The Product Manager's Survival Guide

by Steven Haines

cross-functional product team meetings can be held less frequently. The idea behind any regularly scheduled meeting is to deepen and broaden the scope of the team’s knowledge. However, and of greater importance, these meetings are designed to help the team to make meaningful progress and better decisions that positively impact the business. Through this medium, you ensure that team members all become aware of the collective key learning moments that might have gone unnoticed. This type of team meeting should take approximately 90 minutes. It should be structured around a common agenda that allows for all members to: 1. Recap issues and resolutions that would have been assigned to others at a prior meeting. This should be available from properly transcribed and distributed meeting minutes and action items. 2. Review the issues and activities in their own functional areas with respect to the product’s business and desired outcomes. As team members discuss issues and challenges, or successes and wins, everyone shares in solutions or in the celebration of wins. 3. Discuss aspects of the market that were learned since the prior meeting. Since team members from different areas usually have access to various sources and are generally interested in customer activity, industry movement, and competitor action, they have perspectives that can be tapped. 4. Review the product’s financials and other performance information. When you provide cross-functional product team members with in...