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

Making that first impression with your product – onboarding. Not all products use an onboarding process, but even for those that don’t, product managers can improve customer experience by learning about onboarding. This article shares 10 years of experience… https://medium.com/pminsider/build-world-class-user-onboarding-f804133d619a

How encouraging the flow of ideas helps cross-functional employees work better. It’s not unusually for some tensions to exist between functions in an organization around product, such as designers and engineers. Collaborating about the ultimate goal, which should be to create a satisfied customer, helps to get information flowing. Read about what else is involved at https://www.mindtheproduct.com/2017/12/product-agent-managing-ideas-product-team/

The elements of a great product manager. (1) Core competencies, (2) Relationship management, (3) Self-awareness, (4) Self-management, (5) Social awareness, (6 ) Company fit, (7) Technical skill, and (8) Stage of company. Read details at https://hbr.org/2017/12/what-it-takes-to-become-a-great-product-manager

How to create a product roadmap that works. A roadmap helps us get from point A to point B. Google and Apple Maps help us get where we are heading when we need to go someplace we haven’t been before. A product roadmap does the same for product managers by helping the product team and organization get someplace they haven’t been before. Read about constructing one at https://www.thisisproductmanagement.com/blog/product-roadmap/

How partnerships are vital to innovation – a P&G case study. (1) They enhance business insights. (2) They scale your network. (3) They speed up R&D. (4) They open doors for distribution. Read details at https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmainwaring/2017/12/09/why-collaboration-is-key-to-brand-innovation-and-impact-a-pg-case-study/#640341bc52bc

The innovation challenge for organizations and the role of the CEO. Why are not more organizations succeeding with innovation? There are valid reasons, but organizations that want to succeed for the long term can only do it through the creation of new products that create value for customers – over and over. Read about the issues at https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2017/12/14/the-five-new-forces-in-innovation-strategy/#43540bd025be