🍟 The Maxi Best-Of Edition / PM Snacks #60
Learn to prioritize beyond "magical" frameworks, how to use OKR w/ opportunity trees, why you should stop getting out of the way, and more...
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🏖️ I’m currently on holidays for 10 days, so I cooked a special edition with the most clicked links in the last 6 months. Hope you enjoy this recap :)
1️⃣ Prioritization Beyond Algorithms
Apr 2021 • 3 min read • #execution #strategy #roadmap
Most clicked link in PM Snacks 49
Stop blindly using RICE or any other "magical" formula to prioritise items in spreadsheets. Sure, these frameworks facilitate better conversation with stakeholders & make it a bit more "unbiased", but they lack context. Do read Rich Mironov's take on this, to find out why. Spoiler:
1/ Strategy comes before scores (company to product strategy, OKRs)
2/ Acknowledge your team context (product's stage, different kinds of work)
3/ Think like an investor: allocate fractions of your budget to various kinds of work & bets
2️⃣ Confessions of a former Feature Factory PM
Sept 2019 • 10 min read • #execution #discovery
Most clicked link in PM Snacks 50
Any article starting with "Forgive me Marty Cagan, for I have sinned." deserves to be featured in this newsletter 😅 On top of finding good titles, the author does a great job explaining how to reconcile OKRs that measure business outcomes, with opportunity trees and a matching operational framework to experiment. Cool read!
3️⃣ What is the worst leadership advice you’ve heard?
Feb 2022 • 4 min read • #manageyourself #mustread
Most clicked link in PM Snacks 56
I’ve been struggling for years with my behaviour as a manager, afraid that my guidance or challenges could be perceived as a micro-managing tendency. According to JM (former CTO at Atlassian & Shopify), I was right to do it:
1/ As a leader (especially in product) you work hard to align people… but the second you leave an alignment meeting, you’re mis-aligned again. Alignment decays incredibly quickly. It’s normal. Accept it.
2/ Another big misconception about alignement is that most people stop at the why level. Actually many strategies are vague and also stop at the “why”…
3/ But don’t worry, JM has 3 tips: in 1:1 with your direct reports, advertise in what mode you operate - 25% of the time like a boss (keep them accountable for goals), 50% like a peer (they bring decisions that you challenge & brainstorm with them), 25% like a resource (ask them how you can help), differentiate decision types and how they should use you (decision tree), finally… alignment is your responsibility, be proactive and work on it (send your boss notes, seek feedback, share decision logic not just outcomes)
4️⃣ Advanced time management principles
Feb 2022 • 10 min read • #manageyourself #mustread
Most clicked link in PM Snacks 55
Imagine having the best 1:1 with you manager, who also happens to be talented product expert. In a matter of minutes, he helps you cope with your perpetual source of stress i.e. “lack of time” and help you unlock new superpowers. It’s exactly how it feels to read the gems that Shreyas Doshi shared in this thread. Here are some of my favorites but you should read them all:
1/ You calendar is your to-do list. Plan accordingly: limit meetings by adding scheduled work blocks; at the end of the work-day, plan the next day by adding your tasks in the calendar (= forces prioritizing); at the end of the week, plan the next one (= go onto the week-end with a clear mind)
2/ Categorise your tasks for better prioritization: L (leverage x10), N (neutral x1), O (overhead <1x). Spend time & energy accordingly. Feeling low? Go for task in N or O. In the flow? Go for task in L. Running late? Go for task in L only.
3/ The more your scope grows, the more you should delegate. Radically. Go beyond the Eisenhower matrix. If you are a product leader, everything will be important & urgent. Use this matrix instead, to help your team grow.
5️⃣ A Bad Product Decision
Aug 2016 • 9 min read • #manageyourself #execution
Most clicked link in PM Snacks 53
Here is an article that I like to not only read as well as, share with my team every year, to remind ourselves that being product people involves making a ton of decisions every day. And among them, a lot of bad ones of course! Even when you perfectly execute your discovery & delivery phases, every decision will still be a bet. So be kind with yourself when you fail. And remember that the real fight should be: to ship faster (= the only way to learn for sure).
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Thank you for reading this far.
Have a great week!
Olivier Courtois
10y+ in product, co-founder of 🥕 uku.wtf, coach & advisor
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