Author Archives: Sam

C.R.E.A.M.

(Customers Rule Everything Around Me) Are you listening to your customers? Cool, listen more. It’s common knowledge that as a Product Manager you must be customer obsessed. The customer is the starting point for Product Managers. This is especially true in a startup environment where you often have to work backwards by starting with theContinue reading “C.R.E.A.M.”

Book Review: Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke

Wodtke takes a unique approach to explaining OKRs in “Radical Focus”. This book is unique due to that it’s written as what can be called a business novel. It’s part fable, part autobiography and part business manual. Even though the approach isn’t the most conventional, I found the insights and framework provided valuable for anyoneContinue reading “Book Review: Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke”

Mo Risks, Mo Problems

A lot of risk exists when releasing a new product or feature. Even the best product organizations get it wrong sometimes. Remember the Amazon Fire Phone, Netflix launching Qwikster, Facebook Deals, the original Apple Maps app and the graveyard of failed Google products? The thing is, product is hard. The smartest leaders are well awareContinue reading “Mo Risks, Mo Problems”

I Got 99 Problems, but Devs Ain’t One

At the core, a product manager is responsible for bringing together 3 things: Customers, Business and Technology. You have to be deeply customer centric, obsessing over data and having an intimate knowledge of your users. You must collaborate across your organization to have a solid understanding of your business model, the competitive landscape, core competenciesContinue reading “I Got 99 Problems, but Devs Ain’t One”

Nuthin’ but a Prototype Thang

I was at a PM meetup recently and a lot of questions came up about prototyping. The questions were mostly about when you can and can’t use prototypes. The thing is, you should always be prototyping. Discovery is all about testing hypothesis using prototypes. Adding a new page to you application flow? Prototype it. AddingContinue reading “Nuthin’ but a Prototype Thang”

The Tale of Two Product Managers

New and seasoned PMs all too often find roles that are pitched as Product Management roles, but in reality they are nowhere near an actual PM role. We have all seen it, the job post with the title “Product Manager” followed by a description that resembles something similar to a Project Manager or Product Owner.Continue reading “The Tale of Two Product Managers”