Each week I scour articles, wading through the dogs, and bringing you the best insights to help product managers, developers, and innovators be heroes.
Use the 3 Horizons to set product strategy. “In The Alchemy of Growth, Mehrdad Baghai, Stephen Coley, and David White explain three horizons of growth for products. Clayton Christensen explored the concept further in The Innovator’s Dilemma, and Geoff Moore adapted it to his lifecycle model in Escape Velocity. This idea’s essence is that we must look at products along three horizons: now, next, and beyond. While we operationalize our existing products (Horizon 1), we must also be planning what’s next (H2) and what’s after that (H3).” Read more from Steve Johnson http://blog.aha.io/index.php/how-to-master-the-3-horizons-of-product-strategy
How to conduct product design experiments & experiment coaches. “At its core, experimentation is an approach to problem solving. You begin with an idea, move toward identifying the underlying assumptions of that idea, and then eventually validate those assumptions.” Read more at Invision https://medium.com/@InVisionApp/how-to-coach-design-experiments-c77d6cc0fcbe
The Economist’s 2015 Innovation Awards. See the winners at http://www.economistinsights.com/event/innovation-awards-2015/tab/0
20 things to know about product launches. “These 20 product launch tips will help you look like a professional, position you as an expert, and lead you to the highest profits possible.” Read more at Wayne Sharer http://waynesharer.com/marketing/20-product-launch-tips/
Games Pfizer plays to create innovation. “Dan Seewald, Director of Worldwide Innovation at Pfizer, was one of the first to take the stage at Digital Pharma East this year. He runs the Dare To Try innovation and experimentation program at Pfizer and believes that innovation comes not only from teaching and story sharing but also from play.” Read more at http://healthexperienceproject.com/dpe-2016-how-pfizer-innovates-with-play/
Is innovation or execution more important to a business? Yes! “One of Johnson’s key ideas is that often people only see the positive aspects of one pole, and the negative aspects of the other. This leads to conflict. When it comes to change, some will only want stability – either because they value the upsides of stability, or fear the downsides of change. Those that want change have similar views from the perspective of their favoured pole.” Read more at Tim Kastelle http://timkastelle.org/blog/2015/09/how-to-use-polarity-management-to-support-innovation/
5 ways to make more room for game changing innovations. “Common ways to deliver innovation efficiency include narrowing the innovation funnel faster, picking winners earlier, and focusing scarce resources on bringing them to market faster. These strategies are often supplemented by stage gate processes that allocate resources based on incremental success and milestones. These are smart approaches, but they also tend to optimize the parts rather than the whole.” Read more at Innovation Excellence http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2015/09/25/5-ways-to-make-innovations-bigger-avoiding-the-innovation-squeeze/
The minor difference between B2B and B2C product management. “Short answer, there shouldn’t be any difference between Product Management at a B2B company and a B2C company. The long answer is more nuanced, but it’s not the job function, it’s the nature of the customer base. The process of Product Management hinges on two axes: audience and iteration speed.” Read more at @drewdil https://medium.com/product-man/b2b-vs-b2c-product-management-c8692029ccd8
A portfolio roadmap approach based on the agile Goal-Oriented product roadmap. “…the GO Portfolio Roadmap combines the roadmaps of several related products into a single plan. “ Read more at Roman Pichler http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/the-go-portfolio-roadmap
4 tips to build better product roadmaps. “…we asked some of the most successful product managers we know to share their secrets for building brilliant product roadmaps. Their insight proves that no matter which team or company you work with, the best product managers follow a familiar path when it comes to planning. Roadmapping works best when you start with strategy, prioritize features, manage ideas, and share your roadmaps with conviction.” Read more at Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-de-haaff/4-roadmapping-secrets-from-successful-product-managers_b_8210742.html