Art and product management are connected. Let me explain. In 2008, I started something called Slow Art Day, a global event designed to help everyone – including product managers – make a radical shift in how they see and how they cultivate their love for art. Why? First, I wanted to dramatically improve the customer experience… Read more »
Blog
What’s the story with great products?
The single most important thing I learned in 20 years – and it’s at the heart of my first book, Customers Included – is the importance of you as a product manager getting out from behind your desk and observing real, living, breathing customers. Surprisingly, many product managers still do not actually get out and observe… Read more »
How to be Unhappy in Business?
In most of the 120+ Customers Included talks I’ve given in the last year, I’ve started with an inversion exercise. Instead of asking the attendees what they would do to delight customers, I ask what they would do to annoy and alienate customers. My audiences are surprised to discover that the question creates a rich, meaningful discussion…. Read more »
What should CEOs *not* do?
Today I’m speaking to a private summit of COOs from Fortune 500 companies. These leaders are being groomed to become CEOs and the two-day summit is designed to help them eventually run a large publicly-traded company. I’m giving a Customers Included talk – and as is true in all my talks and in the book, we’ll be talking about… Read more »
Warren Buffett Includes Customers – Does your CEO?
This is for your CEO. I’ve just attended the Berkshire Hathaway 50th anniversary shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman, reiterated what I’ve known to be true for years: they include customers and expect their companies to do the same. At one point, Buffett said point blank: “No company does well… Read more »