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 Innovation Tips Around the Web

Great article on the pros and cons of product management. “If you are interested in technology, user behavior, and business, product management is the only role, other than CEO, that allows you to intensely focus on how all three realms come together. If you are uninterested in one of the vertices (technology, users, or business), product management is not right for you.” Read more at Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2015/02/05/the-pros-and-cons-of-product-management/

Does your company need to innovate like a startup? See how GE is did it. “In this world, customers expect their suppliers to surround their products with data services and digitally enhanced experiences. This means that many organizations and their leaders are running as fast as they can to quickly build their software capabilities. How can these companies overcome the inevitable leadership, organizational, and cultural challenges involved?” Read more at Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2015/01/building-a-software-start-up-inside-ge

3 important technology innovation trends in the government sector. “Looking ahead at technological innovation in the federal sphere, analysts at Deltek identified three areas prime for the most growth in 2015: sensor-based technologies, software-defined infrastructure and predictive analytics.” Read more at Federal Times http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/it/2015/01/30/three-technologies-guide-federal-innovation-2015/22602355/

Great examples of how disconnected ideas led to popular innovations like  Netflix. “Light-bulb moments don’t happen on command, and brainstorming sessions rarely produce extraordinary results. More often it’s a random remark, event, or memory that sends an entrepreneur down the rabbit hole of innovation. From Airbnb to Yelp, here are the surprising origin stories to eight of today’s hottest companies….” Read more at Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com/3037896/the-random-events-that-sparked-8-of-the-worlds-biggest-startups

What you need to know about ‘target costing’ and what to do instead. “It’s all about reducing COST. This all-too-often involves the use of cheaper components and materials, including those that are less robust, less reliable, and more likely to fail during normal use.” Read more at LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-i-dislike-target-costing-mary-drotar

10 innovation insights from Sir Ken Robinson – ‘innovation isn’t optional.’ “Organizations are mortal: Most last only 30-40 years. And they don’t survive if they don’t evolve.” Read more at Marketing Profs http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2015/26976/innovation-is-vital-for-your-organizations-survival-10-must-learn-lessons-from-sir-ken-robinson

How Bang & Olufsen innovated their innovation process with a cross-functional working session. “The company was intrigued when the importance of context (time, place, people) kept coming up in its research of cloud-based music user experience, even though those qualities were rarely addressed by product functionality. Most devices not only did the same things in much the same ways, but looked the same, too.” Read more at Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathansalembaskin/2015/02/04/bang-olufsen-chooses-innovation-over-novelty/

3 tips for keeping products simple and avoiding unnecessary features – not just for startups. “This tendency to want to build everything from scratch and to innovate around every single aspect of a product stems from passion for a product and its mission. While passion is indispensible, it needs to be tempered with rational thinking. The ability to adjust focus and zone in on what’s critical will reduce risk and maximize chances of success.” Read more at Entrepreneur http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241755

Great article on the pros and cons of product management. “If you are interested in technology, user behavior, and business, product management is the only role, other than CEO, that allows you to intensely focus on how all three realms come together. If you are uninterested in one of the vertices (technology, users, or business), product management is not right for you.” Read more at Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2015/02/05/the-pros-and-cons-of-product-management/

Still Important – Product Management Flash from the Past

Tips from 3M, Google, Intuit, and Netflix for creating an innovation culture. “Creating a culture of innovation is important for any organization that wishes to grow. Like others before you, you can learn from these early examples of how to create a culture of innovation in your organization so that it can thrive.” Read more at Innovation Excellence – http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/12/30/starting-an-innovation-culture-3m-google-intuit-netflix-did-it-and-so-can-you

How Basecamp/37signals developer Ryan Singer applied the Jobs-to-be-Done innovation approach. Listen to the discussion at http://fullstackradio.com/episodes/5/