The Everyday Innovator Podcast for Product Managers

Excellent communication gives product managers power, even superpowers. Listeners have heard me share the purpose of this podcast… this is where product leaders and managers make their move to product masters, learning practical knowledge that leads to more influence and confidence so you’ll create products customers love.   Our guest is helping us with the influence part. As we must build and use influence to be effective, what we say matters. And, Daniel Stillman will tell us how to design conversations that matter. He is an industrial designer turned conversation designer. I really enjoyed our discussion and hope you do to.   Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers [3:10] How can product managers influence others through excellent communication? I started a podcast about what conversations are made of. I realized that if a product failed, it was because we didn’t have the right conversations about it. We can all get better at intentionally designing our conversations. Alice Walker said, “The biggest mistake people make with power is thinking they don’t have any.” As a product manager, you may not have official authority, but you can have power through what you say. It may seem risky to speak up, but we have to be willing to ask difficult questions and bend the conversation in the direction we need it to go. Be quick, brief, and clear and use your time effectively. Listen deeply to other people, because we can only respond intelligently if we connect with others deeply. Have a very clear arc of your conversation, including setting the stage for the conversation, having a meaningful exploration of the topic, and ending effectively. [9:00] How can we design conversations to maximize meaning? Everyone is already designing their conversations for something. To design your conversations more intentionally, step back and ask, “How am I doing it now and what am I designing it for?” I think about four quadrants that conversations can be focused on—asking vs. telling and problem vs. solution. One isn’t better than another, but you have to know which one you want to be in or get better at. Conversations require turn-taking, one person talking and the other listening. Consider whether you’re really listening or just waiting to speak. Enjoy listening. Add silence to make your communication more interesting. [14:45] What does it mean to actively listen? Active listening can be a place of safety. If you’re confronted, responding with a repetition of what you think you heard is active listening. You get a moment to think, and the other person gets a chance to correct what they’ve said if you’ve misunderstood. Global listening means not just listening for facts. There are several levels of listening. Level 0 is listening to your own head and not the other person. Level 1 is absorbing facts only. Level 2 is absorbing emotional meaning & context. Level 3 is connecting your understanding with their understanding. You have to earn your way to understanding at that deeper level by first listening to facts, then feelings, then insights, then potential. These levels of listening apply to customer interviews, when you need to both listen to the words and absorb other signals. Having one person interview and one take notes and observe can help you intentionally look for signals. [22:06] How is a conversation arc like a story arc? Good stories follow an arc of rising and falling action . Meetings and conversations should follow a narrative arc too. Many meetings are just a list of things. Instead, spend a brief time on the exposition, or current state. Then move to the inciting incident—the big problem you have or the change you want to create. Get excited about it. Then spend the rest of the meeting thinking about how to make the change happen.

How product managers can find a new angle on problems and be better problem solvers One of the most powerful tools available to product managers and innovators is, wait for it… reframing! We use it in two primary ways. First, to help us solve the right problem. Second, to take an existing innovation and apply it in a more valuable way. The story of Wisk is one of my favorites, which we discuss in this interview. Our guest is a master at reframing, teaching organizations how they can use this powerful approach. He also shared the tools of reframing in his book, What’s Your Problem, published by Harvard Business Review. His name is Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg and he has helped innovators across the globe. His contributions to innovation earned him the recognition as a “top 20 International Thinker.” Get ready for some reframing.   Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers [4:04] Why are a lot of people not naturally good problem solvers? There are two parts to problem solving. Most of use are good at idea generation–coming up with new ideas to solve a problem. The other part, problem finding, is vastly under-studied. Problem finding is understanding the problem itself. [7:23] What example can you share of looking at the right problem? I like the Slow Elevator Problem. Suppose you’re the owner of an office building, and your tenants are annoyed that the elevator is too slow. Many people, especially engineers, might try to fix this by making the elevator faster. Instead, landlords often put mirrors in the elevator. When people focus on the mirrors, they forget time. The mirrors are a solution to a different problem–they don’t make the elevator faster, but they solve the problem of people being annoyed. Often to find a solution, you have to step back from the problem that’s been put in front of you and consider whether there’s another solution. [15:40] What are the steps for reframing a problem? Start with saying, “Wait, what’s the problem we’re trying to solve?” This first step is important because it keeps people from going into solution mode. Don’t figure out how you’re going to build something; figure out why you’re going to build it. Put the reason in a sentence or two. Next, step back and ask, “Is there a different way of thinking about that problem?” Finally, swing back into action, bring the problem into the real world, and start talking to people, testing, and prototyping. Reframing problems is a very rapid process. It should be a habit of mind; whenever you’re presented with a problem, quickly take a step back and figure out what you’re trying to achieve. Reframing problems is also really difficult to do alone. Recruit others to discuss the problem with, so that you can look at it from different perspectives. I’ve created a few simple rules for ways of questioning. I’ve mentioned the importance of stepping outside the frame of the problem. Another tool is looking for bright spots. Look for positive exceptions of someone else dealing with the problem or a time when you solved the problem before. Rethink your goal. Question whether you’re aiming for the right goal. Think beyond the scope of the problem that is presented and find a new angle. Look in the mirror. Look at your own role in the problem and try to figure out how to do something differently. Instead of wishing you could change your clients, figure out what you need to change about yourself and the work you’re doing. [28:38] How do we know whether we’ve framed a problem correctly? Use an iterative process. Reframe the problem, then work on it, then revisit it and ask what you’ve learned and whether you’re on the right track. Go out and test–do experiments, talk to people,

Train your brain for success in product management What is holding you back from greater success, from achieving what you want, from getting what you deserve? Now, this is not an infomercial for some new self-help fad. Instead, it is a grounded discussion about how you are holding yourself back and how to change that — to enable your success. Keep listening as Dana Wilde, host of The Mind Aware Show podcast and author of Train Your Brain describes practical ways to make your brain work better for you. Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers [4:00] What is mindset? Mindset is a trained habit of thought. Mindset affects everybody no matter what they’re doing. [5:14] What are some common mindset issues entrepreneurs have? One big issue is self-doubt, lacking confidence in yourself. Another issue is thinking you’re too busy. [7:18] What is the science behind mindset? Training your brain is very practical. The most important thing I discovered about the brain is how the reticular activating system affects our day-to-day life. The reticular activating system is a part of the brain that processes incoming information so that you focus on what you’re thinking and talking about. What you think about is what you continue to focus on. [11:49] When we lack confidence or feel too busy, how can we train our brain to respond well? The system of training your brain has four parts. The first step is to be aware. Ninety-five to ninety-nine percent of our day, we’re unconsciously on auto-pilot. If you can increase the percentage of the day that you’re aware, you can have radical shifts in your results. Being aware means realizing what you’re saying and catching negative thoughts. The second step is to decide. Ask whether you want your reticular activating system to focus on something or not. You can choose. The third step is to find a way to talk about the current situation in a way that feels better. The fourth step is the positive emotion that’s generated from this system. You can be a better thinker. When you choose better thoughts, your brain will do the rest of the work for you. [15:48] How can we have a better response to feeling too busy? The problem isn’t that you’re too busy. The problem is the negative emotion generated by talking and thinking about it. You can be busy and happy. The word “but” is a powerful word because it negates everything that comes before it. When you recognize that you’re feeling busy, but don’t want to create negative emotion, use the word “but” to talk about the situation in a way that feels better. For example, “I’m busy, but I like having responsibility and being seen as competent, or I like that people trust me to do my job well, or I like that I get stuff done on time.” You can start to feel good about being busy. Happiness is practical and you get better results when you’re happy. When you’re happy, you’re more productive. Feel happy first, then intentionally take action. We don’t know how awesome we are. We need to credit ourselves with our unique experiences, desires, and backgrounds. Embrace your uniqueness. Bonus Question: What are some specific exercises we can use to start our mindset journey? Write on a Post-it note something like, “Today’s a good day,” or “I can think in my head,” and put it on your alarm clock. When you wake up, take 60 seconds to prime your brain by saying things like, “That’s right, I can think in my head. I can choose my thoughts. I’m going to make today a great day.” Throughout your day, intentionally remind yourself of the good things about the day. Embrace your unique gifts. Be nicer to yourself, try to have a little more fun,

There are different types of product managers. Not all product managers think they are building the future, but if they don't do it, who will? I think product managers are the best equipped for building the future, but that can sound like a daunting challenge. If it sounds that way to you, keep listening as the founder of TrendHunter, Jeremy Gutsche, shares what you need to do to help your organization build the future. TrendHunter.com is the world's largest, most popular trend community, leveraging big data, human researchers and AI to identify consumer insights and create new opportunities for the world's most innovative companies.

I enjoy learning about innovation and product management from companies that have been successful with it. I have investigated some success case studies in the past about LEGO, Wikipedia, IKEA, TripAdvisor, and Dyson. These and others are also used by our guest to describe Fearless Innovation, which is also the title of his new book. He is a repeat guest, having shared in episode 219 how Cisco innovates. He is also the Managing Director of Innovation Strategy and Programs for Cisco. I expect you'll find the insights from the case studies helpful.

I’m sharing the most-listened-to episode since starting this podcast. It’s one you don’t want to miss and if you’ve heard it before, it is great to hear again. It was originally episode 137. —————————– Learn the look and sound of leadership, using a simple 4-part system for Sorting and Labeling to more clearly communicate. Have you noticed leaders in your organization sound and look different from other employees? It’s not always true for all organizations, but leaders often talk differently — they are optimistic when they speak, they ask insightful questions, and they tend to focus on what is most important. To explore the topic of what leaders sound like – also known as, how to talk like a leader, I spoke with Tom Henschel, a professional actor who is now an executive coach. He works with clients primarily on achieving the look and sound of leadership. He’s a communication skills coach and has been running his company, Essential Communications, since 1990. Before that, Tom got his start as a professional actor after attending The Juilliard School and going on to perform in over a hundred plays and episodes of television. He was also a successful director and university teacher. He also has a monthly podcast, “The Look & Sound of Leadership,” which is a permanent member of the “What’s Hot” business podcast section on iTunes. Summary of some concepts discussed * [3:22:] How did your experience as an actor help to equip you as a communication coach? Behavior has meaning. When you raise an eyebrow or a fist when you are talking to someone, it has meaning. The person you’re talking to is going to have a reaction regardless what is in your heart to communicate. In the workplace people can forget that behavior has meaning. I call it acting on the corporate stage. Your audience is around you all the time. From acting I learned the importance of been intentional – understanding your intentions in a scene. The same applies to the corporate environment. I often ask executives what their intentions are — for example, what they want from a meeting or a discussion. Behavior has meaning and your intentions need to be clear. This is especially true for product managers who often do not have any real authority and must use their influence to gain support from others.   * [7:04] What is the look and sound of leadership? It is the name of my podcast as well as the brand of my work. It is my coaching. It is simply the idea that your look and your sound has meaning and will impact your effectiveness. I’ll illustrate it with an example. Phil was a senior leader at an aerospace company. He was fantastic at having the look and sound of a leader. He was leading a billion-dollar project. When I meet with Phil, I ask him what are we talking about today. He might respond with, “There are three things I want to talk about – a conversation with my boss, an issue about my staff meetings, and something with one of my direct reports.” That kind of sorting of information and clarity is a great way to sound like a leader. That is the look and sound of leadership. Some people are great at it and others are terrible. Product managers must communicate with others, especially leaders, in ways that make sense to the person they talk to, helping them understand the bigger picture. Sorting information like Phil does is a useful communication tool and part of looking and sounding like a leader. I call this tool Sorting and Labeling.   * [13:55] How do you use Sorting and Labeling? It involves four parts: (1) headline, (2) sort, (3) labels, and (4) transitions. Refer to the infographic below. The headline tells people what you are talking about. For example, “what I want to talk about is giving a success...

How product managers can generate ideas fast using a Design Sprint and then what to do Have you been part of a Design Thinking or Design Sprint activity? I’ve used both approaches to explore customer problems, consider solutions, and create early prototypes of solutions. They’re great activities. But what happens after creating prototypes? These are intensive experiences, in the 2 to 5-day range. After they are over, what happens? A lot of times, the answer is not much. Creating a project to turn a prototype into a new product takes a lot more work. Our guest knows how to help. Douglas Ferguson is a human-centered technologist with 20+ years of experience. He is president of Voltage Control, an Austin-based workshop agency that specializes in Design Sprints and innovation workshops and formerly worked with Google Ventures. He’ll tell you what to do after the Design Sprint ends. Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers [3:45] What is a Design Sprint? A Design Sprint is a five-day-long innovation process with the goal to build and test a prototype or simulation of a product or service you intend to build. On day one, we focus on a distinct target. On day two, everyone sketches individually. On day three, we quickly decide what we’re going to prototype; learning fast is worth the risk of making a wrong decision. On day four, we make the prototype. And on day five, we begin to get insights from customers by testing the prototype with five users. [9:27] What happens after a Design Sprint? After a Design Sprint, rarely, you might have knocked it out of the park, and just need to continue fleshing out the designs and build the product. More commonly, you have some direction, but some things are unclear; you need to continue to test your prototype until you knock it out of the park. Other times, you might discover that you were completely wrong and should not build the product. Some people call that failure, but I call it a huge win, because in five days you realized that you need to stop, instead of continuing the project for months. [13:02] What is a Design Sprint Slump? You’re back at your regular work after the Design Sprint, and you’re frustrated because you’re not doing anything with what you learned in the Design Sprint. One reason this happens is because you discovered new opportunities that the company has no home for. You may not have yet had a discussion about resources and expectations for the work that needs to get done. Because a Sprint is so fast, you might not have had time to put the necessary processes in place. The company might return to its normal habits, especially if people think that the Design Sprint didn’t work. After the Design Sprint, starting the needed processes in parallel can help you move more quickly. [16:30] What should we do before, during, and after a Design Sprint to set ourselves up for success? Plan ahead and set your expectations. Make sure people know that you’re going to make amazing progress and build momentum, but they still need to be prepared for hard work. In a Design Sprint, someone has the role of Decider, whom you lean on to make decisions. If you pick the wrong Decider, the real Decider will emerge after the Design Sprint and won’t support the ideas you created. That will throw you into a slump. Before the Design Sprint, understand who the real Decider is. If they can’t be there, they can appoint another person, but make sure that they will support that person’s decisions. A good Decider is often the sponsor. The also need to understand the team dynamics, past work, and corporate strategy. They’re often directors or VPs of product. Wrapping up well also helps you avoid the Slump. After the Design Sprint, you have new insights,

You need to be using customer communities in your product management work. I was told that SEMRush, makers of a digital marketing platform, had created one of the most effective international communities -- one that was not only valuable to product managers to learn about the needs of customers but also one that customers and influencers wanted to join. To explore how they build and use communities, I spoke with the Head of Global Marketing, Olga Andreinko. She currently leads all SEMrush branding across 50+ countries. In 2018 she was recognized among the 25 most influential women in digital marketing by TopRank. Most importantly for us, she shares her experience creating online and face-to-face communities in ways that specifically help product managers be more successful, creating products customers love.

Do you have a good idea for a product? As an Everyday Innovator, I'd say the chances are pretty good. Do you try to develop it yourself? What about joining forces with the company you work for? Or, a third, and very profitable option, is to license it. To explore licensing from the perspective of an Everyday Innovator with a good idea or from the company's perspective that is being pitched, this is the discussion for you. Even if licensing is not something you see in your future, you'll find this discussion interesting. It is with Stephen Key, the world’s leading expert in licensing consumer product ideas. He is a repeated inventor, holder of numerous patents, and coach to people wanting help to license their product ideas. In addition to licensing, we discuss validating ideas, removing risk, and intellectual property concerns.

Like many product managers, my path to product management was rather accidental. After leading software product teams for 10 years, I discovered the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). This is the oldest professional association for product managers and innovators, building the body of knowledge for us for over 43 years. Yep, the product management discipline is not nearly as new as many people think. It has its roots back to 1930 formally at P&G and informally, longer than that. PDMA was where I first discovered frameworks and tools for product managers. It was a huge ah-ha moment for me, connecting and providing meaning to aspects of work that I had been doing. So, given PDMA's impact on my career journey, I was so pleased when they told me that this podcast is the first, and so far only, they recommend for product managers and innovators. To talk about how they help product managers, I invited one of the leaders of PDMA to discuss the value of the professional association. Joining us is Mark Adkins, Vice Chair of PDMA. Mark is also the CEO and founder of LeanMed, a medical device company dedicated to bringing essential treatment to underserved parts of the world through innovative technologies. Every time I talk with Mark I am inspired and I hope you find this discussion does the same for you.

How product managers can use the Planning Canvas to go from an idea to making money A CEO I worked for used the strategy to “create a plan for the plan.” When it appeared we were getting stuck trying to create a plan for the next big thing, he would tell me to schedule a meeting to make a plan for the plan — a meeting to discuss what would need to go into a plan since we don’t yet really know what the plan should be. It was a good strategy for taking action and moving forward. Our guest, the exceptionally well-known Steve Johnson, has a similar tool for product projects called the Planning Canvas. It is an organized canvas consisting of six categories for creating a product plan. I think you’ll find it helpful for your planning regardless of where you are in a project — the beginning, developing, or launching. Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers [2:16] Why did you create the Under10 Planning Canvas? When I was the founding instructor at Pragmatic, I saw a need for a defining process to go from an idea to making money. After an organization showed me their 37-page process diagram that no one could explain, I decided to create a planning tool in under ten steps. [5:01] How is the Planning Canvas structured? Unlike most process diagrams, the Planning Canvas is a circle rather than a line. It looks like a flower with three pairs of petals. Each pair represents a planning step and an execution step. Discover (planning) is paired with Commit (execution); Describe (planning) is paired with Create (execution); and Deliver (planning) is paired with Connect (execution). The steps are not serial, and although the order of the steps is the order that we tend to progress in, I’ve almost never started at the beginning. Let’s walk through the 6 steps. [14:55] Discover & Commit. For Discover, identify your target customers and the problems they’re having. Do customer observation to identify the problem, and talk with your teams about how to solve it. Product management should take a back seat to development. Usually, we do opportunity scoring and define what success looks like. Between discovery and commit, do an executive briefing. To Commit, begin business modeling, make a financial model, do market validation research, and do resource allocation. [16:38] Describe & Create. To Describe, plan the roadmap for the release. To Create, tell the development team the personas, problems, constraints, and alternatives you’re dealing with. Write acceptance criteria for what you’re asking development to build, and provide ongoing development support. Again, product management is less involved than development. [17:41] Deliver & Connect To Deliver, the product managers who are also product marketing managers need to plan the launch. Consider your launch vision and goals. To Connect with the market, make sure the whole company is ready to take product orders. [19:37] Learning throughout all the phases. Learning is the most important step. At each step consider whether you’ve validated or invalidated any of your hypotheses. Have a retrospective meeting and talk about every process. [22:21] What can you tell us about the future, next, and now columns on the Canvas? Discover and Commit are about the future–the new products and new markets we would like to explore in the future. Describe and Create are about what we’re doing next–the steps we need to take to turn an idea into a product. Deliver and Connect are about now–the delivery of our current product. These categories serve as a roadmap for product managers to demonstrate what they are doing now and what they will be doing next and in the future. Bonus Question: When applying the Planning Canvas, where can people expect issues and how can they ...

Turns out if you ask 50 different people what marketing is, you'll hear 50 different answers. That is what our guest did to investigate what people think about marketing and how it fits into the work product managers do. Our guest is Jill Soley, a Silicon Valley strategic product and marketing executive. She currently leads Product Management at Obo, where she is working on agile product management software that aims to reduce the high failure rates for new products. She has two degrees from MIT and a ton of practical experience. Listen to understand the basic definition of marketing, marketing roles that may have resources useful to product managers, and how product managers can make better use of marketing resources. Also, we talk in the beginning about Jill's experience developing the Adobe Creative Cloud; lots to learn just from that.

There are a lot of people working on medical devices today. It has been a hot area now but I thought it would be interesting to talk with the CEO of a medical device company that started more than 100 years ago, in 1913. That is a company with four generations of history. The current CEO is Julie Charlestein and the company was founded by her great grandfather. The company is Premier Dental Products. Julie is well-respected in the industry and has served on dental medicine boards for several universities. We discussed a recent product they brought to market - one my dentist likely used on me recently - and how they went from initial idea to a successful launch.

This was an extra fun discussion to have because it gave me an opportunity to share some important insights from f2f interviews I have done but have not talked about much or ever on this podcast. It is also a special interview, as a leadership coach and friend, Russel Verhey, interviewed me for his podcast, Advance Leadership Conversations. Please check that out using your favorite podcast app by searching for Advance Leadership Conversations. In the discussion, you will learn: How this podcast started - it's a great story if you haven't heard it. Why Bob Tiffin of Tiffin Motorhomes focuses on customer service. How a software company flipper learned to build great teams. The most unusual McDonalds I have visited that puts customers first. Tips for talking with anyone. Tips for finding motivation. Tips for entrepreneurs with a product idea and what they should do first.

You, your group, your company, and many other companies likely share a similar problem. It is a problem that is slowing both your success and organizational success. Our guest phrases it as not maximizing the goal impact of your project portfolio. I phrase it as merely doing too many projects for the resources available and not focusing on the projects that will make the most difference to the organization. My guest has a four-part framework for improving this and he shares it in this discussion. His name is Mike Hannan and he has helped many organizations more quickly create value for customers and themselves by applying this framework.