If you have strategy, product, program, project, design, research, analyst, or analytics in your title in any form and you work on software products, then your job is likely to change, or even be eliminated by AI in the near future. Welcome to the first of three articles on the topic of whether AI can…

I have recently authored articles on how to prioritize tasks and determine roles and responsibilities for your product team. Another common query I encounter is, “How large should my product team be, and how should I organize it?” Here is what I’ve learned: Firstly, the composition of your product team will vary depending on where…

I have seen a lot of articles written about people affected by a layoff and how to deal with feelings of grief and imposter syndrome, but not many that focus on those who remain after a layoff. While this article is tailored a bit more towards Product Managers, I believe it is applicable to almost…

If you were to ask 15 people from 15 different companies the question “What is Product Management?” or “What does Product Management do at your company?”, I guarantee you will get at least 15 different answers. I often get this question when working with clients when something is going wrong, and they need help determining,…

As a product manager, one of the most consistent questions I receive from either peer product managers or executives is, “How do we decide what to build and bring to market next?” This challenge is universal, affecting companies of all sizes and at all stages of growth. Whether you’re a large company with multiple products…

I have written in the past about how having great ideas does not make a product manager, and a follow-up on my recommendations for managing ideas. Both of those focused on how to either provide career guidance for budding Product Managers, or on how to manage an abundance of ideas with a light weight process. However, what…

If you have spent any time reading any of my posts to-date, you will likely have gathered that I favor a “modern” approach to product management. This means that I agree with people like Marty Cagan and his colleagues at http://svpg.com/. If you have not read it already, I highly recommend Mr. Cagan’s book on building products customers…

There are days when it seems like everybody is just either lazy or incompetent. A good friend of mine, Holden Caulfield, tried to convince me at a rather early age that most people are, in fact, phonies. I find that when I am really busy and I hear about some new thing somebody is working on, and it…

As a product manager, this is the last question that I hope any of my sales team is asked by a customer.   This type of question can come in many forms such as: From a pure sales perspective, these types of questions are deadly.  Why?  Because if you start talking about the competing product you…

It is a real thing, or so I am told.  Companies actually have solutioneers.  In looking at several job postings for solutioneers there is no standard job description.  I mentioned in a couple of past articles that solutioneering is generally a bad idea, especially on sales calls.  So what is solutioneering, and when it is…