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

 

Defining customer needs with jobs-to-be-done theory. New product development frequently begins by having keener insights into customers’ needs than competitors do. Insights lead to innovations and increased value for customers and the organization. They are essential for growth. The jobs-to-be-done framework is a good place to begin to understand customers’ needs. Read more at https://strategyn.com/2016/07/11/customer-needs-defined/

3 characteristics of great product managers. (1) Relationships. (2) Curiosity. (3) Focus. Product managers need others to create products and this means having influence, which starts with relationships. Read about this and the other two characteristics at http://www.cleverpm.com/category/product-management/

A quick example of retargeting – something product managers should know. I have personally been expanding my knowledge of online marketing and in the process have discovered tools and concepts that help me as a product manager. Many of these provide clear insights into customers while others help with product adoption and improving growth of revenue. Ad retargeting is one of these tools. Read about it at http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2016/07/11/how-online-marketing-helps-us-innovate/

5 steps product managers use to prioritize great ideas. (1) Check the details. (2) Merge duplicates. (3) Rank based on score. (4) Respond quickly. (5) Promote to features. Read about each at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-de-haaff/how-product-managers-prio_b_10994802.html

Everyone can innovate. People claim they weren’t born to be the creative type or they don’t know how to innovate. The good news is the steps to becoming more innovative are not a mystery and can easily be learned. The five concepts in this article help…  http://yourstory.com/2016/07/everyone-can-innovate/

Innovation is enabled by experimenters not experts. When I am asked to coach a company in product management and innovation, I take a different approach than most so-called innovation experts: I don’t prescribe one innovation methodology. Instead, I help them create their own experience to learn what works for them in their environment. It self-emerges from our activities together. The reason is that innovation methodologies, while each is grounded in some goodness, don’t fit all organizations. This article makes a similar point about how experts can blind us to what works and that experimentation instead is needed… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/innovation-and-experts_b_10941650

5 actions to take that inspire innovation in your organization. (1) Encourage, in fact, insist on mentoring. (2) Crowdsourcing ideas frequently. (3) Encourage by listening. (4) Hire the right people. (5) Quit sedentary work-style. Read about each at http://www.business2community.com/business-innovation/5-ways-inspire-innovation-company-01588405