Last week while driving to a meeting, I had an epiphany. Those familiar with the state of highways in the Bay Area in the morning rush hour can relate to this. I had to be in Burlingame on the water’s side of 101 at 9:30am. However, it was 8:30am before I could leave from Sunnyvale near 280 south of 85. At that time, no matter which highway I took (280, 85, 92, 101) one hour to get to Burlingame was an impossible task. Yet with real time traffic updates on the GPS and timely decision making about getting off and back on the highways at the right exits, I was able to make it to the cafe in Burlingame at 9:20am. Phew! Well let me assure you that it was no small feat. Now to the epiphany. Continue reading “What Does It Mean to be a Big Data Product Manager”
The Real Reason Facebook Had to Spend $19B
A lot has been written about the big $19B acquisition of Whatsapp by Facebook. My intent is not to write specifically about the acquisition and its merits, or critique it, or debate if the price was too high or too low. Instead, I wanted to share some thoughts about why Facebook finds itself in this position of having to acquire young upstart companies for insane amounts of money. What has brought Facebook to this point? Will its next acquisition cost Facebook much more than $19B? Continue reading “The Real Reason Facebook Had to Spend $19B”
New Product Idea – A Watch for Blind People…Almost
One of the participants in my course on Customer Connect & Market Research Techniques that I teach for the Institute of Product Leadership shared this great article about how products can benefit from user feedback.
It is a first person account of Hyungsoo Kim, founder and CEO of eone timepieces. Kim starts off narrating how he got introduced to the problem. Continue reading “New Product Idea – A Watch for Blind People…Almost”
iPhone 5S: Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli
There is a scene in “The Godfather”, where Rocco kills Paulie Gatto in the car and Clemenza tells Rocco, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli”. Clemenza’s wife has asked him to bring some cannoli home, but he has another task to be done. He has to finish Gatto, Vito Corleone’s driver, for treason. So the murder takes place during the cannoli errand. After Rocco kills Gatto, Clemenza instructs him to leave the gun, but to take the cannoli.
What is the significance of this line, and why am I bringing it up here in reference to the iPhone 5S? In the mob world, a murder is just part of the job, not much to be dwelled upon. Other things, like cannoli, are more important. We’ll see how this applies to the iPhone 5S. Continue reading “iPhone 5S: Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli”
The Insanely Great Product Manager – Part 4: Communicate Value
After understanding value, creating value, and capturing value, we now come to the next part of the value journey, i.e. communicating value.
A product manager has to be an effective communicator. Effective communication is timely, concise, and inspiring, yet with a lot of empathy. In the daily grind of the job, there are numerous things that pull a product manager in many different directions, yet, the opportunity to communicate with different stakeholders is always welcome. Continue reading “The Insanely Great Product Manager – Part 4: Communicate Value”
What Microsoft’s New CEO Should Do
Here is a draft speech that Microsoft’s new CEO could give to the company: Continue reading “What Microsoft’s New CEO Should Do”
On Product Leadership 