I am lucky. I have an incredible mentor in my life who is also a wonderful friend. He’s the kind of mentor that will be the first in line to support me; but, has no problem slapping me down and back into reality when I need that as well. And, sometimes, we have these incredible great conversations that come out of nowhere. That happened the other day over lunch.
I’ve been a bit quiet in my writing this year (so far.) True, I’m busy; but, more importantly is the other reason – I’ve been listening.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again – listening to the market is the one thing that sets you apart from everyone else. The better you listen, the more you understand. The more you understand, the better you meet the market’s needs. The better you meet the market’s needs, the more you sell. The more you sell, the more money.
Listening means money.
(cross posted anywhere & everywhere I could find!)
My passion for Product Camps is no secret. Since attending my first one in November 2009, I have gone on the road to enjoy additional events as well as organized a few, bringing me to the grand total of being an attendee at 12 Product Camps. (That is, until the 2012 year where I hope to go to some more!) Each one was fantastic and I loved learning from, teaching and networking with all of the product professionals I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past few years.
Now it’s my turn to pay it forward.
As many of you know, for the past several years I have done some “side projects”, aka consulting work. Sometimes this was my primary income; sometimes it supplemented a salary from a company. While doing this work I have operated under the business name HarborLight Partners. It is through this business I am starting a new program – a Product Camp Scholarship.
A scholarship to attend a product camp? Yes. The scholarship is being offered to help new, first-time attendees with travel expenses when their companies do not so that the individual does not have to bear the whole expense out of pocket. (I’ve done that 8 times, and it can add up.) The scholarship is not enough for airfare or to stay at a 4-star hotel; but, if you need help with a tank or two of gas, or one night at a reasonable business hotel, and that will make the difference in your attending, then this program is for you.
I am not looking to have the major product vendors contribute large dollar amounts so that more people can attend. The vendors do a great job of sponsoring the events, and when you add it up they spend quite a lot of money on our community. Rather, this is a micro-scholarship program designed by the product professional community FOR the product professional community. Why? Simple. All too often we have no one to turn to for support in our companies, being an isolated team of one (or a few); but, product camps offer us a support network where we can turn for continued learning. That is what this program is designed to support.
When you do attend remember to do so with a purpose. If you want to propose a session, read this short blog post about presenting at a Product Camp.
Money will be awarded as it is available. There are no guarantees of amounts or the duration of the program. I have seeded the fund with a beginning balance. But, to keep offering the scholarship, more money will be needed. I am committed to adding to it as I am able; but if you have been to a product camp, see value and want to support the program and pay it forward, there is a link here where you can add your micro-donation to the cause. (This is not an official non-profit scholarship fund. There is no tax deduction available.) Even those $10 donations can add up fast and make a difference when the product community comes together.
Now’s the time to start applying! I hope that past attendees of a Product Camp see value, come together as a community and join the cause. I also ask the product community to help promote this program. It’s not about me – it’s about us. Come join the fun! I’ll see you soon at a product camp. (And, thank you.)
(Cross posted on onproductmanagement.net)
All over the web and in all the product management communities, there are articles and discussions about gamification. If you’ve been offline for a while, gamification is about applying design and development efforts to software in a way to make it more engaging, more “fun.”
Not only have whole applications been born under the premise (i.e. Foursquare), but gamification has also had great impact in some of the more traditional business software, (ie. Salesforce.com) allowing for more interaction and amusement when performing daily tasks.
I’m all about having more fun in my interactions with technology, and can truly appreciate making the more mundane less so; but, I believe sometimes we have taken the concept of gamification too far. (more…)
(Cross posted on onproductmanagement.net)
This year’s holiday tune was a bit harder to write. It seems that people are all over the place with how their year has progressed – some good, some bad, some hurried, some slowed. But, isn’t it great to know that a life in product management is certainly unpredictable? Happy Holidays.
(To the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, preferably in the styling of Bruce Springsteen. It is a bit clunky, but it works. )
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(This article is cross-posted at onproductmanagement.net)
This is a simple post about being simple.
I was thrilled and honored to have a visit by my good friend, Jim Holland, for the recent Product Camp in Minnesota. While he was here, he scanned my business book shelf and borrowed a book, my copy of Seth Godin’s “Poke the Box.” Jim enjoyed the short read and wrote a nice blog post based on his learning from it; in exchange, he brought me a small token gift, a simple non-descript cube that has somehow changed my life.
(This article is cross-posted at onproductmanagement.net)
In this week’s #prodmgmttalk, (on Twitter Mondays at 4 pm pacific) there was a big discussion on what to do with “bad” customers; how did they get to be called “bad”; how do we know they are “bad”; and, what do you do with them. It’s amazing how many points you can make in 140 characters, in a 20 minute timeframe!
While there was enough content to write a book on a “bad” customer, the focus here is to understand why your product even has “bad customers”.
