Weeknotes 364
This week I did:
Strategy stuff
Quite a bit of strategy stuff this week for a few of our products and around product processes. I really enjoy it. The downside to it is always being left with a feeling of, ‘why didn’t I think of this ages ago?’ It makes me wonder if the best strategies are always hidden in plain sight and seem obvious when made explicit.
Highlight of the week
I’ve been working with a colleague over the past few weeks on how to create a digital journey, set goals, design web pages to achieve them, etc., and today he published his first page on the live site. He’s been a fantastic guinea pig and I hope I can take what I’ve learned from working with him and use it to help others create their own digital journeys.
Done
My done list is working well. This week I did 44 things across 15 projects or the like. That’s 8.8 things a day.
I read:
Mind the moat
Having something unique and defensible (AKA a moat) to give an organisation a competitive advantage is an interesting concept. Obviously it has a particular start-up investment bent to it, and I’m not convinced that thinking of a business purely in terms of competition and advantage is wise, but nonetheless Flo Crivello’s review of Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers is really good.
Collapsing the talent stack
This post, off the back of AirBnB announcing that product manager wouldn’t be a role they have any more, talks about the advantage start-ups have from having multi-skilled generalists. Well, duh. Charities have always known that. Maybe it’s from necessity rather than choice, but I wonder why there’s a push in the charity sector towards specialism? Maybe the benefits of generalists just aren’t recognised as much as they should be.
2023 UK Charity Digital Benchmarks Study
The 2023 UK charity digital benchmarks were published this week. I listened in on the webinar and read the website with great interest. I think the most interesting stat for me was that on average, donation pages have a conversion rate of 21%. Oh, and not a PDF in sight.
And I thought about:
The future of AI is personalisation
In the future, websites won’t exist. They’ll be no need for them. That means of interacting with information on the internet will be like going to a library to find a book is today. Having to actually navigate to one place on the web to read something? That’s so old skool. Organisations will still publish information to the web but solely for AI to read. Our personalised AI assistants will bring that information to us, written specifically for us to understand in our own way.
But in the meantime, the AI hype is dying down and people aren’t so panic-y about the end of the human race. The dominant design that is emerging is as AI as a co-pilot, helping people do the things they’re already doing. This isn’t much different from the introduction of email and how it changed communication. AI will change admin and creative work, but probably not much else that most people will notice for a while.
The scientific method
The scientific method is my main mental model. All day along my brain is observing, coming up with hypotheses and experimenting to prove them right or wrong. This week, this approach had some very real benefits on someone’s health and life. I hypothesised a chain of cause and effect that was making someone ill and prove that changing one seemingly unconnected behaviour made them well again. If I ever start my own product agency/consultancy I’m going to call it Cause & Effect.
Diversity makes a difference
Diversity is valuing difference because it makes a difference: We see more when there are more of us seeing. We know more when everyone’s perspective is sought and incorporated into our learning.
Margaret Wheatley
Managing messes
Managers are not confronted with problems that are independent of each other, but with dynamic situations that consist of complex systems of changing problems that interact with each other…. Managers do not solve problems, they manage messes.
Robert Ackoff
Plans are important
Plans are important in organizations, but not for the reasons people think. …plans are symbols, advertisements, games, and excuses for interactions.
Karl E. Weick
What makes a good product strategy?
A good product strategy is essential for businesses to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. It involves developing a clear understanding of customer needs and preferences, identifying opportunities for innovation and growth, and creating products that meet those needs and deliver value to customers. Here are some key elements of a good product strategy:
- Customer-centricity: The product strategy should be centered around the customer’s needs, wants, and behaviors. This means conducting extensive research to understand their pain points, preferences, and purchasing habits.
- Market analysis: Conducting regular market analysis can help identify trends, emerging technologies, and changes in consumer behavior that could impact the product roadmap. This includes monitoring industry news, social media conversations, and customer feedback.
- Product vision: Defining a clear product vision helps guide decision-making throughout the development process. This involves setting ambitious yet achievable goals for the product, such as improving user engagement or expanding into new markets.
- User experience (UX) design: UX design plays an integral role in crafting successful products by prioritizing intuitive interfaces, seamless navigation, and overall satisfaction among users. By focusing on these aspects early in the development cycle ensures that end-users will have positive experiences with your offerings leading potential repeat business along with referrals from satisfied clients!
- Innovation culture: Encouraging an atmosphere where creativity thrives allows teams more freedom when brainstorming solutions tailored towards meeting client requirements – which ultimately leads towards success within given deadlines & budgets too!
- Collaborative approach: Cross-functional collaboration between different departments like engineering, design, sales, and marketing helps create better alignment across all areas involved in producing top-notch offerings capable satisfying diverse customer bases worldwide!
- Agility and adaptability: Being able to pivot quickly based off changing conditions gives organizations stay ahead competition – allowing them respond promptly whenever unexpected obstacles arise during project execution phases so they can recover easily without much loss time invested thus far.
- Continuous improvement: Embracing continuous learning enables companies keep abreast cutting edge technology advancements while also fostering a mindset openness toward constructive criticism provides valuable insights needed enhance existing processes internally; this translates directly into enhanced customer satisfaction levels resulting higher retention rates over long periods time.
- Performance measurement: Establishing meaningful Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) tracks progress toward set objectives regularly assessed against specific targets helps monitor effectiveness decisions made throughout entire lifecycle product(s). These metrics provide vital data helping refine strategies further down line if necessary due course!”
By incorporating these elements into a product strategy, businesses can increase their chances of success in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.