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Creating metrics that matter

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Everything wrong with the product management job market. And how to fix it

With a career founded in writing, I pivoted to Product, enjoying the challenges offered by managing diverse products while bringing clarity of communication to my work. I&#39;m passionate about seeing how fast the space is evolving, and always interested to be part of the conversation, whether as a contributor, or writer.

Head of Product

Jon Horvath

<p>In this November 2020 <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/mtpcon/digital" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">#mtpcon Digital</a> session, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jobvo/?originalSubdomain=pt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Job van der Voort</a>, CEO of Remote and ex VP Product, GitLab, discusses how best to build products asynchronously with a distributed team.</p>
<p>Watch the session in full, or read on for the highlights.</p>
<h2>Culture of the Written Word</h2>
<p>Job challenged how we can build successful products when working asynchronous (whether in a different place or even a different time zone), describing the power of the written word.</p>
<p>“The written word comes first,” Job says, explaining how documentation of products and of discussions (agendas, conclusions, disagreements), will provide transparency between teams and allow everyone to move forward with the benefit of a shared context and understanding. “Only through a culture or a habit will you be able to work together in an asynchronous fashion”.</p>
<h2>Iterate on Everything</h2>
<p>As product people, we’re all aware of the term iteration and Job challenges us to iterate on our own working behaviour, treating our practice as a product. He suggests that we think about what’s being done now and what has to change in order to be more successful, whether it’s the attitude or culture. &#8220;Iterating on everything means iterating on things beyond the products you’re working on themselves,&#8221; he says. This is crucial for teams to feel successful.</p>
<h2>The Challenge of Timezones</h2>
<p>Job describes the difficulty of working between timezones for asynchronous teams, especially when there’s little overlap, after all, few of us have the luxury to design a team.</p>
<p>What’s important, Job says, is to acknowledge the difference, and strive to find a</p>
<p>global balance, where teams can meet and communicate together, making sure it’s not a battle with one side continually giving in. “Accept the fact that this is just the way it is, you can’t avoid timezones,” he says.</p>
<h2>What Not To Do</h2>
<p>Job lays out the traps teams can easily fall into when working asynchronously:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don’t forget about life beyond work</span> &#8211; encourage people to set boundaries</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don’t throw work over the fence</span> &#8211; use “handshake protocol”, to attain mutual agreement between parties before considering work passed on</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don’t fall in love with process</span> &#8211; challenge, question and iterate</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don’t shy away from creativity</span> &#8211; unstructured time is essential, ensure you make time to not do much</li>
</ul>
<p>These traps, he says are &#8220;easy to fall into, especially if you’re becoming a well-oiled machine.”</p>
<h2>Empower Individuals</h2>
<p>Finally, Job implores us to empower those around to do their best work. The best way to do this, he says is to be relaxed with rules, create a culture of writing things down, give people the time they need and the power to make decisions. Doing so will allow an organisation to move fast. “If you give individuals with talents, the power to do their best work, the freedom to do so, and the trust to do so, it allows them to do their best work,” he says.</p>
<h2>More on Remote Working</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/engaging-with-remote-customers-in-discovery-by-audrey-cheng/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Engaging with Remote Customers in Discovery by Audrey Cheng</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/remote-discovery-teresa-torres-on-the-product-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Remote Discovery – Teresa Torres on The Product Experience</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/the-impact-of-covid-on-product-managers-and-the-products-they-build/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Impact of Covid on Product Managers and the Products They Build</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/being-a-successful-product-manager-from-5000-miles-away/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Being a Successful Product Manager From 5,000 Miles Away</a></li>
</ul>

core/freeform

Product Management Process

How to F.A.I.L. better in product by Marc Abraham

Fighting product-market drift by Dave Wascha

Building a digital product organisation, brick by brick by Nils Michaelis

Learnings from London: Going from Meh to Awesome by Shiva Rajaraman

The art of product management with Ken Norton

Using principles to make better decisions faster by Martin Eriksson

Rethinking delivery with product operations in the age of product

What’s stopping teams from running experiments by Cameron Savage

Top 7 signs you’re in a bad product system by Scott Williamson

How to bring product thinking to any team by Merissa Silk

Building Products Asynchronously With a Distributed Team by Job van der Voort

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