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

 

Product mangers – how to lead without authority. Most product managers have no real authority over the people that do product work. They don’t provide employment reviews, promotions, raises, etc. Yet, they need to motivate product teams to accomplish objectives. This article provides tips for leading without authority, offering product managers the perspectives of visionary, affiliative, democratic, coaching, pacesetting, and coercive. Read more at https://medium.com/@romanpichler/how-to-choose-the-right-product-managment-leadership-styles-18bf0e039b0

Pivotal Labs list of 29 indicators for talented product managers. 29 items sounds like a lot, but the list makes a lot of sense for identifying product managers, skewed towards software products. A few of my favorites include: (3) has delivered value iteratively, (5) strong focus on user first and foremost, (13) has strong opinions, loosely held, and (27) can build trust. Read the list at https://medium.com/product-labs/the-29-product-manager-points-of-proof-af0d7a57eeb9

The three steps to embracing innovation. (1) Develop a culture of creativity. (2) Uncertainty is an asset. (3) Brainstorm. I would add to this list for a deeper discussion of embracing innovation, but the three steps are very good place to start. Read the details at http://technical.ly/2016/01/20/creative-problem-solving-innovation/

Experience a tenfold increase in innovation when all employees find ways to innovate. This article shares examples of how innovation in companies increases when it is removed from being the responsibility of a few senior leaders and product teams to being everyone’s responsibility. Read the article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2016/01/20/your-companys-top-innovation-weapon

Big companies avoid risk and seek safe innovation – shocking! While this is not a new revelation, the clarity of the article is very useful. According to a GE study, 57% of executives favor pursuing incremental innovation that protects the core business. Read the details at http://fortune.com/2016/01/19/ges-innovation-baramoter/

Disruptive innovation versus ? If you’re following the ongoing discussion about what is and is not disruptive innovation and how disruptive innovation should really be defined, this is another article to consider. Read the discussion at http://www.startribune.com/defining-and-defending-disruptive-innovation/365478691/

Examples of micro-innovations driving breakaway results. Are Procter & Gamble’s Tide Pods a micro-innovation? They led to over $500,000,000 of revenue in the first year of the product for P&G. There is certainly innovation involved, but arguably it is largely a repackaging activity. Micro-innovations can be game changers. Read more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshlinkner/2016/01/18/how-micro-innovations-can-drive-breakaway-resuts

The 50 most innovative economies in the world – South Korea is #1. The top five most innovative countries, in addition to South Korea, include Germany, Sweden, Japan, and Switzerland. The United States is number eight. Read the details at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-19/these-are-the-world-s-most-innovative-economies