Brian de Haaff's Blog, page 8

The Product Roadmap vs. the Marketing Roadmap

Roadmaps are for product managers. Right? This idea seems to be burned into so many people’s minds. Roadmaps are a “product thing.” But a roadmap is simply a visualization of a plan. And that is something any functional group can benefit from — particularly marketing teams at fast-moving technology companies.

After all, product management and marketing are after the same thing — bringing successful products to market.

Since these groups are headed in the same direction, they also need to r...

Go Ahead — Beat Yourself Up

“Do not beat yourself up.” I am sure you have heard this before. It is a well-intentioned remark meant to soothe the sting of failure. There is some truth to being gentle with yourself. If you planned ahead and worked hard, then there is no need to flog yourself if unforeseen circumstances upend your plan. But I do believe there are many times when you absolutely should beat yourself up.

If you are a high achiever, you know what I am talking about — beating yourself up can be a good push fr...

The Product Roadmap vs. the Release Plan

Product managers are the navigation system of a company. Think about it like GPS. When you enter an address into GPS, you get the final destination — as well as a list of the turns you need to make in order to get there. Product managers essentially do the same thing for an organization.

You set a high-level course for the product direction and then organize the actual work needed to make the vision a reality.

You do this with a strategic product roadmap with corresponding release plans. T...

The Founder’s Paradox: How to Balance Certainty With Uncertainty

We are living in uncertain times. You could say this has always been true — life is unpredictable and so are we. People are complex. And as much as technology has brought us closer together, it has also drawn in stark contrast all the ways that we are different. Social media, in particular, has been used to amplify those differences. There is confusion and chaos, conflict and turmoil. It can be hard to project calm strength when uncertainty rules the day.

But here is the thing — it is imper...

The VP of Marketing vs. the VP of Sales

Marketing vs. sales. This is a common workplace battle. The VP of marketing in one corner and the VP of sales in the other, both ready to face off. But if you stop and think about it, this fight is almost comical. The two roles are fighting for the same exact thing — to grow the business. So, why does it seem like these two are always squaring off?

Usually, the tension erupts because there is misalignment over how the product or service is being marketed and how it is being sold. And that r...

The Secrets Behind The Responsive Method by Aha!

T-R-M. You will hear these three letters often at Aha! — with teammates exclaiming things like, “Melissa showed some next-level TRM today, showing the customer new functionality that they needed before they even asked for it.” Or “I reported a bug to the engineering team and it was fixed within 10 minutes. Serious TRM!” So, what is TRM? It stands for The Responsive Method. It is the engine that powers us.

TRM is centered around the belief that interactions with urgency are what propel peopl...

The Founder’s Paradox: How to Stay Focused When Other Opportunities Keep Tempting You

It takes courage to have a single focus. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Because while it takes chutzpah to set really ambitious goals, that is not where the bravery comes in. No, that comes later, when you have to recommit over and over to the vision you have set in order to realize it. This kind of focus is not always easy — especially in rapidly-growing companies where there are so many promising new opportunities to pursue.

How do you stay focused on existing plans when ot...

6 Ways to Respond to Stressful Changes at Work

Have you heard of the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale? It is essentially a scale of life events, ranking from the most stressful to the least. It is no surprise that some negative markers include things like the death of a loved one or losing your job. But you will also see things that are typically thought of as positive — like getting married or having a baby. No matter how you look at this scale, I believe it reveals a simple truth.

Positive or negative — change of any kind in our lives can...

6 Ways To Respond to Stressful Changes at Work

Have you heard of the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale? It is essentially a scale of life events, ranking from the most stressful to the least. It is no surprise that some negative markers include things like the death of a loved one or losing your job. But you will also see things that are typically thought of as positive — like getting married or having a baby. No matter how you look at this scale, I believe it reveals a simple truth.

Positive or negative — change of any kind in our life can...

11 Surprising Books Every Marketer Should Read

I always have a stack of “to-read” books on my nightstand. Recently, I finished a biography of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. No matter what you think of the company today, it was amazing to learn how Walton transformed a small-town dime store into a multinational behemoth. This story was full of wisdom about promoting products, connecting with customers, and building a lasting brand — lessons that are relevant to anyone in marketing today.

Sometimes not-so-obvious books contain the mo...