Jock Busuttil's Blog: I Manage Products, page 22

PRODUCTHEAD: The joy of metrics

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADeverything in its right producttl;dr

Don’t be driven by metrics — be informed by them

The mental tendency to replace strategy with metrics can destroy company value

Onboard your users all the way to becoming your best users

3 kinds of innovation: method, market and product

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every PRODUCT...

PRODUCTHEAD: Obtaining an optimal organisation

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADeverything in its right producttl;dr

Your products will reflect your organisational structure (Conway’s Law)

You can structure your teams around a central function, or as self-contained business units

Periodically re-evaluate the right mix of innovation and optimisation for your organisation

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PRODUCTHEAD: Dealing with discomfort

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADexit music (for a product manager)tl;dr

Firing someone is a task you will always perform with some discomfort, but you still need to be able to do it well

At Netflix, it’s not enough to be a hard worker achieving only B-grade results

Founder of AngelList Naval Ravikant seeks happiness by trying to live in the here-and-now, neither obsessing about the p...

PRODUCTHEAD: When your product is a blank canvas

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADeverything in its right producttl;dr

5 useful canvases to help you frame your product ideas

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It doesn’t seem too long ago that canvases were all the rage for product teams. You know the ones I mean: the big frames you’d sket...

Should a growth product manager even be a thing?

There’s an ongoing debate about generalist product managers versus emerging product manager specialisms (such as ‘growth product manager’). I think there is room in our profession for both. Let me explain.

In this article“No one wants to get rich slow”The rise of the growth hackerAnd so to growth product managersA repeating cycleExperience is lumpyBeware ‘lack of experience’ rebranded as ‘specialism’Different dimensions of experienceWhere to start: be honest about your skill gapsBuild...

PRODUCTHEAD: The rise of the growth product manager

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADi might be a product managertl;dr

Growth product managers are expected to focus primarily on revenue growth

Growth hacking failed in part because it produced unsustainable growth

Some companies stimulate growth by “infiltrating” offline communities

With infrequent use products, market penetration is a better measure of product-market fit than retent...

PRODUCTHEAD: Managing mature products

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADstreet product (fade out)tl;dr

Ways to extend a product’s life cycle: frequent usage; varied usage; new users; new uses

Sometimes removing features is more effective than adding them

You can’t change the customer, but you can change your company’s process, strategy and culture

Give your team time and permission to check you’re moving the right metri...

PRODUCTHEAD: New year’s resolutions

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADsit down. product uptl;dr

Make small changes and embrace experimentation

People may have a sincere commitment to change, while also unwittingly applying productive energy toward a hidden competing commitment.

Extreme situations can build extreme understanding and can also push people apart

Does our current worldview limit the way we think about orga...

6: 6 tips for presenting slides that don’t suck

This is an updated version of an article I wrote over a decade ago. I’ve preserved the original post if you want to giggle at me extolling rounded corners and drop shadows as the height of slideware sophistication.

I’m writing about one hundred things I’ve learned about being a product manager.

All product managers will need to stand up and present to others at some point. Some people are less comfortable giving a presentation than others; that’s natural. Either way, you won’t be helpi...

Q&A: My boss wants to set me an OKR on revenue growth. Is this right?

I’m asked questions about product management from time to time. Here’s one I’ve answered recently:

Hi Jock,

My boss wants to set me a personal OKR [objective and key result] to achieve revenue growth through demonstrable product improvements.

Can you think of any reasons why I should push back on a suggestion like this?

G

Read on for my reply.

Hi G,

Thanks for getting in touch. It sounds like your boss may be confusing OKRs with a ‘management by objective’ approach.

A bit about O...