of product management blogs, it would seem like every product management job is some leading edge, hyper tech start up product that is positioned to be the next Facebook, (or Dropbox, or {insert cool cloud technology}).  However, it is much…

  • The City (San Francisco)

    The City (San Francisco)

    This week, I spent a couple of days up in San Francisco. There was a big trade show, SPIE Optics and Photonics West at the Moscone center. As always, it was YUUUUUUUGE in the colloquialism of The Donald. Three halls, and seemingly a thousand exhibitors. Cameras, Software, Lenses, a LOT of lasers, and everything else…

  • Product Management Truths

    Product Management Truths

    Being in the product management / product marketing game a long time, these are some truths that have been constants across my career. Time and time again, there are the same challenges, and I suspect that many of you have similar or related tales. This is by far not a complete list, but it is…

  • Skype fun

    Skype fun

    Way back in 2008 or 2009, I worked at a place that wanted everybody to use Skype for instant messaging, and for impromptu phone calls. Ostensibly to “save money”. So I was a good doobie, and got me a Skype account. My handle is gander2112. I used it off and on for a year or…

  • Five little words

    Five little words

    Five little words. “That feature doesn’t sell products“. Seems innocuous enough, but it is the death of product development when uttered by engineering. Product Management is tasked with defining what a product should do, what features are needed, and how to compare/differentiate vis-a-vis with the competitors. We write requirements, and guide them into and through…