This blog is all about making product developers, managers, and innovators more successful and their organizations successful with them. As I do each week, below is a roundup of articles around the web with insightful product development, management, and innovation practices, tips, and examples – and sometimes controversial ideas.
Around the Web
The Einstein Method – deeply understand the problem before considering solutions. “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” Read more from Do Something Cool http://dosomethingcool.net/the-einstein-method-for-freeing-your-creative-mind
Hear from top innovation experts right at your desk. “Registration is free and gives you access to the live conference which features expert practitioners and thought leaders in innovation and product development sharing their industry knowledge, case studies, best practices, and practical guidance.” Register at… http://ow.ly/wwiGt
14 break-through innovation winners in the consumer product space. “All the winning products were driven by demand, met unmet needs or helped shoppers complete poorly performed jobs. All overcame significant challenges, both internal and in the marketplace.” Read more from Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/lauraheller/2014/05/06/nielsens-breakthrough-innovation-winners-turn-challenges-into-sales/
Does innovation still provide benefits for companies? “The general consensus was that innovation is still very much alive and well, but who benefits is questionable.” Read more from ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com/innovation-might-be-alive-and-well-but-who-really-benefits-anymore-7000029253/
4 organizational success factors to incubate innovation. “We have identified four organizational success factors to incubate innovation and maximize R&D productivity: Consistent leadership, Supportive Culture, Specialized innovation methods, Enabling management systems. Read more from Financial Post http://business.financialpost.com/2014/05/09/4-ways-to-ensure-your-people-have-the-right-conditions-to-be-innovative/
Innovation insights from Deloitte. “As the advance of technology and globalization have changed the world, many impediments to innovation around the world have been removed.” Read more from Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonspringer/2014/05/07/innovations-globalization-with-deloitte/
How to find or be a good product manager. “The first product manager (PM) is a crucial unicorn hire that no startup should compromise on. The reason is simple – your PM is responsible for managing your team’s most precious resource: time.” Read more from The Next Web http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2014/05/11/product-managers-suck-better-one/
5 innovation lessons from Bitcoin. “Cryptocurrencies are undoubtedly innovative in the context of payments. But they also provide some broader lessons with relevance far beyond the financial world.” Read more from Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnvillasenor/2014/05/12/the-future-of-innovation-five-things-we-can-learn-from-bitcoin/
Boost your soft skills to boost your innovation. “In my experience, employees and business leaders sometimes focus more on the highly technical skills they’d like to cultivate, and overlook the soft skills every workplace needs in order to become thoroughly innovative. In actuality, I believe the so-called “soft skills” are actually the harder skills to develop, maintain, and refine.” Read more from Wired http://innovationinsights.wired.com/insights/2014/05/goals-decision-making-tech-use-will-opt-integrated-tracking-wearable/
From this Blog – The Everyday Innovator™, official blog of Product Mastery Now
Blimps+Turbines Go BATs: Product Development and Innovation Lesson from the News. “Find innovation in integration of designs … The product that grew out of this quest is the Buoyant Airborne Turbine, or BAT, a redesign and integration of a turbine and a blimp. The BAT design places the now-familiar three-pronged turbine—sans tower—in the middle of a helium-filled blimp redesigned to resemble a huge donut.” Read the blog post http://www.productmasterynow.com/blog/blimpsturbines-go-bats-product-development-and-innovation-lesson-from-the-news/
The primary responsibilities for an organization are product management and innovation. They deliver value to customers. They're also exciting responsibilities for those properly equipped. That is my job - equipping product managers and innovators. 