Two of my all time favorite books are Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s Solution. Both are must-reads for anyone working in a high growth technology field. The central premise that underlies the series is that it’s very
Using the Right Tools
Last weekend I set out on one of my first do-it-yourself house jobs: cutting a hole in the basement door so the cats can easily go downstairs. Having just moved from a small apartment in Brooklyn, this was one of
Overdesigned Products
Like any new homeowner, my weekends have been pretty much dominated by jobs around the house. Cleaning out the basement, getting a plumber to fix the sink, rebuilding the crawlspace door, etc. etc. It’s been a really busy couple of
Simple Framework For Product Line Ownership
Outside of a company’s senior executives, the product line owner is probably the one person whose performance is most highly correlated with the overall success of a company. Distinct from the product development manager, who primarily works with engineers building
The Challenge of Being Three Different People
One of the challenges of being a product leader is that different stakeholders are looking to you for different things. The three most prominent groups of stakeholders include: Internal teams like sales, marketing and engineering who are looking to you
Improving Quora
A couple weeks ago I wrote about what I would do if I was Dennis Crawley (and how I thought Foursquare could be improved). Today, I’d like to write about one of my other favorite products: Quora. Much less widely
Governor’s Island and Delivering Incremental Value
I always love the view walking west on Atlantic Avenue from our apartment in Cobble Hill. The road dips down under the BQE and tumbles right into Brooklyn Bridge Park at Pier 6. As we were walking this route on
Product Planning in One Week
The job of the product manager is somewhat of an anomaly in the working world. Unlike the role of, say, an engineer, or a sales person, the role of the product manager can be completely different at one company vs.