Product Growth Leaders | Product Conversations with Grant Hunter

Product Manager Technical Capability

This week @steve and I are joined by Jason Vincelette
 
Hear us discuss the answers to Monday’s question, how technical should a product manager be?​
 
See the results to the Wednesday poll, how important are technical skills for a product manager?
 
Get our take on the questions:

What is the best way for someone with a non-technical background to build technical competence?

Is it harder for a non-technical product manager to add technical competencies or a technical product manager to add business and soft-skill competencies?​

And, listen to the answers to our Lightning Round question, what is your best advice to someone with a more technical background to help them succeed as a product manager?​

Product Manager Responsibilities

Hear the panel discuss the answers to our Monday question - What is a product manager's most important responsibility? Where we have a slight debate whether a product manager being the voice of the market or a product manager being a business leader.

Hear our conversation on the poll and the importance of the Business Case, Roadmap and Positioning, and the wish for an all of the above option.

See my technical failure on our Mentimeter poll on What Should be the responsibilities of a product manager? (see the word cloud below the video)

Get our answers to the open-ended question: What responsibility that product managers often take, should not be their responsibility?

And get our (not so) Lightning Round answers from every panelist on "What is your advice to a product manager on how to manage scope creep in their responsibilities?"

This week, Steve Johnson and Grant Hunter were joined by regular panelists Jason Vincelette, Robert Goldberg, Jon Gatrell, and Jon Harmer, along with first-timer Jeff Biedell.

Roles and Responsibilities

Hear the panel discuss the answers to our Monday question - Why are clearly defined roles & responsibilities so important? Including (even though he could not join us) Jason Vincelette's amazing answer from Monday around the importance of needing to understand by what actions and deliverables will be evaluated, how roles play into career aspirations, and alignment across the company around who does what. Also some great insight from Anita from the session on the same topic she had just (literally) done for PMI.

Hear why we think that more than 50% of companies do not feel comfortable with how clearly defined their roles were, and how Robert, after a large investment and a lot of work does feel comfortable.

Get our two-cents on our open-ended questions:

What is the biggest challenge when roles & responsibilities are not clearly defined or aligned?

What is more valuable, the clearly defined roles & responsibilities or the process to get to those clear definitions?

And get our Lightning Round answers from every panelist on "What is one word or phrase that captures the importance of clearly defined roles & responsibilities to a product team?" Where we had a great yes-and session and my focus on trying to come up with the Four As of Roles & Responsibility Alignment or potentially setting for the AAAE.

Agreement

Energizing (could Activating work Anita?)

Accountability

Alignment

and Steve decided to rant with"Why don't we all do our own damn jobs for a week and see how it works out, and if it doesn't we can always go back to the dysfunction we had before."

This week, Steve Johnson and Grant Hunter were joined by regular panelists Robert Goldberg, Jon Gatrell and Anita Wood.   

Product Roadmaps

After Steve and I discuss my poor "Seinfeld" deliver on the question, hear our panel discuss the answers to our Monday question - What is the deal with roadmaps? Why do so many teams want them?

Listen to the panel discuss why Development was the overwhelming winner in our poll about the most important use case for roadmaps.

Get our two-cents on the following questions:

• What is the strategic role of the roadmap?
  
  
• What is more valuable, the roadmap or the roadmapping process?

And get our Lightning Round answers from every panelist on "What is one word or phrase on the importance of roadmaps to the organization?"

This week  Steve Johnson and I are joined by Jason Vincelette and Gregg Fenton to discuss Product Roadmaps.

Senior Leadership and Product Management

Hear the panel discuss the answers to our Monday question - What do senior leaders need to know about product management? Including Anita and Jason teaming for a great answer on the role senior leaders can play as mentors/coaches for product management, and the senior leaders need to know that product management's number one goal is to create great products that customers and users love.

Hear why there was pretty much consensus on Finance needing the most predictability, with good discussions on who needs it (Finance and Operations) versus who wants it (Sales) and how SaaS/subscription business do not have as high as a need for predictability. 

Get our two-cents on what you would want the CEO to know about product management if you had 10 minutes with them?

And get our Lightning Round answers from every panelist on "What is the best way to engage senior leadership to further product management's cause?" Including internal marketing, under the radar team, and many great "yes, and" answers.

This week, Steve Johnson and Grant Hunter were joined by one of our largest panels to date with regulars Jason Vincelette and Robert Goldberg, being joined by returning panelists Jon Gatrell and Anita Wood, and first-time panelist Charles Topping.   

Peer Networking in Product Management

Hear the panel discuss the answers to our Monday question - What is the value you get from your product management peer network? Where we discuss the differences between networking, having a peer (or peers) to go to one-on-one, and having a networking group of peers (or 3 or 4 dudes in a Slack channel).

Hear us discuss the poll on "Where do you go to network with product professionals?" where we acknowledge the great product management community in Atlanta, GA, and Jon discusses the level of depth difference between the local networking and going deep with a few. We also discuss the difference between a network and networking.

Get our two-cents on the following questions:

• How did you build your trusted peer network? Including Steve talking about the importance of going to places to speak and finding his peers, as well as reaching out to people for a conversation.
  
  
• What role does your product management peer network play in your professional development? Including Jon talking about the importance of the diversity of ideas a peer network brings to your development, and Jason admits he never wants to do anything other than product management and how he thinks about the topic of the week all week long. Finally, Steve brings it home by talking about the importance of the dialog, the two-way conversation, and furthering ideas and learning.

And get our Lightning Round answers from every panelist on "What is one word or phrase to describe the importance of professional peer networks to you?" where we had one of our best yes-and through all of us.

Steve Johnson and Grant Hunter had a great conversation on Peer Networking in Product Management with regular panelists Jon Harmer and Jason Vincelette, and first-time panelist (and one of Steve and Grant's long time peer networking partners) Jon Gatrell. 

Predictability vs Agility

This week @steve and I are joined by Jason Vincelette, John Harmar, and Gregg Fenton.
 
Hear us discuss the answers to Monday’s question, how do you manage predictability versus agility when making budgets and plans?​
 
See the results to the Wednesday poll, what department has the greatest need for predictability? 
 
Get our take on the questions,

What has been your biggest challenge with balancing predictability and agility?​

What are the best techniques and tools to help balance predictability and agility?​
 
And, listen to the answers to our Lightning Round question, what is your best advice to someone struggling with balancing predictability and agility?​

Stakeholder Management

This week @steve and I are joined by Jason Vincelette and John Harmar
 
Hear us discuss the answers to Monday’s question, what are the keys to successful stakeholder management?​
 
See the results to the Wednesday poll, which steakholder function do you find is the most difficult to collaborate with?
 
Get our take on the questions,

What are the best techniques and tools to manage the expectations of stakeholders?​

What is the best way to manage a difficult stakeholder?​
 
And, listen to the answers to our Lightning Round question, what is your top recommendation to a new product leader for stakeholder communications?​

Machine Learning

This week @steve and I are joined by Jason Vincelette, Gregg Fenton, and John Harmar
 
Hear us discuss the answers to Monday’s question, how will machine learning impact the future of product management?​
 
See the results to the Wednesday poll, where will Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence have the biggest impact on product management?
 
Get our take on the questions,

There are many examples of ML/AI going wrong in products (biases, eTom Caragher.), what is product managements role in preventing or managing this?​

Outside of the use of ML/AI by FAANG/FAAMG, what are the most novel implementations of ML/AI you have seen in products?​
 
And, listen to the answers to our Lightning Round question, what are the product management tasks that are most likely to gain value from ML/AI?​

Product Management Professional Development

This week @steve and I are joined by Jason Vincelette and John Harmar
 
Hear us discuss the answers to Monday’s question, what was your most valuable product management professional development experience?​
 
See the results to the Wednesday poll, if you had the budget to invest in product management professional devlopment for a team of 5 to 10, where would you spend that money?
 
Get our take on the questions,

Do you think this applies to Product Management? And if so, how do we fix that?

How can product leaders make product management, and product management professional development a strategic organizational priority?​
 
And, listen to the answers to our Lightning Round question, what is the most important thing in evaluating product management professional development opportunities?​