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

Poker lessons that apply to product management. (1) Nurturing luck through collaboration and feedback. (2) Optimizing for states of flow. (3) The data is a story, not an answer. (4) Emotional Intelligence. Read about each from a poker player turned product manager turned startup founder… https://roadmunk.com/blog/poker-product-management/

5 tips for how product managers can utilize the Net Promoter Score. NPS is sometimes referred to as the most important question – would a customer refer your product or service to someone else? NPS metrics can help product managers improve a product, how it is positioned, and brand strength. Read the five tips for using it at https://www.retently.com/blog/net-promoter-score-product-managers/

What makes Google X work? A look at the Moonshot Factory Operating Manual. Google X operates on several principles, including: (1) responsibly irresponsible, (2) people who fall in love with problems, (3) X as a portfolio, (4) killing ides, (5) graduating, and more. Read about each at https://medium.com/@astroteller/a-peek-inside-the-moonshot-factory-operating-manual-f5c33c9ab4d7

Num 1 problem for product managers and innovators – falling in love with your solution. Ash Maurya was asked what is the most common issue that trips up entrepreneurs. He responded with an answer that also applies to product managers and innovators. Read more at https://leanstack.com/love-the-problem-not-your-solution

Tools product managers use. This short article suggests tools for design, customer success, analytics, product backlog, and personal sanity.  See the suggestions at https://www.mindtheproduct.com/2016/08/tools-use-product-manager/

Product development cycle fundamentals for after the MVP. Y Combinator partner, Michael Seibel, shares his mistakes and what he has learned about creating an effective product development cycle that is focused and motivating to the team. Read his insights at http://www.themacro.com/articles/2016/08/product-development-cycle-fundamentals/

A QA strategy that improves software product management by saving time and money. (1) Employ rigorous requirements analysis, (2) have your development team peer review code, (3) direct your development team to target and prevent systematic defects, and (4) use crowdtesting. Read about each at https://mycrowd.com/blog/product-management-101-incorporate-qa-strategically-save-lot-money/

3 simply ways product managers can improve their work with engineers. As an engineer and product manager, I love these tips! (1) Be prompt with feedback. (2) Avoid ambiguity. (3) Make time for praise. Read about each at http://blog.aha.io/3-ways-product-managers-make-engineers-happy/

Interview with Pitney Bowes Chief Innovation Officer, Roger Pilc. Pilc aligns his work as innovation officer with the Piteny Bowe’s strategy of helping clients leverage physical and digital technology to conduct commerce and overcome issues. He discusses several topics in the interview, including the responsibilities of his role, how innovation is defined at Pitney Bowes, how his innovation team is organized, and more. Read the summary and listen to the interview at http://www.metisstrategy.com/interview/roger-pilc/

No one path, magic bullet, or one-size-fits-all approach to innovation. My coaching and training is not a good fit for many organizations that are looking for “one” way to do innovation and product management successfully. There are plenty of consultants and coaches who will provide them such a so-called approach, but I consider them as simply selling snake oil. Instead, I help organizations build their own foundation for successful product management. No surprise I appreciate articles like this one that agree with me!  An excerpt from the article describes the situation well… “Our experience at the University of Toronto leads to one common conclusion: While there is a natural tendency to search for a ‘magic bullet’ or simple formula to encourage innovation, the fact is there is no single path, no one-size-fits-all solution. The supports that work for a small technology startup creating a new app won’t work for a biotech firm that faces years of testing and regulatory approvals before its product can come to market.” Read more at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/theres-no-magic-bullet-no-single-path-for-innovation/article31259966/