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

The new dream job is that of Product Manager – according to the Wall Street Journal. Wow, I was expecting this to be the year of innovation for organizations, but it has also become the year for product management. Business schools at Harvard, Cornell, Northwestern, and others are focused on preparing students for product management career paths. The newly degreed MBA graduate now covets the product manager job title – and for good reason. The article is currently only available to WSJ subscribers. Read the details at http://www.wsj.com/articles/coveted-job-title-for-m-b-a-s-product-manager-1456933303

Avoid the 7 deadly sins of product management. The 7 deadly sins are lust, gluttony, sloth, wrath, envy, hubris, and greed. The author makes witty connections between these and not uncommon mistakes product managers are tempted to make, such as adding a feature the product manager wants but not one that actually adds value for customers (greed). Read all 7 sins at http://www.financemagnates.com/forex/bloggers/7-deadly-sins-of-product-managers/

Example of crowdsourcing innovation at NASA. For the potential prize of a mere $100 to help design solutions for NASA, the opportunity is not about making money but being a part of a NASA mission. This is the potential power of crowdsourcing – reach to brilliant problem-solvers who want to be part of your cause. Read about it at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/crowdsourcing-your-innova_b_9329116.html

Incremental innovation is the norm for P&G – how they think about new products. P&G has seen sales slump for 5 years. Much of their innovation is incremental, providing “new and improved” upgrades to existing products. They have not produced a new-to-the-world product for many years. Swiffer is close to becoming a billion-dollar brand after 17 years on the market – how quickly time flies! Learn more about innovation at P&G http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2016/02/27/how-innovation-save-pg/80949564/

Defining innovation and creating a lexicon. What is innovation really about? We don’t have a universally accepted definition, but many of the common definitions have similar components – change, progress, value, novelty, and the like. Other insights are at http://in-cyprus.com/43528-2/

10 questions to assess your organization’s ability for top-line growth from innovation. Companies cannot cost-cut-their way to success. While lean approaches that eliminate waste are very important, innovation in the form of new products and services grow top-line revenue. Ask these 10 questions to assess your organization’s innovation capability for growth: http://www.cio.com/article/3038876/leadership-management/discovering-top-line-growth-through-innovation.html

Great product management is about process, not content. The processes important to product management include: (1) Strategic thinking, (2) Research and market analysis, and (3) Business & financial analysis. Read about all three at http://www.pddnet.com/blog/2016/03/great-product-management-about-process-not-content

9 paths to innovation – #3 is my favorite – ask the right questions. How we frame problems immediately sets boundaries for how we think about answers and can limit or expand innovation. Some of the other paths to innovation include recognizing the events that coalesce into new ideas, people who combine their insights and experiences into something new, and the 70/20/10 rule. Read all 9 at http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2016/02/28/if-you-want-to-innovate-learn-these-9-rules

The collaborative sweet spot for innovation. Collaboration in innovation is a lot like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Too little collaboration and innovation slows while too much and innovation can be stifled. This is the findings of a research study published in the National Academy of Sciences. Read a summary at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-01/too-much-connectivity-in-groups-may-reduce-innovation/7208600

How Experian hired a group of 8 people to supercharge their innovation. Large companies can acquire startups or create incubators for an innovation shot in the arm. Experian tried the incubation route, creating a small team of data scientists that quickly asked questions and propelled new projects. Read more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathansalembaskin/2016/03/02/innovation-at-experian-build-dont-just-buy/#544b46403851

5 examples of minimum viable product from tech startups. These are well-recognized companies, such as Dropbox and Uber, that started from an MVP to test the concept. Review their MVP roots here: http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/5-great-examples-minimum-viable-product-app-development-01464934