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

6 lessons for the first time product manager. (1) Understand your primary objective. (2) Focus on making the biggest impact. (3) Don’t get caught up in the small stuff. (4) Trust your gut, but trust data more. (5) Remember to look ahead. (6) Learn Excel. Details at http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesproductgroup/2017/01/28/6-lessons-for-the-first-time-product-manager-from-a-first-time-product-manager

How to land your first product manager role. Most product managers don’t start in product management. We come from engineering, marketing, training, sales, and other areas, but often with a customer perspective. We want to create products that customers love. Many people want to find a way into product management, and this article shares advice for making it happen… http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencebradford/2017/01/30/8-tips-for-landing-your-first-product-manager-role/#2de74880356b

7 essential design principles for product managers. This is an article by my podcast guest last week, Latif Nanji, which complements what we discussed well. The design principles include (1) Tell users what to think, (2) Minimize cognitive load, (3) Three-click mentality, (4) Reversible design, (5) Use verbs with context, (6) White space is your friend, and (7) Design in MSP (Minimum Saleable Product). Read them all at https://roadmunk.com/blog/product-management-design-principles/

Tips for creating a product management dashboard. Dashboards can convey vital information to stakeholders in a quick and efficient manner. This article presents tips for mobile products but the ideas can apply to other types of products… http://www.business2community.com/product-management/5-tips-create-effective-mobile-product-management-dashboard-01759581

When product teams must adopt a new technology – 7 steps. (1) Find the right technology platform, (2) Lead from the top, (3) Work with your partner for training, (4) Communicate consistently, (5) Create measurable project milestones, (6) Review and adjust your progress, and (7) Listen. Read about each at http://www.dealermarketing.com/7-steps-to-plan-technological-change-management/