TOBY ROGERS

As former Intel CEO Andy Grove said in his seminal book High Output Management, a team will perform only if peak performance is elicited from the individuals in it.

Most Product Teams try to steer clear of Key Performance Indicators. What works for business-as-usual functions like Customer Support and Operations doesn’t always work for teams whose primary goal is getting new features into the hands of customers.

I love Reddit. The self-styled front page of the Internet has long been my favourite place to hang out online. I love it so much I’ve got five different accounts which I use for posting and commenting on different subreddits, from r/psychedelicrock to r/StarWars, from r/twinpeaks to r/talesfromtechsupport (and no, I don’t upvote myself; that would be cheating).

I’ve also got a Reddit button on my denim jacket…

Hanging out backstage with musicians doesn’t seem like the ideal training ground for product management, but there are actually a lot of similarities between writing articles people want to read and building products people want to use. Both are about engaging an audience, after all.

There are a lot of good product managers, but great product managers are few and far between. To get to the very top, you need to have the right qualities.

Ever since my Mum was advised to cut back on my E numbers as a child, I’ve been coping with the symptoms of ADHD. Far from being a hindrance, though, I’ve found some of the traits associated with an attention deficit disorder can be an advantage, particularly within the world of startups and software development.

The disciplines of Product Management and Project Management are so intertwined that in many companies the same person is responsible for both. Look closely, though, and you’ll find some fundamental differences between the two roles that, if ignored, can have a huge impact on your organisation’s ability to deliver world class products. Great Product Management is about much more than just delivering against the milestones on your Gantt Chart, after all.

Is there really one productivity system to rule them all? Millions of words have been written on the best ways to get things done, but that doesn’t mean there’s a right way. Productivity, after all, is dependent on the will of the individual. Just because David Allen says “do it my way”, it doesn’t mean everyone will experience the same results; you’ve got to make personal productivity tips work for you, after all.