Brian de Haaff's Blog, page 14

The Founder’s Paradox: How to Say No When Big Customers Say Yes

It is harder to say “no” than it is to say “yes.” This is not just my opinion. There is significant research devoted to this concept. Acquiescence bias, social desirability, whatever you want to call it — we all feel a primal urge to say yes. This is a fundamental human trait. It makes us feel good to make other people happy.

If you are a company founder, you naturally want to share what you have built with as many people as you can. You will want to say yes, often — especially to really big...

Aha! Wins “Best Enterprise-Level SaaS Product” in 2018 SaaS Awards

“Today’s customers are demanding better experiences.” This was the essence of a blog post I recently wrote about enterprise transformation. To create real value, companies are compelled to rethink innovation through the lens of a Complete Product Experience (CPE). But this type of transformation is difficult in today’s dynamic and highly distributed companies. It requires deep strategic thinking, fervent customer-centricity, and real-time team collaboration.

Cloud-based applications are part...

The Product Manager vs. the Sales Manager

“If we add this feature, we can close the biggest deal of the quarter,” says the sales manager. “But that feature is not important to the majority of our customers. And it does not align with our strategy,” says the product manager. And right here is the source of so much friction. Sound familiar?

As a product manager, you likely work closely with your sales colleagues. Just as likely, there is some tension in that relationship.

Both the product manager and the sales manager are knowledgeabl...

How Should I Present My Roadmap to the Executive Team?

Have you ever given a roadmap presentation that felt more like an interrogation? I know that many product managers have experienced this. The executive team demands to see your slides in advance. By the time your meeting comes around, you are not really doing much presenting — everyone has seen the deck already. You are mostly fielding a barrage of questions under what feels like a massive microscope.

Now, not every company is this controlling. But you can bet that nearly every executive want...

Why This CEO Gives Every Single Team Member Homework

Homework? Yes, you read that correctly. As the co-founder and CEO, I give homework to every single person at Aha! Twice a year, to be specific. And while you might think that the assignments are solely related to professional skills or technical proficiency, you would be wrong. The assignments are meant to provoke deep thought, meaningful reflection, and organization-wide conversation.

Aha! is a learning organization. We encourage team members to continually pursue growth in their personal an...

Go Inside the Aha! Offices — From California to South Africa

Welcome to the Aha! offices. The kitchens are stocked with the team’s favorite foods. Children and pets are welcome. Guests come and go. Every desk is completely customized to the individual. And we have more than 80 locations worldwide — including California, Hawaii, Toronto, and South Africa. How are we able to do this?

You can find teammates all over the world because we are a fully remote company. We believe great work is about effort and achievement, not where you do it from.  

My co-fo...

Aha! Ranks #143 on the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies

Just how fast can a product roadmapping software company with no VC funding, no offices, and no salespeople grow? Pretty darn fast. 2,871 percent, to be precise. That is the percentage growth rate of Aha! since 2014 — a tremendous accomplishment for our team. We are especially happy to see our success showcased on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list.

Aha! was named #143 in terms of revenue growth among all companies and #13 among our software peers in Inc. magazine’s 37th annual Inc. 5000 list.

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6 Unique Ways We Build Meaningful Connections With Our Remote Team

“A deep sense of belonging.” This is how one Aha! teammate recently described working here. Her statement made me proud. That sense of belonging is something we work hard to achieve — even as our 80-person team continues to rapidly grow. It is gratifying to know that our hard work is leading to team spirit and gratitude. But it is even more gratifying to watch what it looks and sounds like. See for yourself.

Consider how remarkable this is — Aha! is an entirely remote company with people in...

The Founder’s Paradox: How to Reject Work/Life Balance and Still Have a Happy Team

I reject work/life balance. I always have. But some people find this hard to understand at first, which is why I share my perspective on the topic fairly often. So, it bears repeating: Work is life and life is work. There is no meaningful separation between the two. Nor should there be.

We all have the opportunity to be great in everything we do. So why try to divide our life into discrete units?

All we can hope to find is harmony. And harmony means embracing all parts required to achieve a...

Help! My Company Does Not Understand Product Management

I recently offered some advice to product managers lacking executive support. When I was reading through some of the comments on social media, one stood out to me. And it caused me pain. “Leadership at my company does not even understand what product management really is.”

The painful reality is that this murky understanding of product management is not that uncommon.

It is also not uncommon for other groups within the organization to have final say on product decisions — which basically is...