What I've been reading w/c 26/02/2018 Innovation and Product Culture

Great look here at Product Analytics. Think I use about 5 tools altogether, and even with Google Analytics, I layer other tools on top to help make the data usable Life Beyond Google Analytics: Pick the Best Tools for the Job

 Thinking about product culture started with the start of a new series on Medium from FutureLearn - Using agile principles to develop company culture Part 1: Introduction and it promises to be a great look at how a successful organisation in delivery can live the values of the agile manifesto. It was then a short step to Stop Blaming, Start Innovating a great article that teaches us that Innovation, like charity, begins at home. Thoughtworks have a similar take and say that 

"Innovation is the key to unlocking a best practice culture" Thoughtworks, 2017

 Next up were two posts that cover more of the nuts and bolts of Product Management work. The first was a round of top tips on How to become a great Product Manager, according to 16 of them. The next was  The Problem With Being a Fix-It Product Manager really resonated with me. Sometimes you just need to treat your career like a product, make sure its purpose is clearly defined and focused. Not just for your own sake, but to ensure that the product culture around you works and isn't just making up for organisational gaps.

 Thorbjørn Sigberg writes in A funny story about projects
The only funny thing about projects, is that they tend to go horribly wrong in ways nobody anticipated.
and weaves an anecdote about large scale IT projects with infrastructure projects as he sits on a delayed train. I've certainly been on a few projects that match that! (as well as a few were it was obvious at the outset). The lesson I take from this is to keep outcomes and decision making as closely together as possible, these allows change to the things that nobody anticipates. So that's projects ... what about innovation? Why do Innovations fail? Not as big a takeaway here, but similar theme in too much bureaucracy and getting to the job to be done, to help the maximum number of people win with your product.

Can’t believe I missed National Storytelling Week earlier in the year! Interesting findings in Britain's Biggest Companies Fail to Tell Their Stories Clearly that neither CEO reports or “About Us” pages have much emotional language. Missing a trick to form a connection on a human level. When you consider Stephen Shapiro's advice

they are missing out on a massive opportunity to be part of what drives buying behaviour. So, are missing out on getting to the job to be done and being part of the users journey.

 And finally, this week saw the start of a new section on the 15below blog the "15below Tech Take". Here is a piece where I look at Blockchain and #TravelTech. There is much more to it than currencies! so much going on in this space at the moment, the next big thing for passenger communications?

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