Product Management 2.0

Seminars: High-Impact Product Launches

2008-04-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

I'm doing two seminars on Tuesday the 15th of April covering How to Plan and Execute a High-Impact Product Launch. The material is based on the Product Launch Toolkit(tm), and every attendee receives a copy of my book and a discount on my new Expert Product Management Toolkit Bundle.

Here are the details:

Mid Peninsula Professional AllianceMorning meeting at Scott’s Seafood Restaurant, Palo Alto, CA7:30 AM to 9:00 AM. Preregistration price/deal: $31.95 includes breakfast, presentation and FREE book, “Expert Product Management” by Brian Lawley. More info and sign up here.

Silicon Valley Business MeetupEvening meeting at Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA5:30 to 8:30 PM. Preregistration price/deal: $20 until April 13, ($25 after April 13th). Includes autographed copy of the book, “Expert Product Management” by Brian Lawley. More info and sign up here.

Announcement: Expert Product Management Toolkit Bundle

2008-04-05T11:07:00.001-07:00

We are very excited to announce the availability of a new product, the Expert Product Management Toolkit Bundle! The bundle is based on the best-selling book, Expert Product Management, by Brian Lawley, CEO of the 280 Group.

Included in the bundle are a copy of the book (either ebook or printed) and four of the corresponding 280 Group toolkits that cover the content (Product Roadmaps, Product Launches, Beta Programs and Product Reviews). In all there are four narrated on-demand training presentations (one for each topic) and over 130 templates for the corresponding tasks.

You can check it out here or you can buy it on Amazon.com.

Let it Beep: Sosumi

2008-04-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

Here's an amusing story about the MacOS System 7 beep sound (by the 280 Group's own Jim Reekes). Talk about a creative way to get a feature your realy want into your products. :-)

Keynote: How to Accelerate Your Product Management Career

2008-03-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

I'm doing the keynote presentation at the PMEC (Product Management Education Conference) in San Diego at the beginning of April. Come join me for an excellent conference if you get the chance.

Here's a description of the talk:
Do you ever wonder why some product managers seem to get promoted and advance much faster than others? Are you interested in learning strategies and tactics you can use to speed up the advancement of your own career? In this presentation Brian Lawley, Founder of the 280 Group and President of the Silicon Valley Product Management Association will share the different ways he has seen product managers successfully accelerate their careers during his twenty year career in product management.

More details here...

Product Roadmap Webinar

2008-02-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'm giving a free Webinar on Friday, Feb 29th covering "How to Develop a Compelling Product Roadmap".

Details and sign up are here:

http://www.aipmm.com/html/events/webinar.php

Book Review: Expert Product Management

2008-02-24T23:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a great review for my new book.

Those new to product management often spend most of their time on a few areas -- researching market needs, developing business cases, writing requirements, monitoring development projects. Though these are indeed crucial aspects of the product manager role, there are many other responsibilities that often get overlooked. Not surprisingly, these are the areas for which there are often fewer resources available, so product managers may feel as if they have to "go it alone."

Luckily, Expert Product Management succinctly covers four crucial areas which can improve a product's success. Brian Lawley provides clear, practical advice on Product Roadmaps, Beta Programs, Product Launches, and Review Programs -- the value of any one of these sections alone can justify the reasonable price.

Each section begins with an explanation of the concept and its importance, then covers examples of different approaches and best practices. The writing style makes it easy to read from cover-to-cover and also easy to refer to as a reference. Don't let the size fool you
-- at under 100 pages, this can easily be read on a short plane ride
-- yet there is sufficient depth to the information contained within to make it practical and actionable.

The chapter on Product Roadmaps is especially comprehensive and useful. Brian describes six different types of roadmaps -- even experienced product managers will likely discover one they were not aware of here -- and presents an easy-to-follow eight step process for creating your own roadmap. Similar level of detail is provided in the other sections -- enough information that the reader can use it as a guide to implementing on the job, though not so much to make it laborious to read or hard to locate later for answers to specific questions.

If there is any flaw in the book, it is that the design of the book itself does not do enough to support the high-quality content. The text and graphics are clear and easy to read, yet a more compelling design could have enhanced the text even further. This is a minor quibble, though, since it is still a very useful resource regardless.

As the name implies, this book may not be the best complete introduction to those new to product management, though that is clearly not its intent. For experienced product managers who have mastered the basics and are looking to take their job to the next level, Expert Product Management is a highly recommended guide which can help already good product managers to better plan, create, and launch a successful new product.

Jeff Lash
Author, How To Be a Good Product Manager: http://www.goodproductmanager.com/

Product Management Productivity Webinar

2008-01-22T16:06:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that I will be holding a Webinar on Product Management Productivity. Hope you can join us!

Date: Friday, January 25, 2008

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST

Overview:How to get twice as much done in half the time.

As a Product Manager, you will always have far more work than you can possibly accomplish. Between thinking strategically and driving things related to your products from a high level to executing the day-to-day tactical work required for product success, you will have a full list of to-do items and plenty of requests that go unfulfilled. This webinar will show you strategies and tactics for being more productive, with the goal of increasing your output and freeing up your time for high-level tasks, while at the same time reducing your overall stress level.

To register go to:http://www.aipmm.com/html/events/webinar.php

Product Management in IT

2007-12-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

We've been seeing an interesting trend - IT departments hiring product managers and setting up a formal product management function and process. For example, Intel IT licensed our product manager's toolkit and product roadmap toolkit for their IT staff and have set up a centralized product management resources portal for worldwide use. They also had us do some training and consulting work.

It's not surprising to see this happen. IT departments have a wide range of projects with requirements that change often and need to be defined up-front. Using MRDs/PRDs and roadmaps to prioritize, get commitments and communicate plans is a proven best practice, and IT is leveraging the resources and knowledge that has been developed over the years. There is an interesting article about it here if you want to read more about it.

Here Comes Another Bubble

2007-12-10T09:35:00.001-08:00

Very funny video. I like the guy who shows up in the middle with the title of Product Manager.

Dilbert on Agile

2007-12-07T11:35:00.001-08:00

Dilbert on Agile - for those of you waterfall Product Management fans that like to make fun of Agile.

New Book: Expert Product Management

2007-11-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce the availability of a my new book: Expert Product Management: Advanced Techniques, Tips and Strategies for Product Management & Product Marketing! Expert Product Management teaches you how to create compelling Product Roadmaps, run more effective Beta programs, plan and execute high-impact product launches and how to get great reviews for products.

The book is available now for $19.95.

Click here to purchase!

FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS WE ARE ALSO MAKING THE FULL EBOOK VERSION AVAILABLE AT ABSOLUTELY NO CHARGE (NORMALLY $11.95). If you chose to download the free ebook version, all we ask is that you forward this email to at least three friends (and if you like the book purchase a hard copy.)

Note: the book also includes a link to download free templates and a $30 coupon for the 280 Group PM Office Professional version. You can also purchase the printed book through Amazon.

I will also be holding a book signing party on November 7th in Santa Clara, CA prior to the SVPMA (www.svpma.org) monthly event. If you are in Silicon Valley come and join us for food, beverages and networking and pick up a signed copy ($5 discount for SVPMA members).

Product Management Job List

2007-10-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

There is a new job listings group on Yahoo for Product Management and Product Marketing called pm_jobs. Joining the group and posting jobs is free. Click here to join...

Product Management Productivity Webinar

2007-10-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

I'll be giving a Webinar next Wednesday October 10th called "PM Productivity: How to get twice as much done in half the time"

Here's an overview (link below to sign up):

As a Product Manager, you will always have far more work than you can possibly accomplish. Between thinking strategically and driving things related to your products from a high level to executing the day-to-day tactical work required for product success, you will have a full list of to-do items and plenty of requests that go unfulfilled. This webinar will show you strategies and tactics for being more productive, with the goal of increasing your output and freeing up your time for high-level tasks, while at the same time reducing your overall stress level.

Sign up here...

Product Management Productivity Tip #3: Master Meetings

2007-09-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

How to Reduce Time in Meetings

Few things can boost your productivity more than cutting down on the amount of time you spend in meetings. If you want to buy yourself a few extra minutes (or hours) each day to work on important priorities this is an area to focus on.

Here are a few suggestions:

Make the meetings that you run be 30 minutes rather than one hour whenever possible. You would be surprised how efficient everyone becomes when they know they have to get through the agenda but have less time.
Insist that people take irrelevant, off-topic or non-group items offline to talk about after the meeting. Don’t allow them to waste everyone’s time discussing something that is not relevant to everyone else during the meeting.
Take notes during the meeting on your laptop and keep a running list of decisions and action items. Mail this out before you leave the meeting room if at all possible.
If there is a meeting with a large number of items to cover that don’t need your involvement ask if the group minds if they cover your items first so that you can leave the meeting earlier.
State and get agreement for the rules for meetings you run and ones you participate in. Let everyone know that there is a five minute grace period maximum. If people are late publicly humiliate them. Or better yet, assign them some action items. :-)
Bring donuts to morning meetings – you’ll be surprised how many people show up on time in order to get their favorite kind. This is especially good for meetings with your engineers.

If you follow all of these guidelines and make a point of being diligent about it you will likely free up several hours during your week. This may be just what you need in order to be able to spend time thinking strategically or focus on being more of a leader in your role.

Product Management & Product Marketing Office(tm) Released

2007-09-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

We're excited to announce that we have released the 280 Group PM Office(tm).

There are two versions:

PM Office Profesional (contains six 280 Group toolkits: Roadmap, Launch, Product Reviews, Beta Program, Developer Program and Product Manager's Toolkits)

PM Office Standard (contains three 280 Group toolkits: Roadmap, Launch and Product Manager's Toolkits)

To help us announce the PM Office we decided to have Bob Dylan give us a hand. Click below to check it out. :-)

Product Manager 's Bingo

2007-09-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

Are you a Product Manager who keeps falling asleep in meetings and seminars? What about those long and boring conference calls?

Here's a way to change all of that.

1. Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare yourself by drawing a square. (I find that 5" x 5" is a good size.)

2. Divide the square into columns and rows - five across and five down. That will give you 25 one-inch blocks.

3. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block:

* synergy
* strategic fit
* core competencies
* best practice
* bottom line
* revisit
* expeditious
* to tell you the truth (or "the truth is")
* 24/7
* out of the loop
* benchmark
* value-added
* pro-active
* win-win
* think outside the box
* fast track
* result-driven
* empower (or empowerment)
* knowledge base
* at the end of the day
* touch base
* mind-set
* client focused
* paradigm
* game plan
* leverage
* outside the box
* follow up

4. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.

5. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout "BULLSHIT!"

Testimonials from product management "Bullshit Bingo" players:

"I had been in the meeting for only five minutes when I won." - Adam, Atlanta

"My attention span at meetings has improved dramatically."- David, Florida

"What a gas! Meetings will never be the same for me after my first win." - Dan, New York City

"The atmosphere was tense in the last process meeting as 14 of us waited for the fifth box." - Ben, Denver

"The speaker was stunned as eight of us screamed 'BULLSHIT!' for the third time in two hours." - Mitch, Tampa

"When I won and yelled "BULLSHIT!" the woman sleeping next to me slid off her chair!" - Joseph, Los Angeles

MBA Jargon Generator

2007-08-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

For Product Managers who don't already have an MBA this is a fun site. Just click on the button and it'll give you a three word phrase.

Product Management Productivity Tip #2: Master Email

2007-08-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

As a Product Manager you can't afford to waste time.

Email sucks up your time for a number of reasons. You may read the same email multiple times. You may be tempted to respond immediately to messages as they come in. You may allow emails to get you off track from doing what is most important. Not to mention the fact that having an overwhelming amount of email is just plain stressful.

I get about 100 valid (non-spam) emails a day. Over the years I've read several books on how to manage email and have come up with a system that works pretty well. Here are the highlights:

Only check email three times a day. When you first arrive. Right after lunch and right before you leave.
Turn off outlook notifications - they just tempt you to be distracted.
Process email rapidly and empty your mail box. Try to process it as quickly as you can. For each email immediately decide to delete it, write a quick and short response (if it will take less than a minute), file it to read later or, if it will require a lengthy response, turn it into a task (drag it down to the bottom left corner of Outlook, drop it on the task menu and choose to save it as a task with an attachment.)
Send short responses quickly. Don't spend a lot of time writing and rewriting your responses.
Use keyboard shortcuts. In Outlook Alt s saves and sends your email, F9 sends and receives for all accounts and Ctrl1 gets you to email, Ctrl2 to calendar, Ctrl3 to contacts.
Avoid jumping in on long threads - oftentimes they work themselves out within a few responses. Let other people chime in - wait and see if they can resolve the issues. If the thread continues wait and read all responses at once. You'd be surprised how many times things just work themselves out if you just resist the urge to instantly jump in.
Turn long responses into tasks. If an email response needs a long time and lots of thought to write turn it into one of your high priority "A" items for the day (see previous article on prioritizing).
Save all email that you want to read but doesn't require a response for later. Read it once a week when you are out of energy or not motivated to do other work (Friday afternoon is a great time to do this).
Clean out your email each night and before you leave for the weekend. This is another great thing to do on Friday afternoon. You will be amazed at what a relief it is to start your evening or weekend without the burden of email hanging over your head, and it will make starting the next morning much more pleasant.

I've found that by using these ideas I can usually keep the time I spend on email down to less than thirty minutes a day.

Product Management Productivity Tip #1: Prioritizing

2007-08-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

As a Product Manager you will always have far more work to get done than you can possibly get to. Between thinking strategically and driving things related to your products from a high level to executing the day-to-day tactical work required for product success, you will have a full list of to-do items and plenty of requests that go unfulfilled. Ivan Chalif has an interesting post related to this and life balance in his blog, the Productologist.

The ironic things is that the more competent you are, the more people will ask for your time and help. If you become known as the person who can do the absolute best demo and answer customer questions extremely well, your sales people will constantly ask you to come along on customer visits. If you are responsive to customer problems your technical support team will come to you more often to ask for creative solutions. And if you are good at influencing cross-functional teams you'll be asked to step up to the bar and lead efforts that go beyond just making your product successful.

So how do you deal with all of this?

I've used the Franklin system for prioritizing for the past ten years (even though I haven't owned a Franklin planner since Palm Pilots and then SmartPhones came out). I took Franklin's full day course and it was extremely helpful. The goal of their training is not only to help you be more productive, but also to DRAMATICALLY reduce your stress level.

Their system is simple. Every morning before you begin work take your to do list and capture everything you can think of. Then prioritize each task as A, B or C.

A = MUST do today

B = Would like to do today

C = Not important today

Ideally you want to have about 5 items on your A list and 8-10 on your B list maximum. From there you assign all the A's and B's priority numbers.

Then you just work your list straight down, beginning with A1. Having put just a few minutes of thought into it you can be assured you are working on the most important items. If you feel like priorities are shifting you can take a second 10 minute break later that day to reassess, but either way you don't need to feel guilty or anxious about not working on what's important.

There are several other benefits to this approach:

- At the end of the day you can look back and judge whether you accomplished the A list items. This is a great way to assess whether you are staying on track.

- If your boss insists on putting something on your to do list for that day (what Product Manager's boss doesn't) you can show him/her what your estimation of priorities are. If you both agree it is more important then something else can drop off the A list.

- You can capture virtually anything on the list as a C so you never have to worry about forgetting good ideas.

There are several other organization methods I use - I'll cover these in future posts.

Worlds First I.T. Guy - Very Humorous

2007-08-03T10:34:00.001-07:00

I wonder if anyone created a persona for this user. :-)

Product Review Program Toolkit Released

2007-07-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

We're excited to announce that we have released the 280 Group Product Review Toolkit(tm). The toolkit contains a narrated presentation called "How to Get Phenomenal Product Reviews" as well as a White Paper "Top 10 Product Review Program Mistakes", which can be downloaded for free.

Also included are the following files:

Templates:
Reviewer's Guide
Product Review Program Plan
Competitive Product Comparison
Reviewer's Kit Cover Letter
Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
Reviewer Tracking Database
Product Review Program NDA
Product Review Program FAQ
Press Release Background Document
Press Release
Press & Reviewer Kit Checklist
Company Backgrounder
Competitive Product Comparison
Press Presentation
Analyst Presentation

Samples:
Four Reviewer's Guides
Press Release
Testimonials & Success Stories
Screen Shots
Competitive Comparison

Guidelines:
How to Write Features and Benefits
Press Release Guidelines
Press & Analyst Launch Timeline

Press Release Template

2007-07-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

We've made a press release template available on our website as part of the free tools and templates we offer. Let us know what other templates you'd like us to make available.

WEB CRASH 2007

2007-07-24T13:19:00.001-07:00

Who could have predicted all of the things people would do with computers at one time? This starts off a little slow but is quite funny as it progresses. :-)

Product Management 2.0: Smart Help Systems

2007-07-20T13:36:00.001-07:00

I recently gave the keynote presentation at the AIPMM 2007 PMEC (Product Management Education Conference), and the topic was Product Management 2.0. In it I summed up where Product Management is as a discipline and added some ideas about where it might be headed in the future. I'll be sharing some of these ideas in this blog over the coming months and would love to get some feedback and opinions.

The first topic is smart help systems. Why don't help systems keep track of all of the most popular searches, questions and topics and then provide information back to the Product Manager about what is being asked? Imagine if you could have a detailed report that showed what capabilities people are asking for (both the ones already in the product and the ones not yet part of it). This would take user interface design to the next level, and would also give us all much better insight into use cases for our products. To that end, why not have a simple survey built into the help system that is on all the time (similar to what the folks at Orasi offer) so that you can ask users to quickly rank possible new features?

It's possible this is already being implemented by Google, eBay and others, since the web-based nature of their help systems allows for capturing the data and aggregating it. If not, I certainly hope that they and others (are you listening Microsoft?) build an efficient engine and let the software world out there tap into it. Maybe there is even a market for someone to build this for SaaS offerings? Does anyone know of any efforts like this that are underway?

Office Space : I HAVE PEOPLE SKILLS full version

2007-07-20T13:28:00.001-07:00

Ever have a problem explaining what the role of Product Management is?

This clip says is all. :-)