4 Tips For Giving Better Feedback

For me the purpose of feedback is simple, to help an individual realize their goals and help them grow in the best way for them.

Before we get into the details of feedback, I did want to underscore the importance of building a strong foundation with folks before you give them feedback. This foundation will serve as the "lens" through which they view the feedback. If you have a great relationship with the receiver of the feedback, they would likely view that feedback in a positive light and know that your intentions are genuine. There was a saying that we used to have at one of my jobs, it was "Always assume good intent".

Below are 4 tips to give better feedback:

Are they ready? 
How will the recipient take the feedback. Will they get defensive, how can you help them understand your intent and put their guard down. Let's face it, there are always those folks that will always be defensive or take your feedback the wrong way. In those scenarios I try to help them realize how others perceive them or may interpret their actions. It becomes less about what they could have done better and more about understanding the broader context of how their actions impact other's perceptions of them. As a manager (or even an employee) you should ALWAYS have the courage to give the feedback even if it means having an uncomfortable conversation.

Understand the context
As a manager, you want the receiver of the feedback to have a broader sense of why they are frustrated or why they need the feedback. Here's a great example, many years ago I had an employee come to me during a 1on1 and wonder why they weren't moving forward in their career. Rather than explaining to them all the reasons why they weren't succeeding and giving them ideas to improve, I drew this on the white board and asked him to write down on a sheet a paper where he thought he was on that scale and I would do the same.

And we each took a couple of minutes to think about it. And I wrote down a 4 and the employee wrote down a 3. We discussed why they felt that they were a 3. They realized that they weren't that passionate about their projects and they just weren't really hitting "home runs"...they were content to hit singles and doubles (so to speak). Once we had that conversation they came to realize for themselves how they can improve. That exercise helped them realize on their own why they weren't moving forward and prevented them from getting defensive about it. That is the difference between telling and teaching :)

Be Specific
Try and use specific examples where a situation could have been handled differently. Timeliness is also important. I don't recommend giving feedback on something months after it happens. I tend to try and give positive feedback almost immediately. For example, "Good job handling that meeting and the objection that was raised". For constructive feedback, I tend to want to mention it after I have had some time to think about the specific event. I generally like to jot down what happened and maybe some options on how to handle it differently. After some thought, I'll typically bring it up during our regularly scheduled 1on1. The key when you are specific and timely is that you are helping the employee focus on the particular action/event that needs improvement while it is still fresh in their mind rather than some general feedback that they will have a hard time translating to a change in their behavior.

Make it regular
Feedback can be spontaneous (e.g. great job on that presentation) but it also needs to have regular intervals. I like to give feedback on a monthly basis and am always willing to receive feedback. Make it an agenda item for your 1on1s. I try and take notes throughout the month of little things and use my 1on1 to give/receive feedback on those. For example, say I gave a talk at a company/business unit meeting about a particular topic. I may ask for feedback from some folks afterwards and make sure I note to ask for feedback from my manager at our next 1on1. Part of making it an ongoing thing, is that it forces you to be prepared to give feedback.

Ultimately giving and receiving feedback should happen often enough that it is viewed as something that is encouraged. Feel free to leave any tips or comments on the art of giving feedback!

The "Pleaser", "Boss" and, "Excluder" - The 3 Worst Types of Managers

We have all had managers that just did some things that got under our skin. I suspect that we have had managers or people that we have worked with that maybe have exhibited some of these traits. I have and I just wanted to share to help the community of managers and non-managers alike. Feel free to leave a comment

1. The "Pleaser" - You would think that the "pleaser" would be a good thing. This manager is out to make sure you are happy, right? Wrong...they are solely focused on pleasing their manager and managing up. For example:
1. They prevent you from attending meetings as they are worried that you will say something that is not aligned with what they have been telling people. 
2. They constantly talk about framing everything the right way, when in reality they are obfuscating the truth so that they always present a rosy picture.
3. They change their mind depending on the pay grade of the person making a suggestion. They will never disagree with certain folks.
2. The "Boss" - This is the manager that doesn't really listen to what you are saying. They think about what they are going to say and aren't interested in digging into what you are saying or the point you are trying to make. They want to talk in order to sound authoritative or in charge. For example:
1. You say something in a meeting and literally five seconds later they repeat it slightly differently as way to show that they are somehow in command of the situation.
2. They are too focused on their meetings and schedules to make time for you. Constantly managing up takes time...too much time for you.
3. They are never wrong. They never take responsibility for their own actions or contributions to the challenges you are facing.
3. The "Excluder" - This is a manager that only shares something if you ask for it. You always feel excluded. Sometimes you don't even know what is going with your product and sometimes you are the last to know. For example:
1. Your manager has been having meetings with a partner without telling you. They add a roadmap item based on those discussion and when you ask about it, they inform you of the partnership and the meetings that have been going on.
2. You didn't realize your product had a dropbox folder with a lot of great content that could have helped you. Several months after you start you ask for content and then they realize that they never shared that content with you. 
3. Your product is getting a company wide demo run by your manager. You hear about a demo going on, but have no idea about with whom or why. You email your manager and ask to be invited to the demo. Your manager informs you it is company wide and that they "forgot" to tell you.

While all of these types of managers have driven me nuts in the past, it is more likely that no one manager has all of these traits. What are your thoughts? Anything you want to add?

Learning from the Unexpected

I'm like a lot of product managers, many times things don't go as planned and that is ok as long as you and your organization are focused on learning and improving. When the unexpected happens, executives of product managers may ask questions like:

• Why are our sales not where they should be?
• Why did our product launch not go as planned?
• Are we really solving the customer's problem?

And then the team scours through the data, talk to customers and then come up with a recommended plan to address those challenges. But are we really solving the right problem? Are we really digging deep enough to challenge those assumptions that we implicitly made, but just never wrote down.

Here are two things you should consider doing to help answer those questions and prevent those types of surprises in the future:

I've read "Lean Start-Up" (which is great by the way) and they talk about Leap Of Faith assumptions. These are the assumptions we are implicitly making when we build a product. Assumptions like:

• Of course, processor speed is the biggest selling point.
• Of course, you need an on/off button on your music playing device.
• Consumers are always interested in more megapixels. 

Some of those sound crazy, right? They sound crazy because hindsight is 20/20. So before you dive into the data, I'd recommend listing out all the assumptions you made about your product in a spreadsheet and determine how you are going to know if those assumptions are valid. This is a really great way to uncover new insights that weren't necessarily top of mind.

While data may help you answer your questions, data does not replace deep customer empathy. I read a great article this weekend about truly understanding the problems of your customer. In some cases this is not necessarily the problems you are trying to solve, but rather these are problems you could solve if you asked the right questions. It really brought to focus that companies and product managers are sometimes just missing the point because we aren't thinking big enough or asking the right questions. Check out this short read here.

So when faced with a new product idea do the following (and if you are asked what happened in hindsight)

• List out the assumptions and think about all the different unsaid things that have to happen to make your product successful and then sort out these things based on what you have experienced vs. what you need to have happen in order for your product to succeed. Be expansive here. Figure out how you can prove that those assumptions are in fact true.
• Really immerse yourself with your customers. Perhaps a customer visit, ask them questions, watch them use your product in their day to day. Understand what excites them and what frustrates them. Maybe you can tie your product into some unmet need or exciter for your customer.

I know that much of this sounds obvious, but product managers never have the time to do those things. I would encourage just trying it. It doesn't take long to list out assumptions and maybe just schedule a customer call once a month at least that is just focused on getting to know their challenges, pain points, what makes them happy, etc. I'm sure for a $50 Gift Card, a customer wouldn't mind spending an hour with you!

Thoughts? Feedback?

Preparing for your next career move!

This subject has been on mind quite a bit given my own career shifts and transitions. As that time approaches for me (and in the past) I try and take these types of transitions as a learning and reflective time. So this blog post is my attempt to share some of the questions I ask myself as I make that next career transition.

• What are the top 3 things that I learned in this job that I can take to my new job?
• What are the top 3 things I want to change to improve about myself?
• X years from now I want to be a . What skills do I need to work on to fill the gaps in order for me to get there.
• What are the top 3 words that I want my new manager/team to say about me after my first 30/60/90 days? How will those impact my actions?
• What are the key traits I would like to see in my ideal manager?
• What are the things that frustrate me about people/situations at work?

Thoughts? Do you think I missed anything?

The Importance of being Prepared!

There are a lot of key skills/traits that product managers (and for that matter any employee) need in order to succeed. That includes the obviously "hard" skills such as experience writing requirements, etc. and it includes the "soft" skills that often go unsaid but not unnoticed. I've coached/mentored/managed product managers (and am one myself!) and have started to create the framework/steps below as I look at my own development and goals. There are 4 steps in the evolution, but this blog post will only cover the first. You'll notice each step has a blue "summary" word that I use to help summarize the trait.

1. Preparedness - While this term doesn't need a formal definition it is really about having the discipline needed to hold yourself to a higher standard. For me it is about the willingness to set a high standard and submit your actions to that standard. It is a form of obedience/discipline to yourself.
• Meeting Preparedness - Learn and prepare for your meetings and work. Do not be lazy or "wing it". This lackadaisical attitude results in mediocrity and we have all seen what those meetings look like. You should be prepared and mindful of how prepared others are. In product management, there are many opinions and thoughts on what to do and where to invest. A prepared and organized mind can separate the the noise from the insight. Being prepared always brings clarity of thought and purpose. Don't go too overboard, as there is something to be said letting the conversation flow. Find that happy medium.
• Transition from reactive to proactive - How many times has someone had to scramble to get the executive request done? Creating a roadmap one night because of a request. Updating the competitive landscape slide urgently. It is a constant effort to stay one step ahead through anticipation and proper time allocation. There are two key issues that I have seen with product managers that constantly prevent them from being prepared. First is the anticipation. Spend the time it takes to anticipate the requests. Look at certain "boundaries" such as the end of the fiscal year, or the mid way point of the year. Perhaps every quarter or every release. If you are managing a product in production, perhaps looking at usage and feedback data on a monthly basis. Secondly, you have to carve out the time. Too many product managers are not balancing the tactical and strategic. They focus too much on the daily grind that they lose sight of the bigger picture and then they get being reactive.
• Managing your Manager - Many product managers don't spend the time to properly engage with their management. They sit through their 1on1s without a plan (more on that here). Learning to anticipate what they will need ahead of when they will need it, is key. For example, if you know there is a management offsite in two weeks, are you asking your manager about what they may need from you today so that you can prepare? Not only that, perhaps your manager is thinking about what they will need from you, so by asking the question you are making sure your manager is prepared. Your manager will appreciate your concern in making sure they are prepared and that they are putting their best foot forward. You are showing that you care about their success. You are forming a deeper and more meaningful relationship with them based on mutual success. Compare that with others who are not prepared for their 1on1s or just bring their managers problems. You are creating separation through being prepared.

Thoughts?/Feedback? - Being prepared means being proactive and mindful about it!

Setting up your company for success!

So I've been reading some articles here and there about what are the top things that CEOs do or need to do in order to lead their companies in the right direction. It is definitely food for thought so I decided to chime in! Here are my suggestions for the top 3 things that CEOs should focus on in order to best set up a company for success.

• Vision / Strategy - A great CEO should focus on ensure that the company has a strong vision and strategy in order to succeed. It can be too broad or too narrow. It has to be easily understood and easy to articulate. The "Vision" is a the company's purpose/goal. I've seen this somewhat overlap with a mission statement. The "Strategy" is the how behind that vision. For example, the airline company Southwest succeeds because of its low cost/high customer service strategy. They only fly 737s to lower maintenance costs and training costs. They only fly to less expensive airports (Midway vs. OHare)

• Allocation - For me allocation is about how does one allocate both the dollars and the people in order to achieve the strategy. It's about looking at each function in the organization and determining if you have the right talent and is the company enabling them to succeed. For alignment - I have thought of the analogy of a compass. If you take 10 people put them in a room with no windows and tell them to go north, it will be a mess of confusion! Now give them each a compass. All 10 will point in the same direction. A CEO needs to make sure that the corporate leadership is acting like a compass so that the company as a whole is well aligned. 

• Goal Alignment - CEOs are ultimately responsible for serving employees, shareholders, and customers. They should focus on standard operating mechanisms and metrics and managing the team against those goals. There needs to be a true sense of ownership across every single goal/metric across the business unit. It can't be "that's a marketing metric", "that's a sales metric". EVERY single person on the team needs to contribute and own the outcome and objective. Also, a CEO will need to ask the right questions and ensure that their team is communicating across functions and there is depth of thought. There are times when comments are made in a meeting that are presented as facts when they are beliefs. Alignment can take the form of clear objectives and metrics to consistently measure and discuss. Just be careful and these metrics don't create negative "selfish" behaviors that may meet the short term objectives but create a culture that won't sustain the company in the longer term.

There are a lot of other ideas in my head like culture, hiring, team building, etc. but those are the ones that bubbled to my head today! What did I miss?

Why teams are slow or fail? - My personal thoughts

I read this recent article by SVPG (click here for the article). I really liked it but wanted to also share my thoughts on what slows the team down

• Unnecessary Changes - Change happens. We know that not every product manager can anticipate the whim of every customer or sales person. But unnecessary changes or churn can cause a lot of challenges to getting team to really form, focus, and finish! I've seen companies constantly move developers in and out of teams like musical chairs. I've seen product managers bend to the whim of sales winds and drive their teams nuts with constant changes or lack of clarity or depth in requirements. Change happens, but keeping the team focused on the "why" and solving that problem will result in much faster delivery of true customer impact.

• Lack of customer empathy which causes a lack of urgency - I have seen a lot of teams (especially development), not really feel connected to the customer or to challenges of support, etc. As a result, they lose that drive to fix an urgent issue, simply because they don't know the challenges it causes. There are a couple of quick fixes. Ask your product manager to truly be the voice of the customer, share the data, share the stats, record a customer interview about an issue and play it back for the team. I've heard of other companies asking folks in product development to spend an hour a month listening to support calls, etc. As a product manager myself, I typically use the release or sprint boundary to share the "why" and get the team on board with the work in front of them. Don't forget to follow-up with the team afterwards. Nothing improves morale more than hearing the words of a thankful customer or see a graph of support volume dropping off after a fix!

• Poor Team Composition - Although this one is listed last, it is by far the most important. In my career there have been several instances where someone on the team just didn't fit in or get along well with the team. In one instance, we had a developer who was super smart, but very loud and it was his way or the highway. Eventually management wised up and he took the highway. In another team, we had a experienced team member, but he was always so negative. It took so much time and energy from me to constantly keep him engaged and not drag down the whole team. Thinking about who should be on a team and what they bring is a critical success factor for the team and for their ability to deliver results quickly.

Thoughts? Did I miss something?

The Startup and Development Process - New Tips!

Blog Post #2 Revisited - The Startup and Development Process
As a company grows from 10 people to 50 and then to 200, processes have to adapt and complexity grows. The reality is that product managers can get sucked into the whirlwind of trying and figuring out the best development process. Should you be agile? What about this form of agile or that form of agile, sprint lengths, etc. It's very easy to get sucked into this whirlwind of decision making at the expense of other duties.

The Problem
As a company grows rapidly, job responsibilities start to shift to newly hired specialists. Where once you were part project manager, part developer, part QA tester....you are now in your natural state as the roles get filled in with other "experts". The challenge comes from the fact that expectations and responsibility change at different paces, thus resulting in the need for process to overcome confusion. As a product manager who sits in the middle of many processes and departments (marketing, finance, sales, technology, etc.) you often have to fill in the gaps cause by the separation.

Companies really struggle at this stage in their development as the folks that have been there since the beginning often times don't agree that there is a problem or struggle with all the change and sometimes see very little benefit (or even some slow downs).

Tips

• Remember that process serves a purpose - Think about the goal you want to accomplish and make that the center of your discussion. Once you get to shared vision regarding your goal, then the discussion can shift into the best way to achieve that goal. 
• It's about people and not process - Just because you have a process hammer, doesn't mean that everything is a process nail :). Don't forget the people element in changing your process. Impacts to morale can be real! Celebrate the wins and acknowledge the learnings. Be inclusive with the change! 
• Slow and steady wins the race - Change in how things are done can be jarring and there is always that urge to go faster! Take one change at a time and realize that your team is going through an adjustment period. Take note of what is working and what isn't and adjust accordingly. The key to being slow and steady is to ensure that you set and agree upon expectations ahead of time. Happiness is the difference between expectations and reality.

Thoughts?

Where I have been?

So it has been a year since I last posted something on this blog and during this year a lot has changed in my professional life. Let's see I started a job, almost left that job, been promoted, taken on new projects and have been managing a small team. There are times when I reflect back and feel regret, times when I wished I would have zigged rather than zagged.

In all of this, I have learned some things I'd like to share:

1. Believe in yourself. If you don't no one will believe that you are capable of great things
2. You can't get caught up in items beyond your control, you have to be honest and polite to everyone. 
3. When you see an opportunity to learn, run to it, don't walk. Embrace learning.
4. Reflect - Take a moment every day, every week whatever to just reflect. Jot down a note of what went well and what could have gone better.
5. Giving is better than receiving - Always look to help others grow. It is through their growth that you will grow.
6. Always seek feedback - It will help you learn (See #3)

Thanks for reading. Feedback? Are there any lessons you have learned lately that you would like to share?

The Development Process and the Startup

Blog Post #2 - The Startup and Development Process
As a company grows from 10 people to 50 and then to 200, processes have to adapt and complexity grows. The reality is that product managers can get sucked into the whirlwind of trying and figuring out the best development process. Should you be agile? What about this form of agile or that form of agile, sprint lengths, etc. It's very easy to get sucked into this whirlwind of decision making at the expense of other duties.

The Problem
As a company grows rapidly, job responsibilities start to shift to newly hired specialists. Where once you were a project manager, developer, QA tester....you are now in your natural state as the roles get filled in with other "experts". The challenge comes from the fact that expectations and responsibility change at different paces, thus resulting in the need for process to overcome confusion. As a product manager who sits in the middle of many processes and departments (marketing, finance, sales, technology, etc.) you often have to fill in the gaps cause by the separation.

Tips

• Tied at the Hip - First you must realize that as a product manager you are tied at the hip with the technology teams. Their success is your success and vice versa. Don't say "It doesn't matter what process they use as long as it gets done". Partner with technology teams try and understand their motivations and needs. Make sure that you are clear what the needs of the product management team and that those are communicated.
• Mind the pendulum - Technology can have a tendency to dominate the development process discussion and thus creating a lot of burden on other teams. Sometimes those other teams won't be able to handle the weight of this new process and thus they become a constant bottleneck and have frustrated employees. Agile processes have altered a typical product manager's job quite a bit and so be aware of the impacts to roles/responsibilities. Just be aware that the pendulum of burden is equally shared so that there every group is stretching a little bit in order to fill in the gaps (hiring and change do not happen at the same rate). Otherwise, one group becomes a bottleneck and the target of blame...
• Embrace change - Change is constant in startups and small companies. As a product manager, you have to embrace that change. Change is difficult for everyone. That disconnect between expectations and a changing reality combined with individual insecurities can result in a lot anxieties. Change has to become part of your job. Much like a great product manager has to embrace saying "No" to stakeholders, a great product manager must embrace change. 
• Have a checkpoint - It is often the tendency to think one and done and once the process is set it will work for a while. That is never the case. Create a checkpoint meeting after 2 sprints (for example) to let folks know that we will not get it right and we should discuss. It also sends a signal to the team that they should be aware of pain points and jot them down so that they can bring it up at the checkpoint. It gives them an avenue for feedback and frustration rather than unhealthily venting to folks.

Just some initial thoughts on the subject...more to come in the blog post series...

Stepping out of your comfort zone

I recently attended a user conference and hear Peter Shankman encourage the audience to step out of their comfort zone in order to grow. Peter's advice and encouragement really struck a chord with me and made me think of very few times that I have done something new in my career. Something that I  initially had some hesitation or concern, but then I just made a decision to do it. Here are a couple of examples and then a couple of thoughts:

• Moderating a Panel - I had never moderated a panel at a conference before and when it was suggested that I do that. I quickly said yes (there is a reason for saying yes quickly...read more about that in the thought section). Afterwards, I had some other things come up and I did want to back out a little bit. But my manager suggested that it would be a good experience for me and I decided to give it a shot. I did some research on moderating best practices. Took some notes about the speakers and questions to start the panel off. 
• Speaking at a conference - I was offered the opportunity to speak at the Online Marketing Summit (OMS) on behalf of my employer on Email Marketing. I had never done that before so I wanted a day or so to think about it. I thought about all the extra work on top of the extra work I was already doing. My mind was racing about all the ways I could get out of it. But then I thought about the Oliver Wendell Holmes quotation "Man's mind, stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions." I decided to give it a shot.

Thoughts

• Prepare, prepare, prepare! - Whenever you do something new, preparation is always the key to success (even more so when you are doing something new). I would research online, take notes, memorize, and I would start my preparations early. For my talk at OMS, I took the slides and took notes on each one. I added additional information that was not presented on the slide (stories, other stats, etc.). Afterwards, I prepared by giving the presentation (I did it several times) to note the duration and got myself fairly comfortable with it. The practice also helped me come up with new ideas to make the presentation even better. When I gave the presentation, I was vey relaxed. I was walking around (not standing behind the podium) and I was interacting with the audience. It was actually a lot of fun. Being prepared is the key difference between mediocrity and excellence. 
• Opportunity knocks - As I have progressed in my career, I've done a lot of reading in an attempt to learn. Most of what I read are business related magazines. I came to the realization that career growth happens for two reasons. First, its all about you and your decisions and your decision to take assignments and projects that force you out of your comfort zone. Say yes when asked. But here's the other part. In order to have the opportunity to say yes, you have to be given the opportunity by someone. Someone has to believe enough in you to give that assignment. It takes two to create a market :)

I hope you find this helpful and I wanted to thank Peter Shankman for serving as the catalyst for this blog post. You can learn more about him here: http://shankman.com/

A Thank You and a Goodbye

The past couple of months have seen quite a transition for me at my job. After the company I worked for was acquired by another company there were significant layoffs and for those who made it through it was a completely different culture and business model.

June 13th marks my last day at my current employer. It will be a sad day as I have worked with so many great people who have sacrificed to bring new products to market and support our customers. We have built, launched, and supported products together and it was fun! I have learned a lot about product management from them. But, the most important lesson I learned is a lesson of being aware of myself enough to begin to self-correct my own behaviors.

Being able to view myself through a lens that begins to match how others view me has been very helpful in that regard. I have my manager to thank for that. From that lesson, I learned that it is not all about me, but rather it is about others and their success. It is not about how I feel, it is about moving forward in a positive and healthy way for both me and the team. It is my hope that I take this lesson to heart.

So I say goodbye to my current coworkers and friends and thank you so much for the time and the lessons learned. They have made me a better person and hopefully, I made their hours at work more productive and fun!

Soon, I will start a new journey with a new company and I know that I still have a lot to learn and I'm excited to take the next step in my career. 

5 Tips for your Job Search & Interview

So over the past couple of months I have been exploring some new options for my career and I was and here are some of my lessons learned as I have navigated interviews and job offers.

So here are some of the tips I'd like to share that I learned and thought about:

1. Don't get too caught up in titles - Titles vary greatly from company to company, depending on the size company and its culture. While a fancy title is great, I would recommend focusing on the learning, experience, and potential for growth. Titles are also something that is negotiable, but they are less important than your responsibility.
2. Don't ask too many questions during the interview - It is always best to get a list of who will be interviewing me in order for me to list out questions ahead of time to ask them based on their role. However, be aware that asking too many questions about the company's business model, etc. may make it appear that you lack a depth of knowledge and that bringing you on may require a steeper learning curve that the company is looking for. At the end of the day,  just be aware that like many other things in life - quality is more important than quantity.
3. Explore your network - This applies both pre-offer and post-offer. Use your network to inquire about potential opportunities and companies. Once you get an offer, leverage their inside knowledge and viewpoints to help you make the right decision. Job decisions are often inflection points in your career and shouldn't be taken likely. Seek advice.
4. Take Your Time - Don't accept your job offer too quickly. Take some time to think about it. If a company is rushing you or you feel rushed don't move too quickly. Any company that really wants you will understand that and give you time. It also takes time to think about the advice and perspective you get in tip #3.
5. Know Thyself - Ultimately the decision to accept an offer maybe very easy or it may be very difficult. Either way the decision lies with you. What is that you really want? Think about that answer and then keep asking why do you want that? Dig deeper. For example, if you want a fancy title, why do you want that? Is it that you prefer to manage people or get exposure to executives? Perhaps there are other ways to accomplish those goals, but you wouldn't even know that had you not dug a bit deeper. Just think about what you really want.

 And here's a quick bonus tip (since you have read down this far)

• I like to ask for a tour of the office. This should be part of the interview anyway, but in case it is not, ask for it. I like to get a sense of the company's culture outside of the interview process. For example, is it really quiet or are there a lot of discussions happening? Does it look like folks are engaging with each other? Are the cubes/offices decorated? Are people smiling? It's just an intangible way to get a "feel" for the place. If you do get an offer and accept it, you'll at least have a picture in your head of what the place is like. 

Just some "off the cuff" thoughts....

The Startup CEO and Product Management

Product Management is a unique and challenging discipline, but working in product management at a startup is a bit of a different beast. I've always thought about writing a short book about product management at startups (or smaller companies), but instead I'll write some blog posts in an effort to see if I have enough strong content to aggregate into a book (let me know what you think).

Blog Post #1 - The Startup CEO
The Startup CEO - The startup CEO has sacrificed to build their company. This company is often times the embodiment of years of sacrifice and passion. This personal investment gives them a unique perspective as they have grown the company. The CEO role changes as a company grows from a single person who has to dig into the details across many details in the beginning, to a CEO that makes capital and investment allocation decisions at the product and strategic investment level.

The Challenge
I've seen startup CEO's get a little bit too full of themselves. I've seen them wear t-shirts that say things like "I'm the CEO, You shut up". As that new product manager trying to help your company create a more scalable development process (more on that in another blog post), you are also faced with a CEO who thinks they know everything and aren't afraid to talk directly to developers to get their request done.

Cause
Product Management is a fairly broad role. For some companies, it is simply writing requirements (or user stories) and then working with technology to implement. For others, product management is a broad role that drives the vision, roadmap, strategy, and business metrics for the product. The reality is that product management in a small company is all the former and very little of the latter. In fact, I've never been at a startup/small company where product management didn't initially report into the technology organization. You have to have developers to write software in order to launch your startup. Product managers are not required. Furthermore, the CEO isn't used to going through product management to get new features out the door, they are interested in making the current customers happy and attracting new ones.

The Tips

• Realize and Accept - Trying to fight it and get frustrated will not help you. You have to realize and accept the fact that the CEO has invested a lot more time and effort in the company than you have. Try and figure out if there are other features that customers are looking for or the market is expecting. Perhaps there is a tweak or minor use case or feature that can be easily added to expand the CEO's request.
• Understand the CEO's history - It is always helpful for me to understand the past experience of the CEO, just to try and get a better feel of how they may approach their work, etc. Do they have a strong marketing/sales background or is it more of a product/technology background? Understanding this will help you in communicating and influencing the CEO regarding features and roadmap.
• Use Data and Testing - Hopefully your CEO is open to data and customer feedback. Try prototyping the feature and getting initial customer feedback to help shape your perspective and influence the CEO. For example, if your CEO insists that the tab that contains all of the analytics usage of your application is called "Dashboard", but your customers interpret the word "Dashboard" to mean something completely different than analytics usage, you may be able to convince the CEO that this would confuse your customers. CEOs should have a maniacal focus on the customer, so data from customers should increase your ability to influence your CEO.

This blog post is really just me sharing my thoughts on a spur of moment, but if you like it, then I'll continue with a series of blog posts of product management at startups/small companies. Feel free to share your advice, who knows it may show up in a book one day (with proper attribution!).

Making my job easier - An iPad

So I finally convinced my wife to get an iPad 3. We have never owned an iPad until now, so I watched with envy as many of my friends or coworkers got one. I am always looking for new tools, techniques, processes I can follow to help make me more efficient at work.

Here's how the iPad fits into my work process:

• Flipboard - This is the 1st app you should get when you buy your iPad. I use it to read what I missed online from my friends and followers on Facebook. The information is presented in such a beautiful way that it makes my research and social media work very easy and fun. It allows me to share the content easily as well...including emailing it to myself or directly into Evernote.
• Clipping to Evernote - So this was actually fairly hard to set up. I had to do some googling, but I found this link and I followed the directions carefully. Once that was done, I could easily clip web pages to Evernote directly from the iPad's browser. Pretty cool. Also, since I love Evernote (see my last blog post here), this was really important for me to get working. 
• Email - I have more and easier access to email. I prefer the iPad to my smartphone and it is my handy companion as a 2nd screen.
• Penultimate - This is a great app (I would recommend purchasing a stylus). I use this to draw, brainstorm, and jot down notes on my iPad. It has become very handy and connects directly to Evernote to store those notes. I would also recommend trying out GoodNotes.
• Reading PDFs - As I do quite a bit of research I tend to download a lot of PDFs. I like to use the iBooks App on my iPad to read when I'm sitting on the coach. It makes it easier to focus on reading as there aren't several windows and applications on the screen distracting me away from my PDF :)

Obviously I can talk about the web browsing and email, but I think you already get that benefit so I decided to focus more on different use cases, etc.

Please feel free to share your experiences with how the iPad has made your product management job (or any job really) easier!

Being a great agile scrum master

I've worked directly with a couple of different scrum masters in my time (and indirectly with several others) and have begun to notice the importance of a great scrum master in a proper agile environment. I just wanted to share some of the key skills/traits that I noticed the great Scrum Masters had:

Key Skills

1. Ownership - A great scrum master is someone who feels a strong sense of ownership and pride in their work and the work of the team. They strive to always make sure that the team is staying on top of done-ness criteria, stories, grooming, etc. They see dependencies, impediments and obstacles and they work cross-functionally and with their team to address them. They are diligent at daily scrum, asking questions and making sure everyone is there and ready to contribute. 
2. Leadership - A great scrum master knows when to let the team step in and drive a situation and when to take more of a visible role in driving the team. This depends a lot on the team and experience level of the scrum master. For example, if the team has a strong natural leader already on the team, the scrum master can be there to address dependencies and let the team shine. On the other hand, if the team is constantly struggling or has been known to be underperforming, a more active leader/mentor type of role from the scrum master may be necessary.
3. Appreciation - A great scrum master gets along with the team. They know when a moment of levity is needed or when the team needs a little bit of a breather. They understand and appreciate the efforts of everyone on the team and work to foster and build great relationships.

Scrum Master Traps

1. Overbearing - I've seen scrum masters publicly "beat" up a team member for making an honest mistake. This is a tough trap to avoid, you have to know when to push and challenge without being overbearing or causing fissures in relationships. I've seen other scrum masters force the team into behaviors they don't want or are not bought into because that's what some agile book suggests. Once the scrum master starts to become overbearing, it becomes harder and harder to earn the team's trust and respect and regain their ability to influence. 
2. Too Protective - This is a common mistake. (especially when the scrum masters report in to the same managers as the developers). In this case, the scrum master fails to act as an impartial leader and gives the bad actors on the team free reign to frustrate others. Another example, is when they don't challenge the team to improve or don't address a situation where the team could have performed better. If a scrum master (who is part of the team) is silent at a retrospective, that's probably a sign that they are too protective :)

In my view, the key to a great self-managing team is this constant ebb and flow of feedback and information. When there is an imbalance or the team is starting to head down the wrong path, the scrum master should let the team try and self-correct without letting it get too far. Trusting the team, but still knowing when to step in is something that will take time as the scrum master gets to know the team. 

Thoughts?

How I use Evernote to make my job easier!

Evernote

One of the greatest challenges I have as a product manager is staying on top of the market, trends, competitors, specific research projects, etc. Add to that the burden of managing, storing, and organizing all of that information, it can quickly become a tangled mess of information that you can never seem to find right when you need.

And then there was Evernote. I splurged and got the premium version ($45 dollars a year) which comes out to less than $4 a month (yes, I can do some basic math). Here's how I use it:

• Browser Extensions - This is the 1st thing I would do. Do a search for a browser plugin/extension from Evernote. This extension will let you store URLs as notes. As you research online and find something online just clip the URL in Evernote for permanent storage. It's nicer than storing a bookmark. The key here is to make it very easy to store research in Evernote. This can be done for PDFs you find online as well.
• Tagging - As you clip your articles, tag them. Evernote does a great job of making this easy to do and will autofill your tags as you start typing them to make it very easy. I find the tagging is very easy to find content.
• Folders - Once you get a decent amount of content in Evernote you'll notice it's all in one place. It then makes sense to create folders and move the content into the right folder. I like to start adding the content to Evernote and then organize it instead of pro-actively trying to organize and create folders I may never need. Folders will make it easy to find content.
• Email Address - This is a feature that I initially didn't use, but now that I have an iPad I use more and more. Evernote gives you an email address that you can send notes to and it will automatically be stored in Evernote (in a default folder). I use it a lot when folks email me research or content about a project and then all I have to do is just forward it to Evernote.  This makes it very very easy to store content.
• Shared Folders (Premium Features) - This is where it really gets cool. I know there are times when I'm too busy handling engineering requests, working with sales, etc. that I'm not researching or up to speed on the latest competitive or market changes. So I essentially have crowdsourced this. I asked several folks at work who have sent me content in the past to install Evernote (many were already using it) and then I shared folders with them and gave them links to install browser extensions and then we could all add to the same folders and take advantage of the research of the entire team. Best of all, they don't have to the paid version, so it's free for them and super easy. Nothing beats other folks making your job easier!

Add-ons 

• SocialFolders - I would be remiss, if I didn't mention another favorite tool I use in conjunction with Evernote. I use SocialFolders whenever I have files or photos that I want to add to Evernote. SocialFolders creates folders on your hard drive that mimics your folders in Evernote. Any file you put in those folders appears in the corresponding folder in Evernote. Easy!
• LiveScribe Pen - I use this pen to help me store my handwritten notes. Call me a little bit old school but I like to take a pen and paper to meetings rather than my laptop to meetings. I then use Livescribe to send the notes to Evernote. Once again very easy. The cool part here is that notes are searchable within Evernote. The other benefit is that I also have a tool that converts the PDF into text which I can then use to distribute the notes. It works so-so, but it is nice to use and I have found it useful several times.

Any chance you can share with me how you use Evernote to make your job easier?

It's the people, not the process!

Over the past several years, I've experienced several different software development methodologies while in various roles. As a software developer, I experienced XP/Pair Programming and waterfall. As a product manager, I was involved in agile/scrum. I've also seen Kanban. All of these process discussions and all the "rules", etc. got me to thinking about whether or not we are spending too much time talking about process. So let's talk about process for a little bit, and then dive into what makes a team great.

So what makes Agile so popular?
Agile has many great qualities that depend largely on the extent of your implementation. Nothing beats demonstrating working software! Agile involves the customer early and often, allows for change, and favors team work and discussion over formal, time-consuming requirements gathering. Agile is also a very flexible process so it allows for change in requirements and adaptation to fit within your company's culture.

So why is Agile so hard to get right?
Agile is more of a framework than a formal process. As such there are different variations (e.g. sprint length, release cadence, team size, grooming meeting cadence, retrospectives, etc.). Furthermore, every organization has different roles such as Business Analyst, Project Manager, Product Manager, UX, which all need to fit into this framework in some way. This is where folks like Agile Coaches help provide experience and guidance to adjust and tweak to work within the context of a particular organization. Of course, Agile is a commitment, those that try it a little bit or do not embrace its concepts will be challenged.

One of the pitfalls of Agile?
Agile is heavily dependent on day to day communication. Because there is no formal contract or big up-front requirements document, ongoing and constant communication are very critical (remember people over process). As a member of the team, communication is key, but should get too heavy weight with a lot of meetings. Remember that every minute you (or a team member) is in a meeting, they are not writing code, testing, or thinking about the next sprint. The key is to find the right balance between communication and over communication.

So does it matter what process I use? 
It definitely matters. Agile works very well and gives you a lot of flexibility. I would definitely recommend a thoughtful learning experience and approach to adoption.

But, is the process the most important thing?
Not at all. I would rather focus my energy on building great teams. Great teams will succeed regardless of the process. There are way too many folks who are so interested in the process that they forget that the process serves the team and not the other way around. Build a great team and you will get great results. If you have a great process will you get great results?

What makes a team great?
If you have the right team together, you don't have to worry about process or making them happy. 'Happy' to them is building a great product and working with people who share the same passion that they do. In fact, the word passion is derived from the latin word for suffering. These are folks are sacrifice and suffer for their craft and product.

Building a great team starts with the hiring proces, but doesn't end there. Just like launching a product doesn't mean you are done, it's only the beginning of a new set of work. Constant leadership and mentorship is required. A focus on process is often time done at the expense of diligent leadership and mentorship.

Google+ - The Problem and Solution

Why Google+ isn't as great as it can be?

This is my letter to Google to help them with Google+. I've been thinking a lot about this and I think I have some ideas to help, but before I dive into ideas to help, let's start with what's wrong. If you don't understand the problem, how can you solve it?

Problems:
Problem #1 - Social Networks are no longer about the number of users. That was Social V1.0. It's now Social V2.0 and it's all about engagement. According to a recent article, Google+ users spend 3 minutes a month on Google+ vs. 405 minutes on Facebook for Facebook users. Touting the number of users isn't going to help engagement.

Problem #2 - Focus on users, not businesses - Google+ adds value to businesses and marketers because it impacts search results. But where does it add value to users? Sure it's got a couple of bells and whistles, but the reality is that it is not enough to encourage growth. Compare that approach with Facebook's approach. For Facebook they focused on users almost to the point of neglecting businesses. They focus on engagement (e.g. expanded open graph). They built a large and engaged population and then businesses flocked there. They had no search engine to help them grow. Here's a great article from Social Media Examiner titled "Why Major Marketers are Moving to Google+". Can you see the problem here? Why should I, as a user, ditch my friends and pages on Facebook and have to start all over again on Google+? Will I do that because major marketers are moving to Google+?

Problem #3 - Google waited too long to be that "fast follower". The reality is that Facebook got so big and folks were so engaged, where are they going to find the time to spend on a very similar social network. The advantage of being a follower is that you can fix the mistakes of the prior market entrant. Google did that, but they did it too slowly. Folks will accept a inferior design/product simply because of the network effect. Ask Microsoft and Apple about this.

Now it's time for solutions:

• Solution #1 - Be different - Talk to Pinterest about this. Talk to instagram. Don't be a me too product.
• Solution #2 - Open your wallet - Buy startups and leave them alone and learn from them. You don't always know better. Don't wait too long. I remember YouTube and Google Video.
• Solution #3 - Stop thinking about search results and businesses and start thinking about people. Nobody cares about search results. They care about sharing their lives.

What are your thoughts?

Shame on you Inc. Magazine

Why working more than 40 hours a week is such a poorly written article with a sensationalized title. The title is misleading as the article never proves the premise. In fact the article clearly states that " increasing a team’s hours in the office by 50 percent (from 40 to 60 hours) does not result in 50 percent more output...In fact, the numbers may typically be something closer to 25-30 percent more work in 50 percent more time."

So the reality is that your productivity drops, but the math is clear…working 50% more (e.g. going from 40 to 60 hours per week) results in approximately 50-52 hours of actual work. So yes it isn't as productive, but to say it is useless is simply misleading. Creating an extra 10 hours of productivity per week results in an extra week of productivity per month. Does that sound useless to you?

Shame on you Inc. magazine, perhaps a little bit of extra effort would have resulted in a more accurate title.