Product

I so often wish I’d written “23 Improvements to make your agile life better”, or “30 ways to improve your business”, or maybe just “12 ways to become a better product manager.” Such books sell. Mine… umm, they are more, shall I say, philosophical.

While my books sell they don’t sell in the numbers “point solution” books do. My one book which comes close, “Little Book of User Stories” (“16 ways to make your User Stories great” ?) is the book I least respect. (OK, I’m not happy with “Art of Agile Product Ownership” either but that is for different reasons.) If I’d styled “Business Patterns for Software Developers” as “35 Business Strategies for Product Companies” it would have sold better but there was a bigger point I was trying to make.

And that is the thing, and its not just books, its all over. Understandably people want short snappy solutions, yet that approach quickly runs out of road. Bigger, more thoughtful, changes maybe more trouble but they also bring more benefit and last.

In our fast changing, chaotic, always on media, constant stream of WhatsApps, Instant Messages, e-mails and notifications we need to respond in the large not the small. For me that means “philosophy”. Well, I say philosophy, others would say principles. I avoid principle because I think principles need to be explicitly and enumerated. I’m probably wrong there, I hold myself to too high a standard.

Some might call it strategy but I find the word strategy is over used, too often equated with a plan. My strategy is to have philosophy, principles and embrace reflection – like writing this blog. Reflecting is a sense making exercise which allows strategy and principles to emerge and then refined.

When being inundated with notification and updates, when people are constantly looking for decisions and one is constantly challenged to interpret new information having an overarching philosophy, strategy, set of principles, provides a filter which simplifies and guide action. For example…

I long ago came to my own conclusions about the current occupant of the White House. That means that I don’t need to follow each soap-opera instalment. Yes it may shock me, disgust me, it might make the world more difficult but why waste my time on every twist and turn? They are all part of a bigger pattern, no more thinking required.

Of course one can’t afford to switch off completely. One needs to periodically step back and think.

So, second example, my current team/product. Unsurprisingly, I have set OKRs for this quarter. I had a big think. I consulted. I involved others. I shared. I refined. For the last two months these have guided all my decision making – specifically when it comes to sprint planning and the historic backlog. Now its time to think about the next quarter.

The paradox is: in a world were information flows are constant, where change lurks around every corner and disruptions the norm – what some call VUCA or TUNA – then those bigger decisions and your philosophy is more important. The churn of events and news means there is less less time available to think but that thinking is essential.

If I was to call out some of my philosophy as principle they might be:

• Thinking ahead is essential, but the more detailed a plan the more likely it will fall. Therefore don’t invest too much in detailed planning.
• Have consistency in direction: have a broader goal and make all the small decisions fit with the bigger goal as you go along.
• “Nothing succeeds like success” : savour small wins, sometimes you need success before you can change direction but success is the enemy of change, failure is a great motivator.
• Beware false goals: whether they be plans, processes, success criteria, or whatever. All too often the proxy becomes the goal rather than the real thing (I sometimes think that might be the unifying message in all my work.)
• Sometimes the devil is in the detail: once you have your direction and philosophy you need to work the detail.
• “It is always a people problem” but people act the way they do because of the system they are in and their past experiences. Sometimes you can lead people in different direction but if the system doesn’t agree the system will win.
• The receiver decides the message you are sending: don’t assume people heard what you thought you were saying. Don’t be scared to over communicate but also know when to stop and listen. Only by listening can you find out what message was received.

I might continue but this is starting to sound like a personal manifesto – many of these have been talked about in earlier post. What I really want to say is: think, make sense of the world you are in and use those ideas in your decision making. Seek out good, reliable sources of information, ones which make you think, value such over the constant stream of trivia and hype.