Each week I scour articles, wading through the dogs, and bringing you the best insights to help product managers and innovators be heroes.

10 tips for the agile product manager. (1) Act as a Product Leader, not as an Agile project manager. (2) Explain to your stakeholders why you’re working Agile. (3) Be product oriented instead of project oriented. Read details and seven more tips at https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/10-tips-product-owners-agile-product-management

Everything product managers need to know about SEO. Increasingly product managers need to know about content marketing as it can be used to promote a product and also learn what customers want and expect in a product. Part of this involves knowledge of SEO and you shouldn’t leave it to your marketing person. Learn what you need to know in this guide… https://melv1n.com/seo-guide-for-product-managers/

Are your internal products created using project or product management? When the customers for a product are employees of your organization, most often the people involved are thinking in project terms, not product terms. However, thinking like a product manager in these situations places the focus on a broader set of needs that is beneficial. Use this to help you think about it more http://blackswanfarming.com/internal-product-management-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Are we becoming too data-driven as product managers and not talking to customers enough? Innovation is easy to miss, especially if we are looking at the wrong thing. Kodak missing the digital camera is the classic example, more ironic because they created and patented the first digital camera. Data is useful but only in the context of knowing the customer. Check it out… https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/25/how-bad-decision-making-could-undermine-good-innovation/

Another look at AARRR metrics for product managers. Known as the Pirate Metrics (just say “AARRR” out loud – you’ll get it), they are a 5-step model for leading (as opposed to lagging) metrics useful in start-ups, new products, and other settings. Read about Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, and Revenue at https://medium.com/business-model-validation-101/what-are-aarrr-pirate-metrics-81d3c8f9fd56

2018 tech innovation trends. Savvy product managers watch the trends in their marketplace because we know a trend can make or break the success of a product. Here are some ideas for trends forming in tech… https://towardsdatascience.com/2018-innovation-trends-and-opportunities-8a5d642fd661

Innovation in China? The evidence is in. VC investment is climbing and rivals US levels. Some of the largest tech companies are Chinese, including Tencent and Alibaba among others. Also, education has become competitive, rivaling universities in other countries. Read details at https://thealeph.com/articles/2017/11/china-ai-silicon-valley-innovation/