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

 

How to use improvisation to boost innovation in organizations. Improvisation is a tool I know from the realm of project management, and it can also help product managers and product teams innovate better. This article shares the four conditions that must be present: (1) expertise, (2) teamwork, (3) experimental culture, and (4) real-time internal information and communication… http://www.edoardo-binda-zane.com/improvisation-innovation

Change management must be in the product manager’s toolbox.  Product managers create new things. We are innovators. And, this means we deal with change – there is no “new” without change. This guide addresses four topics of change management… (1) benefits of change management, (2) what are the causes of change, (3) understanding and managing resistance to change, and (4) how to use structures and support for lasting change. See the guide at http://daniellock.com/what-is-change-management

Product wisdom from 2016 shared by some of the smartest product minds. Check out The Signal’s collection of product wisdom from contributions throughout 2016 at https://blog.mixpanel.com/2016/12/08/the-signal-product-wisdom-2016

Are product managers really the CEO of their products? This is an old phrase in product management and one with many perspectives. I don’t buy into this notion. While I’ve never been fired by a CEO, I know product managers that have. I don’t expect they thought they were CEO of the product at that point! To hear or read a discussion of the topic, go to https://www.heavybit.com/library/podcasts/practical-product/ep-6-product-manager-as-ceo/

Product management is a hot career choice – what is it really about? I’ve seen a lot more articles like this in the last year. It’s another indication that our profession is more popular than it was. This article explores what it is like to be a product manager and asks four helpful questions to assess fit… https://yourstory.com/2016/12/what-is-product-management/

Tips for how product managers and be better managers. The best practices that apply to managers largely apply to product managers as well. This includes the need to develop and maintain a network across the organization and have one-on-ones regularly with product contributors. Read more best practices in this HBR article https://hbr.org/2016/12/what-great-managers-do-daily

Is it time for Pink Ocean thinking instead of blue oceans? Thanks to Mauborgne and Kim’s book Blue Ocean Strategy, many organizations have set course to sail blue oceans, escape the reds, and find uncontested success. The reality of their efforts is a bit different than the original aspirations. Blue ocean strategy is a useful concept, but one I believe needs to be seen through a different lens. Pink Oceans is an interesting perspective. Read about it at http://www.forbes.com/sites/afifghannoum/2016/12/15/why-company-innovation-should-sail-towards-pink-oceans-not-blue-ones

How open dialogue and feedback about failures fosters innovation. This article addressed the attitudes that must be present in an organization for innovation to thrive. It leans on some insights from a book I loved, Creativity, Inc, which is the story of Pixar. Read about creating open dialogue that enables innovation at https://opensource.com/article/16/12/building-culture-innovation-your-organization