September’s top product management content

The great fallacy: “I’m the CEO of the product!”

While a product manager should embody many traits of a CEO, this post explains why they are most emphatically not the CEO of the product.

Author Philip Keiken explains the responsibility and accountability differences between a CEO and a product manager, with the big sticking point being decision rights.

He concludes: “As product managers, let’s lose the phrase ‘I’m the CEO of the Product!’, and start pushing aside ego and power dynamics. Let’s institute a system of balance and remain dedicated to the intersection of business and customer needs.”

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Deep dive: How to make product discovery a habit

In this post, authors Martin Lehner and Doerthe Ramin delve into the art of building lasting habits within organisations and among product leaders.

They run through the importance of product discovery and analyse what it means to make something a habit. Then they look at two approaches for establishing product discovery habits or routines: Coaching Product Discovery ABCDE Model, and Replace an old habit with a new one. As the authors say: “Creating habits or routines requires action, strategy, and time. Especially, if entire organisations transform from very classical project-oriented business to be product-led. The two mentioned approaches can help people to enter a mindset shift in a structured way.”

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What’s a product leader anyway?

This article comments that clear and common structures for product management job titles will help us all better understand our careers, roles, and teams, but we don’t have them. The hierarchy that now often comes with a product organisation has changed dramatically over the last few years.

Many product leadership titles are meaningless, according to the article, perhaps because product management has evolved to become a more prestigious career in the last few years, and perhaps because of the influx of grad school alumni into product management roles. It looks at the questions you might ask to understand a role with a fancy title and how to ascertain how senior a job really is.

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The experience IS the product

This article posits that there’s a fundamental truth at the core of product management – whatever your product, it’s the experience it delivers that counts. The tangible product is irrelevant, the author argues. The ‘product’ (or what people need, want, desire) is truly the experience.

The article says we should redefine the product as an amalgamation of the tangible and the emotional – tangible features and emotional appeal; usability with delight; immersive storytelling; and an end-to-end journey.  By understanding the emotional aspects and aspirations of our customers, we can shape products that evoke delight, create loyalty, and stand the test of time.

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Prioritisation in product:#mtpcon London highlights

This post takes a look back at the wise words about prioritisation delivered from the #mtpcon stage over the years.

Among the key takeaways from these #mtpcon talks:

• Good principles are simple, memorable, actionable and highly specific to your business and strategy.
• Product managers must deeply understand customer problems and prioritize them over solutions. The ‘importance versus satisfaction’ framework provides a structured approach for mapping out problems, analyzing opportunities, and making informed decisions that lead to better product development.

Read the original post: Prioritisation in product: #mtpcon London highlights