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

The history and evolving role of product management from brand manager to c-suite leader. This is an excellent article that describes what product management is, the key influences over time, and where it is going as product managers become product leaders. Take time to read it at http://abunchofdata.com/the-evolving-role-of-product-management/

Product Lifecyle Management (PLM) and Product Portfolio Management (PPM) heat up. There has been a recent surge in articles about PLM and PPM as well as companies asking questions about these solutions. Managing product and the role of product in organization success is moving towards the core infrastructure of organizations. Here is a short perspective from Forrester http://blogs.forrester.com/nate_fleming/17-06-29-how_software_is_shifting_the_dynamics_of_traditional_product_management

Top 75 resources for product managers compiled by Sachin Rekhi. If you are looking to better understand the skills needed for product management, how to use vision, the role of strategy, and more, then check out this helpful list at http://www.sachinrekhi.com/top-resources-for-product-managers

Steve Johnson’s presentation at ProductCamp Boston – the evolving role of product managers and leaders. Titled “Create Your Product Adventure: My personal journey of developing software tools for Product Managers,” Steve shares the needs of product managers, product leaders, and organizations regarding product. View the slides at https://www.slideshare.net/ProductCampBoston/129-create-your-product-adventure-my-personal-journey-of-developing-software-tools-for-product-managers

Product manager as translator. Organizations are quickly evolving the role of product manager, making it fit their needs and culture. This is a perspective of how the role is currently defined at one organization – primarily as translator between business and technologists…https://beat.10ztalk.com/why-we-think-translation-is-the-primary-objective-of-product-management/

Lessons from customer experience pioneer Harry Selfridge – with infograph. Product managers know there is more to a customer’s experience with a product than the product itself. Sometimes considered the whole product, all of the customer touch points contribute to the perception of a product and the brand. This is a thoughtful look at the creator of a new department store experience in London in 1909 that changed department stores forever and still has lessons for product managers today https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2017/06/26/innovation-lessons-from-the-worlds-first-customer-experience-pioneer

The intersection of marketing and product innovation. I expect many product managers already understand that the role of marketing is important in the creation of new products, but it may not be widely understood by others. Marketing plays the role of understanding customer trends and defining priorities based on strategy, which helps product managers and innovators know where to focus their attention. Read about the intersection at http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2017/06/27/marketing-and-innovation-are-inseparable/

Build agile teams for rapid innovation. Product teams that are structured for rapid innovation and advancement look and act differently than traditional product teams. They have emerged from the influences of Agile practices. Read guidelines for creating such teams at https://www.toptal.com/insights/innovation/building-teams-for-rapid-innovation