Brian de Haaff's Blog, page 15
August 2, 2018
No Executive Support for Your Product? No Problem — Follow This Advice
Executive sponsors can be great. They help get you resources and funding. They provide insights into the broader strategy. They give you a look at what is happening across the organization and make sure things stay on track. But what if there is no one supporting you at this level? Uh-oh. You are a product manager on your own — fighting for attention and resources.
It is true that this might seem like a difficult spot to be in. How can your product possibly succeed without some backing from l...
July 31, 2018
6 Questions Product Managers Should Ask Each Week
Product managers are a curious bunch. It is what makes us so good at our jobs. I suppose it is an indispensable skill for most jobs, really. But product managers are insatiably demanding when it comes to learning what is new.
You do it with purpose because the success of your product depends on it. You need accurate, up-to-date information to build something great. So, you ask, ask, ask — until you get to the essence.
Because what happens when you are not curious and do not keep digging? Th...
July 25, 2018
The Founder’s Paradox: How to Succeed When Most Founders Fail
Every summer I go on a backpacking trip to the Sierras in California. This year it was to the Emigrant Wilderness, just north of Yosemite. Jagged granite peaks, ice-blue lakes punctuated by ancient windswept trees, open meadows flush with wildflowers — it is an awesome place.
Several close friends typically join me for the trip. And as anyone who has hiked this region knows, it can be very challenging terrain. The weather patterns, even in the summer, can be violent at the higher elevations....
July 24, 2018
Aha! Surpasses 5,000 Customers and a $40 Million Annual Revenue Run Rate
We imagined a world of lovable software created by happy product builders. That is why we founded Aha! in 2013. And our growth was amazingly swift from the start. But we purposefully never shared the actual number of companies we serve and our revenue. Create value first — people will take notice.
So for the last five years, we have focused on creating real value for customers and our team. We just delivered on that promise again with the launch of the Aha! mobile app. But today we are doing...
July 19, 2018
5 Skills Product Managers Should Put on Their Resume
Lots of people want to be product managers these days. No wonder — this is challenging work which currently brings in the highest average salary offers of any tech job. But more interest means more competition. Product managers seeking new job opportunities must fight to stand out. Easier said than done?
The best product managers focus on results — value you delivered to customers, the company, and your team.
Our Customer Success team members at Aha! are all product management experts. They...
July 16, 2018
Your Product Portfolio Is Overwhelming the Team (and Customers) — What Do You Do?
When are more choices a bad thing? Some might say “never.” I strongly disagree. The variations of your offerings should not be like flavors of ice cream. Building out more and more products might seem like a sure way to drive more sales, for enterprise companies in particular. But vast portfolios with a complex and even redundant mix of offerings come with risks.
One thing is certain — too many products makes your job as a product manager much more difficult.
Maybe your company made one acqu...
July 12, 2018
Help! I Am a Product Manager and I Have No Control Over My Own Product
You like to build things. This is why you became a product manager. And yet very little building gets done. The plans you make keep changing. Decisions get overturned. Resources and budgets reallocated. It can feel like you are simply taking orders — reduced from “product builder” to “glorified project manager.”
You need a way to even the product playing field. Because right now, no one is winning. Definitely not the customer.
Maybe executives keep “pivoting” the strategy or the sales team d...
July 10, 2018
The Founder’s Paradox: How to Be an Entrepreneur When No One Is Born an Innovator
What do you whisper to yourself when you think no one is listening?
“I am not a words person.”
“I am terrified of speaking in public — because I am terribly shy.”
“Oh no, please do not ask me, I do not have any ideas. I am not the
creative
type.”
Take a breath and think. If you found yourself nodding along, then you probably believe that you are not a naturally born innovator. And I would agree with you, but only partially. I agree that you were not born an innovator — because no one is. Bu...
July 9, 2018
You Can Experience Joy at Work Every Day
Joy at work. Some people scoff at the very idea. Most likely, these folks have never been happy in their career. Maybe they do not even believe it is possible. Work is not fun, right? I have compassion. But while employers can make it easy to be miserable, people often choose unhappiness as well.
In fact, a pathetically low number of office workers say they love their job — just 24 percent. There is hope for improvement though. You can actually be happy and fulfilled at work — every day even...
July 2, 2018
6 Ways Product Managers Get Noticed (Plus, What Not to Do)
I bet you were the head of your class. People knew you for your smarts and ambition. But something changed between college and today. You are no longer the most talented person in the room because everyone in the room is talented. (At least, this is likely true if you work at a high-performing company.) And this is a good thing. Why?
Because you learn from being around people who have more experience than you do. You want to be in a job where you are surrounded by exceptionally capable people...
