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Preventing Product Launch Failure: Watch Out for the Pitfalls!

Jun 8, 2008

G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Viton writing in the Innovation Engine column at BusinessWeek online, offer a sobering look at the Ten Reasons Your Next Launch Will Fail. From the propensity of companies to create solutions for unknown problems (Science Run Amok) to the recurring theme of teams convincing themselves that they can’t miss (Death by Consensus), this insightful and witty column offers some priceless guidance for marketers, product and project managers and executives everywhere.

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Product Manager does not Mean Product Emperor (and other helpful suggestions for success as a Product Manager)

Apr 24, 2008

t’s long been my opinion that the Product Manager has one of the tougher jobs in an organization (see my post: In Support of the Product Manager as MVP). This position is one of those “all of the responsibility with none of the power” roles that grind up and spit out mere mortals with alarming frequency.

There are a number of common mistakes that I’ve observed both new and experienced Product Managers make, that if understood and avoided, might increase the survival and success rate of this endangered species. In no particular order, these common mistakes and hopefully, helpful hints, include:

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Read Any Good Cultures Lately? Honing an Essential Career Skill.

Apr 9, 2008

Every organization has a distinct culture defined by its history, norms, values, and behaviors, and every team in an organization develops its own subculture. Learning to read a culture and adapt your style to fit (or at least complement it) is essential to success regardless of your level or role. It’s also something that can be honed as a skill through increased awareness and consistent application of a few basic approaches.

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Towards an Independent Product Management Organization

Mar 5, 2008

Product Management’s position in the organization is a topic that invites vigorous debate, usually around whether marketing or development should own the function. While any debate about optimal organization structure can sound a lot like the radio and television sports shows where people argue fiercely over the greatest running back or quarterback of all time (there is no one right answer!), the PM issue merits some consideration. Of course, the right answer may be, “It depends.”

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The Best Product Managers are in Seat 12C

Feb 28, 2008

As a Product Manager/Marketer, the more time you spend in the office, the less intelligent you become every day about the real situation of your offerings and your clients. You cannot build relationships, gain critical insights and frankly, grow as a professional from your office or cubicle chair. As important as all of your internal tasks are, you cannot create value for your firm by cloistering yourself in endless meetings and only gaining critical market context on the other end of a telephone.

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The Product Manager’s Questions for Success

Feb 16, 2008

Thanks to a good friend and the person I credit with the creation of the “Why is a Product Manager Like the Office Photocopier?” joke, I recently unearthed a listing of questions that we had established with the PM team to help teach and remind everyone of the True Role of a Product Manager.

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The Indomitable Spirit of the True Product Manager

Feb 4, 2008

Product Managers are often improperly saddled with blame for everything that’s wrong in the organization and a fair amount of what’s wrong in the world. Poor quality, revenue shortfalls, lack of leads, poor visibility, competitive encroachment, poor support, schedule delays and process deficiencies are just a few of the items that I’ve known Product Managers to be tagged with in the course of carrying out their jobs. Pretty much everything but responsibility for the Lindbergh kidnapping, and I’m sure someone tried to pin that one on an unwitting Product Manager at some point in time.

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Improving the Product Management and Sales Relationship

Jan 21, 2008

The relationship between the Product Manager (or PM team) and the Sales force is one that is filled with great potential for all parties and also prone to frequent misuse or abuse. Frankly, it is a complicated relationship that should be governed by some shared rules of engagement and some good commonsense about when to throw the rules out in support of getting the job done.

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