Product Game Plan

As product managers, we often focus on the technical aspects of our role, but it's the soft skills that can make or break our success. In this episode of Product Game Plan, I share a recent experience that highlights the critical importance of communication touchpoints for productivity in enterprise product management.

I discuss how a simple check-in with a team member revealed a misalignment in expectations, leading to unnecess...

In this episode of the Product Game Plan, I share insights from my recent European event that highlight the importance of maintaining strong relationships with customers and partners. We'll explore how these connections can drive product quality, foster loyalty, and ultimately lead to business growth.

Key Takeaways:

• Discover why product quality should be your top priority
• Learn the value of human loyalty in business r...

Building strong customer relationships is the cornerstone of any successful product strategy. As product managers, we often focus on features and functionality, but the real magic happens when we connect with our users on a deeper level.

I've discovered that forging meaningful connections with customers falls into two distinct categories: those we're just getting to know and those we've built a rapport with over time. Let's expl...

Before I ever book a meeting with my management to ask for funding, lay out a strategy for my product's needs, or ask for sponsorship, I make sure what I'm asking for is grounded in reality. 

Therefore, you will need an accurate and believable pitch. Precise prioritization of what should be in your pitch requires real user data, which means you need a broad enough sampling of user feedback to prove out the story for your pi...

As December comes to a close, I like to revisit my year. From a fiscal year perspective, I review the goals of my mid-year in-flight programs.

1. Are your programs on track, and can you measure their trajectory? 
2. What must occur from January through June to accomplish your goals? 
3. Then, what strategic business outcomes can you plan for and fulfill to meet goals between July and December?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Another way I r...

This conversation delves into the methodology of conducting Product Insight Sprints, emphasizing the importance of user feedback in product development. I outline the process from planning and preparing for the sprint, engaging users during the sessions, categorizing and prioritizing feedback, for assessing implementation efforts and creating an executive pitch deck. The focus is on fostering genuine relationships with users and st...

Landing programs and messaging are super important, so you want to translate them in a way that will engage folks. Engagement is number one. With it, you will be able to move very quickly. Key to your accomplishments is driving alignment and engagement with your stakeholders, who will be the most important people in implementing those programs.

When crafting executive messaging, assume you only have five minutes with a senior au...

I recommend going into each interview with a mindset of accurately knowing what your users experience. When you ask 'why' questions amongst the scenarios a user shares with you, you will begin to peel back the onion of reality for each user. They will take note and feel heard. Even when you think you know the answer, ask your users why they do or say things. The answers will sometimes surprise you. Never say "usually" whe...

Commitment to your professional evolution by developing a powerful operating model requires intent. How you change the interactions with your internal and external stakeholders influences the consistency in your achievements.  I'll talk about how two specific books and their authors have helped me consider what to incorporate into my systems and why I would consider changing my operating model.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Have yo...

What does experience mean for users, employees, leaders, and companies? Some companies are beginning to think about the interconnectedness of business, users, and communities. What does that mean and how can businesses evolve to change their ecosystem and opportunities, to create a shift in how employees think about their role in an organization?

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Download my free guide

Check out my programs and workshops 

Andy Hagerman and Heather talk about how powerful the business and user outcomes are when co-creation and co-design are implemented into an organization. You can expect to learn how important debriefs are after each customer conversation and how they can inform next-level decisions, and alignment with stakeholders.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Download my free guide

Check out my programs and workshops 

ABOUT THE HOST

Heather has had ...

Lack of stakeholder alignment and commitment are the 1 and 2 reasons why programs delay, break down before reaching the desired achievements, or fail altogether.

Your internal stakeholders can assist with your success when you build partnerships with them and include them as part of your extended team. When I look back on the products I was building, I always had a smoother experience getting my product built or orchestrating a ...

This episode is about building customer trust and knowing what information you should collect so that your customers feel that you understand them well when you meet with them for specific results

Doing your homework to create a profile of each customer's relationship with your company means you need a 360 view of each customer. Listen to this episode for my tips.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• By running this activity with 15+ custome...

I'll dissect what you can do now to begin forming a profile of your product. Including where to gather indirect and direct information about what your users think of your product, and why both perspectives are powerful. 

Then I’ll get into what’s essential when building relationships, who can round out the profile of your product, how to know when to engage with your various stakeholders, and why any of those activities are...

Welcome to The Product Game Plan – a podcast for enterprise product managers. You’ll learn how adopting soft skill methods can expand your existing professional operating model. In order to have a consistent data-driven roadmap, stakeholder alignment and commitment, and knowledge of your funding priorities. 

You'll discover how to gather customer insights to build or evolve your product to solve customer problems, why r...