Joel Polanco Senior product leader with experience in B2B, enterprise IoT, edge computing, and analytics. Joel specializes in customer discovery for tech companies. He is currently a segment manager at Intel and is a product management advisor at two startups. He lives in Chandler, AZ with his wife and son.

Stories by Joel Polanco

The best product rituals to position your team for success

Product Management

Product rituals form the basis of your culture and become impactful when integrated into an overall system.

Joel Polanco
Oct 2, 2024 ⋅ 6 min read

Customer validation: Building consistent and repeatable sales

Product Management

Customer validation is the step in a customer development process where you validate your solutions against customer needs and expectations.

Joel Polanco
Sep 26, 2024 ⋅ 5 min read
Will Founder Mode Take The Product Management World By Storm?

Will ‘founder mode’ take the product management world by storm?

Product Management

What exactly is founder mode, and is it really better than manager mode? Let’s discuss what this phenomenon could mean for the PM world.

Joel Polanco
Sep 17, 2024 ⋅ 9 min read
The Importance Of Enablement For Business Success

The importance of enablement for business success

Product Management

Enablement refers to the process of providing others with the means to do something that they otherwise weren’t able to do.

Joel Polanco
Sep 16, 2024 ⋅ 4 min read
What is DMAIC in Six Sigma?

What is DMAIC in Six Sigma?

Product Management

Bring Six Sigma’s approach and its DMAIC process to your next product analysis to solve project problems and implement lasting solutions.

Joel Polanco
Aug 20, 2024 ⋅ 4 min read

How to implement the Zone to Win framework

Product Management

People need to work on problems that have an impact or else they won’t be intrinsically motivated to sustain an incubation effort.

Joel Polanco
Aug 14, 2024 ⋅ 7 min read

Mastering the art of cross-selling to boost sales

Product Management

Cross-selling is the process of introducing complementary products or services that add additional value to a current sale or post sale.

Joel Polanco
Jul 22, 2024 ⋅ 5 min read
Using BLUF Acronym to Improve Communication

Using the BLUF acronym to improve communication

Product Management

As a product manager, you wield significant influence through your communication. Using BLUF in your emails will save time for you and those you work with.

Joel Polanco
Jul 3, 2024 ⋅ 3 min read
How To Use But Not Abuse Frameworks

How to use — but not abuse — frameworks

Product Management

While frameworks have clear benefits, it’s important to understand how and when to use them, as they are often overused or used in the wrong context or setting.

Joel Polanco
Jun 4, 2024 ⋅ 5 min read

Charting the product manager career path

Product Management

The product management career path has opened up new opportunities for IC product managers and companies have begun hiring again.

Joel Polanco
May 27, 2024 ⋅ 8 min read
How To Develop Active Listening Skills For Better Communication

How to develop active listening skills for better communication

Product Management

Active listening is the act of listening to what someone is saying while observing their non-verbal cues, intonations, and intent.

Joel Polanco
May 7, 2024 ⋅ 6 min read
How To Leverage Customer Discovery Techniques In A Large Company

How to leverage customer discovery techniques in a large company

Product Management

Most customer discovery articles are tied to startups, but customer discovery is heavily applicable to established, mature companies as well.

Joel Polanco
Apr 8, 2024 ⋅ 6 min read