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

 

How “Oceans 11” heist team building applies to creating great product teams. I enjoyed Oceans 11, The Italian Job, and other heist-themed movies. Creating the teams that pull off the heist is part of the story magic that makes the movies a rollicking adventure. The heist team-building activities can also be applied to putting together great product teams. Check out how at http://www.mindtheproduct.com/2016/07/building-happy-product-teams-like-heist-teams-laura-klein/

The 4 key customer experience competencies B2B product managers should master. (1) Purposeful Leadership, (2) Compelling Brand Values, (3) Employee Engagement, and (4) Customer Connectedness. Read about each at http://www.1to1media.com/view.aspx?docid=35822

9 startup founder skills that product managers also need. Deepending on the role in product management and company resources, many of these skills are good for product managers, not just founders. (1) Microsoft Excel. (2) Data collection and analysis. (3) Basic computer programming. (4) Front-end development skills (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript). (5) WordPress. (6) Basic search engine optimization (SEO). (7) Social media marketing. (8) Photoshop/design tools. (9) Scrum project management. See each at http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencebradford/2016/06/27/9-digitaltechnical-skills-to-learn-as-an-aspiring-startup-founder/#6a6da0773af3

What – innovation programs don’t ensure innovation? As I just completed an innovation workshop for a company, this article made me laugh a bit. Just putting an innovation program in place or learning about product management practices doesn’t make an organization innovative. They have to put the concepts into practice and change their culture in a manner that maintains operational growth while fueling innovative product development. Read more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/falgunidesai/2016/06/28/innovation-programs-dont-guarantee-innovation/#42fd3cccc638

10 ways to encourage innovation in teams. The themes in this list are good and contains ideas like training team members in innovation, promoting the importance of innovation, supporting ideas, tolerating mistakes, and rewarding creativity. A few more specifics are needed, such as suggestions for brainstorming well, not just the importance of brainstorming. For a valuable brainstorming tool, checkout NGT at http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/idea-creation-tools/overview/nominal-group.html. To read the 10 ways to encourage innovation, go to http://smallbiztrends.com/2016/06/promote-innovation-in-a-team-environment.html

Example of innovating inside a company to create a new product outside your silo. Credit goes to L’Oreal’s leadership who allowed a chemist to pursue a problem she had as a teenager, which resulted in a new product. More credit goes to the chemist, who had to do the work on her own time but had access to company resources. Read the story at http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericadhawan/2016/06/29/the-secret-to-daily-innovation

User story tutorial for product managers. Check out the quick and easy way to construct user stories at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-de-haaff/the-perfect-user-story-te_b_10686602.html