The 280 Group asked this question on their blog:

“Everyone knows strategy drives execution. But what drives strategy?”
280group.com/blog/product-marketing-rule-2-think-big-start-small-move-fast

Am I over simplifying it with a one-word answer? Vision.

Thoughts?

I really liked both of these short posts.

The One-Minute Marketing Plan by Drew Williams
http://www.feedthebeast.biz/blog/index.php/the-one-minute-marketing-plan/

I am always armed with the keep it simple approach and this fits the bill perfectly. It is rooted in real customer feedback (positive) and drives you to think about the problem, the benefit (or value statement) and maps that nicely to collateral. Simple. One-minute.

The Difference between Strategy and Tactics by Jeremiah Owyang
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2013/01/14/the-difference-between-strategy-and-tactics/

A great refresher on the difference between strategy and tactics. Jeremiah uses the following attributes to illustrate the difference – Purpose, Roles, Accountability, Scope, Duration, Methods, and Outputs. This is very effective and helps keep you focused on strategy (hard) versus tactics (easier).

Thoughts?

I am thrilled to be hosting a third ProductCamp for Vancouver. Every year the event seems to get bigger and bigger! ProductCamp Vancouver is the premiere event for Product Management, Product Marketing, and Marketing professionals to teach to, learn from, and network with each other. ProductCamp is an un-conference, meaning that it is FREE to you! Your only cost is your participation – bring your ideas, lead a session in your area of expertise, facilitate a round table discussion, network, or volunteer.

Event Details:
Date: Saturday, February 2nd, 2013
Time: 8:00AM – 4:30PM

Location:
Segal Graduate School of Business
Simon Fraser University
500 Granville Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 1W6

For more information please visit the official ProductCamp Vancouver web site: http://www.productcampvancouver.org/
You can follow the conversation online through Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.

What is a ProductCamp Vancouver?
ProductCamp is a participant-driven, collaborative conference on topics related to Product Management, Product Strategy, and Product Marketing. All participants should come prepared to present a topic or run a group discussion. On the day of ProductCamp, all attendees cast their votes for sessions and presentations they’d like to attend. Most popular wins – sessions with the most votes will be presented throughout the rest of the day. ProductCamp has its heritage in BarCamp which is an international network of user-generated conferences (or unconferences). They are open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants.

If you are attending, drop me comment so that we can connect and meet. Also, why not propose, suggest or vote for potential session ideas here: http://www.productcampvancouver.org/topics.

If you are interested in attending, we are sold out, but put your name on the wait list here: http://www.productcampvancouver.org/sponsors.

If you are interested in sponsoring, please visit this page: http://www.productcampvancouver.org/sponsors.

In the last week I have had a couple direct questions and again a conversation on product management credibility. Admittedly the questions and topics are a bit open and vague. I thought you might be interested in my answers or provide alternatives that would also be useful.

Question 1:
Just wondering if you might have any suggestions on literature or resources that deal with UI design?

Not really sure where to start or sure on the specifics, I provided links to this two books. This is a classic… maybe a bit dated but good concepts: Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems and I have always heard really good things about Alan Cooper, specifically this book: The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. As for tools for wireframes and mockups… these are the three I hear used most often. They may also have resources that help educate.

http://www.mockflow.com/
http://www.balsamiq.com/
http://flairbuilder.com/

Question 2:
Are there any resources to help me understand the basics of product management?

Webinars: Start with “Strategic Role of Product Management” and then pick and choose based on interests.

eBooks: Start with “The Strategic Role of Product Management”, then “Effective Product Managers Know Their Market”

Question 3:
The topic of product management credibility always comes up, so I typically reference these posts.

Building Product Management Credibility
5 Reasons Why You Have No Credibility with Engineering
Earning Your Stripes
Nine Power Techniques for Building Your Leadership Credibility

Any additions?

ac·count·a·bil·i·ty   [uh-koun-tuh-bil-i-tee]
noun
1. the state of being accountable, liable, or answerable.

ac·count·a·ble   [uh-koun-tuh-buhl]
adjective
1. subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something; responsible; answerable

I was researching what this word really means. People talk about a culture of accountability and it tends to be used a lot in leadership circles. It is also awkwardly the second attribute of RACI models. If you don’t know, RACI is an acronym that was derived from: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. I see it used a lot when companies ask how they can improve their employee engagement. It tends to be a word thrown around like communication. No one is accountable. No one communicates. Must a be a very odd place to work.

As a product manager, do you wait for accountability to be assigned or do you grab it by the horns and own it? Do you even know what you are accountable for? This might be a good question to start with during your next one-on-one with your manager. Do you want to be accountable for anything? This might be a good question for your own career self-assessment. While I have seen both the good and the bad with RACI models, I do tend to approach goals with all four RACI attributes keeping both the “R” and “A” assigned to myself (or my team). I consult where required and inform as necessary. I would argue that one of my personality traits is “being accountable” and I think this is what makes me a great product manager versus just a good product manager.

To close, I’ll leave you with this quote from one of the blog posts I found (link):

“A personal choice to rise above one’s circumstances and demonstrate the ownership necessary for achieving desired results – to see it, own it, solve it, and do it.”

For more reading, my good friend Jim Holland wrote a guest post “Some Thoughts on Roles and Responsibilities” on On Product Management. And Paul Young wrote another on RACI models here:”Core Teams and Tradeoffs“.

I have registered, have you?  Learn more and register here: www.productcampseattle.org

ProductCamp Seattle 2012 is a free , all-day event hosted for the product management community by the Product Management Consortium (PMC).  The ProductCamp movement started in 2008 in Silicon Valley and has spread across the globe with events as far as India, Australia and London. This will be the 4th event in Seattle.

A year ago I posted <here> about telling your product story. The gist was a great presentation from Simon Sinek. I have found another that is worth watching. Take the 30 minutes to watch this… then spend a few minutes and think about what and who your product stands for.

Simon Sinek: If You Don’t Understand People, You Don’t Understand Business from 99U on Vimeo.