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 the development process. All to...
Product management and product marketing are two fields where you can expect to travel often. Unlike sales, who usually have a territory, we cover the world and are called to travel widely. Every one of these jobs I have been in has advertised 25% of travel. And every one of them has underestimated the percentage of travel required. Pro-tip: If they tell you while interviewing that you will...
I have started this blog posting several times, and have been diverted each time. It is a complex topic, and it almost seems like heresy, but I believe it needs to be said. There has been much said on the roles of Product Management, and Product Marketing. There are firms who have well developed frameworks, and extensive training to help you get to a “good” state. In particular, I am familiar...
A doctor, a lawyer and a product manager were discussing the relative meritsof having a wife or a mistress. The lawyer says: "For sure a mistress is better. If you have a wife andwant a divorce, it causes all sorts of legal problems." The doctor s...
You are sitting in you cube, listening to some kick ass tunes in your headphones, and an engineer drops in. "I need you to change spec X". My response is to ask why, like all good product managers do. Invariably there are three answers It is impos...
Ah, I am procrastinating in the preparation of my decks for the sales meeting and/or training next week, I have come to reflect on the whole concept. I have written in the past on "Sales Meeting Musings", as have others, including a snark filled c...
About 6 months ago, I started a new job. The former product manager had left about 18 months prior to my arrival, and they "limped" along. Now, I am going through sales presentations, sales training decks and curriculae and I am aghast at what I h...
Those following the thread have seen my comments about a web project going poorly. End root cause is that we went with a vendor which we were "comfortable" with, and didn't figure out up front if he had the chops to deliver. I want to pull back, c...
and on budget. Sigh. There are always some extenuating circumstances: A key component was more difficult to work through. Some circuit design was wrong the first time around (and the second, and the third). Regardless of how many times the design ...
I am a huge fan of accessibility, and convenience for my customers. In my new role, we have a product that is a little long in tooth, and the software is a bit dated as well. Working to fix that, but one hangup is our absolutely shitty help system...