This post was originally published on Inside Q4, stories and lessons learned from the Q4 Inc. R&D team. The requirement was extreme: hire 15 Product Managers (and one Director of Product) in the next year and a half. When I arrived at Q4 in October of 2021, we were entering a period of hyper-growth in ProductContinue reading “What I Learned from Interviewing 85 Product Manager Candidates in 18 Months”
Tag Archives: product management
Fixing our Unhealthy Obsession with Work Email
“Creative thinking requires a relaxed state, the ability to think through options at a slow pace and the openness to explore different alternatives without fear.” – Fixing our Unhealthy Obsession with Work Email
All of This Has Happened Before
A software license touches on the software, not on the human relationships which the software mediates. It is those relationships that lock us into positions where Zuckerberg’s foot is on our necks. The Eternal Mainframe, Rudolf Winestock
How not to respond to negative product feedback in the press
In yesterday’s journal there was an interview with the CEO of The Weather Channel, talking about the future of Weather content. Weather might seem trivial, but it’s one of the most important kinds of content to get right on any platform. Companies like Yahoo, Apple, Samsung, and others agonize over how to present weather contentContinue reading “How not to respond to negative product feedback in the press”
The Law of Conservation of Complexity
When I was a wee pup working on My Yahoo, this was a crime I committed more than once. We’d argue about how a particular feature should work, narrow things down to two contradictory options, and end up implementing both as a “configurable setting.” Users would then never find or use the setting, and we’dContinue reading “The Law of Conservation of Complexity”
Don’t be a slave to the backlog.
I’ve been spending a lot of time helping one client with their 2011 Product Roadmap. Although we’re not “doing Agile,” I’ve introduced them to the product backlog. So far it’s been a powerful planning tool. So Scott Sehlhorst’s post on how to prioritize resonated with me. When creating a backlog, or managing features, you needContinue reading “Don’t be a slave to the backlog.”
Does the world need product managers anymore?
Programmers write code, QA specialists (really just a specialized kind of programmer) make sure that it works, designers create flows, layouts, copy and graphics, and sales people sell. Sure, someone needs to keep an eye on costs and revenues, and manage the business – but that’s not what most product managers do. So do weContinue reading “Does the world need product managers anymore?”
Getting a New Team to do Cool Stuff
When I took on my current job I was given an established product team and a mostly-new engineering team. We also had a brand new engineering manager, QA manager, and program manager working with us. Our job was to launch an all-new version of Toolbar while we maintained our existing versions and continued to supportContinue reading “Getting a New Team to do Cool Stuff”
Design by Objective
I’m a big fan of managing by objective. Wherever possible, I believe that PMs, engineers, testers and designers should begin their work by first agreeing to (or at least accepting) a list of user and business objectives that a feature or product should fulfill. This will be useful in framing the many discussions that willContinue reading “Design by Objective”
Rule 2: Don’t be a victim.
As a product manager it is tempting to blame failures on the action – or inaction – of others. This is dangerous because it allows one to avoid responsibility for the commtiments they make. To be a great product manager you have to be a good leader. That means holding yourself accountable. The best definitionContinue reading “Rule 2: Don’t be a victim.”
Joseph’s Blog 