Hi, I’m Chad McAllister, host of The Everyday Innovator™ Podcast. I am also guide to product managers, an educator, and author.

I love training product managers who desperately want to provide value to customers but secretly struggle with finding the right way to accomplish that – and not just once, but regularly… product after product.

The real secret is that every product manager struggles with this – especially when what worked for the last winning product is not working this time.

The solution I show them is how to build a foundation for decision making. Consultants abound, who provide “their” way of developing products, but specific approaches don’t work all the time in all situations. Instead, I help product managers have the right knowledge and right tools so they can ask the right questions to create successful products.

I’ve got…

• 25+ years of experience developing products in commercial sectors and for government organizations.
• experience in 4 startups – professional services, marketing, technology, and founder – as well as experience with small private organizations and large global corporations.
• a PhD in Innovation. OK, the official degree is Organization & Management, but that is because my school did not offer a degree in innovation. They did allow a component of each course to be customized to my research interest in innovation and my dissertation was squarely focused on a sticky product development topic – misunderstanding customer requirements. One member of my dissertation committee, the enviable Alan M Davis, said my literature review was the best that had been written on the topic of requirements. My dissertation has been used in university courses as an exemplary study.
• the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the New Product Development Professional (NPDP ) certification from the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA).
• a great book I wrote to quickly help anyone get grounded in the concepts of product development, management, and innovation. It is titled, “Turning Ideas into Market-Winning Products.”

 

 

I also have the backing of:

• PDMA, the oldest professional group for product managers. I am one of the few people registered and authorized to provide NPDP training.
• the Association of International Product Marketers and Managers (AIPMM), the largest professional group for product and marketing managers. I was asked by AIPMM to lead the development of their Certified Innovation Leader credential – an important body of knowledge for innovators that focuses on the managed front end.
• Various universities who have incorporated my training into their programs.

The weird story behind the podcast starting

The Everyday Innovator™ Podcast started in a very unique way. I took my wife, two kids, and all the things we could stuff into a 36′ motorhome, and traveled the US for an entire year.  22,000 miles later we had built some great experiences together and I had interviewed several people who were product developers, managers, innovators, and business leaders. If you want to know more about that adventure, take a look at these posts and learn how it all started.

When I returned home, it wasn’t long until I started missing the discussions I had while on the road. I turned my attention to podcasting, took a great class on interviewing from Andrew Warner (founder of Mixergy), and started weekly episodes featuring interviews with knowledgeable guests.

 

What else…

And when I’m not busy helping product managers and the organizations they work for, you can likely find me:

• traveling with my family – still love the RV even after being together in it for a year :)  Favorites include Myrtle Beach, SC; the Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee); Crested Butte, CO; Grand Tetons (Wyoming); San Francisco, CA; and Victoria, BC.
• sitting in a coffee shop working on a course for a university or chatting with people I just met.  I even have a chair with my name on it at my favorite coffee shop. I guess that means I’m a frequent customer!
• looking for a church to attend. I met my wife at an awesome church, but we moved away. We are looking for a church to call home. For the moment, I am among the growing number of unchurched Christians.
• taking evening walks, enjoying the beauty of Colorado sunsets and thunderstorms.
• watching just about anything science fiction – Dr. Who, Star Trek, SG-1 and so much more. And yes, I can’t believe Firefly was cancelled – so sad!

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Ready to excel in product management and stand out as an innovator?

Check this out…  The Product Mastery Roadmap. Learn how to 2X, 4X, and even 5X your success as a product manager.

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