Brian de Haaff's Blog, page 5

6 Ways to Ensure Success When Your Product Is Built on a Platform

Product management is rewarding. And it is also really hard work. I know a few product managers who have the toughest challenge out there — leading a product that is built on a platform or collection of products managed by other people. You need to advocate for your product every day. In the process, those other people’s problems become yours as well. It can be difficult to see how an individual product is making a real impact on the business. So what should a product manager do? 

You are r...

The Founder’s Paradox: The “Future You” Might Not Like the Choices “Today You” Is Making

The guy with the laptop. This is how I am known by one of my kid’s soccer coaches. Let me explain. The kids need to be there 45 minutes before games to warm up. There is not much for parents to do during that time except chat with each other. So I pull out my laptop, find some shade, and work. Once the game begins, I put the laptop away to be fully present for the game. This is a conscious choice. But I do miss out on those pre-kickoff conversations with other parents.

Whether you are a fou...

The One Thing Most Recruiters Overlook

Does this sound unrealistic? A screening call on Monday. An interview with the hiring manager on Tuesday. A chat with another cross-functional team member on Wednesday. A video call with the CTO on Thursday. This rapid cadence is not unusual at Aha! — our team acts quickly to schedule conversations with promising candidates who have applied to an open role. But I know this is not the case at the majority of organizations.

Many companies are operating in a vacuum — ignoring the reality that...

Aha! Cares — A New Model for Corporate Giving

“A startup is for adventure.” I wrote that when we founded Aha! in 2013. Along with my friend and co-founder Dr. Chris Waters, I was energized about how we could change the way that product teams work. And since then, we have achieved some worthy milestones together — from hiring our first teammate to celebrating our 5,000th customer to publishing Lovability, a book about the philosophy behind the company.

In that bestselling book, I described Aha! as “grandpa-inspired.” Both my and Chris’s...

How to Avoid a Rambling Presentation at Work

“Can you get to the point?” The senior executive who asked this was clearly annoyed. It was early in my career and my colleague was presenting quarterly marketing results to a group of company leaders. But instead of summarizing the key metrics and takeaways, he gave a long-winded description of each step the team had taken along the way. Although he clearly was attuned to the details of the work, the meandering explanation left everyone feeling lost.

It is imperative to go deep — but you a...

Remote Team Meetings vs. Office Team Meetings

“What do you mean you saw your co-workers? You work at home.” A friend who works for the county court system once asked me this with a look of confusion on his face. He knows that Aha! is an entirely remote company, but he was unfamiliar with the concept of remote meetings. I chuckled as I assured him that nobody had to fly into the Bay Area — we simply caught up over video conference.

Teams do not have to be physically in the same space to have productive and enjoyable meetings.

If you ar...

The Founder’s Paradox: How Do You Give 100 Percent to Every Teammate and Still Let Go?

We are all capable of achieving greatness. But big achievement rarely happens in isolation. You need support from those who have done it before you — as well as knowledge, skills, and resources. You need to give everything you have to be successful. And you also need to give 100 percent to the people who are excited enough to join you for the adventure.

Leading people is a fundamental part of a company founder’s role — it is also the hardest and most rewarding work you will do.

Finding and...

Product Strategy vs. Marketing Strategy

“But why?” You have probably heard this question countless times if you are a parent. Children have a seemingly insatiable curiosity to learn the reasons and causes for things. This yearning tends to diminish as we get older. But knowing “why” is important for people of all ages and it is critical in business. I am going to focus on why it matters to product and marketing teams at fast-moving technology companies. 

It is essential to have both a strong product and marketing strategy that de...

10 Surprising Lessons From Our First Year at Aha!

Woo-hoo! Time to celebrate. You just reached the one-year mark at your company and things are going great. But no one else seems very excited about your milestone. Your manager and co-workers are silent, and it just seems like a regular day at work. You begin to wonder if anyone even notices all you have done — let alone appreciates it. 

Our team at Aha! takes a different approach. We see work anniversaries as a valuable opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments and reflect on all we hav...

How to Craft a Winning Marketing Presentation

What is in your marketing plan? I would guess that you have goals, activities, and dates. These are the basic elements of any marketing roadmap. You create a visualization of your marketing strategy, the work required to achieve it, and when you plan to tackle it. Because it organizes all this information in one place, the roadmap is an incredibly useful tool to clarify and communicate the team’s direction.

But putting a roadmap together is just the first step. You also need to know how to...