Happy Holidays for Product Managers
It’s that time of year again, and whether you’re in the holiday spirit or not, it’s hard to ignore it. But, if you’ve already heard the opening guitar riff to Jingle Bell Rock at least 100 times and need something different this holiday season, I’ve got a few suggestions.
- On the SiriusDecisions blog, I published our new Holiday Model, my tongue-in-cheek guide for helping you to navigate the holidays. Align your celebrations around themes like happiness, joy, peace and presents. Track your journey through holiday stages, from excitement to shopping panic and family celebration anxiety, all the way through to credit card bill shock and email inbox overload denial. And Never miss an important holiday, from Christmas to Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day to Boxing Day, and Festivus to National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day (December 16, if you’re wondering). See all the details and get a nice version to print out and hang or use as your holiday card.
- Back in 2011, I published The Twelve Days of Product Management, my take on the classic song, designed for product managers and those who work with product managers.
- And if you’ve had enough humor and want something actually serious, how about some music? In addition to practicing and advising on product management, I’m also a jazz vibraphonist (though I don’t play as much as I used to) and my trio recorded a holiday album a number of years ago. My gift to you this holiday season? A free downloadable copy of The Jeff Lash Trio: Happy Holidays, featuring our take on some holiday classics as well as not-so-classics.
If you’ve got any other product management holiday humor or the like to share, please add a comment to this post!
Oh, and one more thing this holiday season — it’s okay to take some time off. It may actually be good for your product! This post on taking time off was one of the first blog posts I wrote here back in 2006 and it’s a good reminder (even for me!).
What’s hot on Twitter
Here are a few of my tweets which have generated the most interest over the past few weeks; to get these in real-time, follow me at @jefflash:
A RT from @SlideShare, thx! 5 mistakes companies make w/ #innovation strategy & how to fix them via @siriusdecisions http://t.co/uLXnJ0t210
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) November 29, 2013
Accidentally just came up w/new variation on RACI. Contribute, Recommend, Accountable, and Perform. I'll let you figure out the acronym.
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) December 4, 2013
Do you need a #prodmgmt confessional? "Forgive me, for I have sinned. It has been 2 weeks since my last customer visit."
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) December 6, 2013
Good slides (big PDF) from @danolsen on How to be a Lean Product Ninja by http://t.co/PbxWnHPCS4 #prodmgmt #lean
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) November 22, 2013
Fascinating story about using Amazon for understanding customer requirements: "The Amazon Whisperer" http://t.co/z7IhUjkgzi #prodmgmt
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) November 20, 2013
Why Your Innovation Contest Won’t Work; from @timkastelle on @HarvardBiz http://t.co/DjlaM1MosV #innovation
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) November 16, 2013
The kids' indoor soccer center in Fairfield has a hilariously smart advertiser. #marketing #personas #targeting pic.twitter.com/WzLGByjV3l
— erin provey (@eeestep) November 23, 2013
4 Ways to Stay Ahead of Failure with Agile Product Management http://t.co/v1Ymnb2qiR #agile #prodmgmt
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) November 6, 2013
Market Research vs. Rapid & Parallel Prototyping for Innovative Product Success http://t.co/9AqBAo0HOB #innovation #prodmgmt
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) October 31, 2013
Understanding Your Buyer’s Journey: The Most Important Thing You’re Not Doing by @RossGraber http://t.co/cSIzi1hWmy
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) November 26, 2013
New is Easy but Right is Hard: Hacking Product Management. Good example / case study from @bleongcw http://t.co/c7RcoX6OM0 #prodmgmt
— Jeff Lash (@jefflash) November 22, 2013