Rory Newton

Last night at ProductTank London we heard from 4 different speakers on the topic of Product Culture. My key takeaway is this... 'Good' product culture lacks definition. You might read about the importance of product culture, or ask about it when interviewing. You may even try to evaluate how good or bad the product culture is at your company. But here's the bottom line: product culture 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 something that you'll usually find written down, like you would a strategy, a roadmap, or a vision. Hearing someone describe it will inherently be biased. Product culture is the shared values, beliefs, behaviours, and practices that shape a team, org, or company's identity. It changes when you change your beliefs, behaviours, and practices. Not satisfied with the product culture at your company? You're more empowered to change it than you might think. How have you gone about improving product culture at your company?

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When you’re a millennial product manager, attempting to share her knowledge of product, with the wider community and one of the most successful artists in the world is currently on a mass tour of the UK, there’s only one question on your mind: What would the dangerous animals of product management be if they were Taylor Swift songs? If you've been asking yourself the same question then have I got a blog post for you! https://lnkd.in/dYxE_QDq #product #productmanagement #tech #UX

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Highly recommend this course for anyone who wants to wrangle, ahem I mean develop, people brilliantly!

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Two companies with combined £3.8bn revenue are ending bureaucracy for product teams. Here’s how: Anyone who's worked in product teams in the corporate world will at some point have:   - Wondered whether senior management have any idea what your team does, or indeed cares - Doubted if what you are doing is fully aligned with the company strategy - Been frustrated by complex top-down bureaucratic planning and prioritisation     In the last few years, I have seen 2 companies simplify planning by closing the gap between senior management and product teams.   Not only did this make teams more effective, but it provided a huge motivational boost that ultimately made them more productive too.   Here's how they did it:   𝟏) 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤   Monzo Bank eliminated the middle layers of bureaucracy between product teams and management.   Every quarter, the executive committee would talk directly to the product teams and set the top 4 quarterly priorities.   For example:   - Improving customer experience for service W - Improving X part of platform - Expansion to country Y - Cost reduction for area Z   Product teams focused solely on these 4 priorities for the next quarter.   And that was it.   I remember someone from Monza saying “if a team wasn’t focused on at least one of those priorities they would look pretty stupid, and because it was so simple, it worked”.   𝟐) 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫   My favourite example is a UK Investment Manager, partly because it had the challenge of a 10k employee hierarchical organisation embedded with very traditional ways of working.   They introduced a new quarterly planning process – a single day bringing all product teams physically or virtually together.   First, each product team would:   - List their top 3 achievements from the past quarter - List their top 3 priorities for the next quarter   Then the genius part. The CEO, CFO and CTO would physically (or virtually) walk from team to team. It was the first time most people had seen the CEO in real life, let alone have the chance to talk with them.   The exec team would:   - Review each team's past quarter achievements - Assess next quarter's priorities - Ask questions, re-order if needed, then confirm alignment with company strategy   I watched one of these in practice. It sounds simple but do not underestimate the motivational power of receiving recognition and ratification, right from the top.   From what I have seen it is the minority of mid to large size organisations where something like this is actually happening (if you’ve seen it then I’d be interested to know)   —   Closing the gap between senior management and teams can have a huge impact on their motivation and ultimately productivity.

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I’ve been at lots of events recently and I’ve noticed speakers etc fueling a trope: “product management didn’t exist 15 years ago”. As someone who became a product manager in the nineties, I’d discourage this thinking as it under-values what our job is actually about. I was fortunate to spend eight years learning from leaders who were part of an MBO from Lotus. We built award winning, highly profitable enterprise software, but mostly on CD-ROMs. Consequently we didn't have AB testing, fake door tests, CI/CD or HotJar. But we did have sales-led pressures, prioritisation conflicts, remote teams, pricing complexity and disruptive new market entrants. What we also had was a passion to understand the customer’s pains and to then design and deliver something that was commercially valuable that addressed it. My wife works in FMCG, where for decades brand managers have been uncovering insights, then working with manufacturing, supply chain and sales & marketing to delight customers and create business value. That’s product management. Our tools, frameworks, product books and our understanding are ever evolving. And the enormous benefits of online deployment all mean that for many the job is done very differently now than it was in the nineties. But the business basics remain as they always have done. Especially for the very many product managers who aren’t solely working just with digital solutions. I bring this up not to defend those of us with grey hair (or little hair, in my case). My concern is that AI will be a paradigm shift to rival the upgrade from CD-ROM to Internet, and that may frighten some. Your future self will have Copilot instantly whip up a prototype, test it on synthetic personas leveraging mountains of sentiment data, and a Monte Carlo simulation will present you with your best options, in a compelling doc/ppt created by an LLM. But it's just another tool change, and another set of ways to better understand the opportunity, leverage the art of the possible and de-risk getting to a good commercial outcome at even faster rates. A peer has chosen to re-train as a carpenter because they've realised they're at heart a problem solver, and the context isn’t relevant. So please don’t think your super-power comes solely from being current on the tools and techniques of how you do your trade today. Product management has always been necessary and always will be, even if AI creates another shift in the technology, techniques and the pace of the work. #productmanagement

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If you are interested in levelling up in Product, why not check out Reforge. Reforge provides content from people working at LinkedIn, Lyft, Dropbox, Uber, Netflix, Meta, SurveyMonkey, Google ..... Their free content is superb but I've also heard very good things from students of their paid courses. On the 25th June they are also running a half day event on ✨ AI ✨. You can register here https://lnkd.in/efrdK5R2 #product #productmanagement #productdesign #ux #learn

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The are just a few spots left for me 2h masterclass Essential Coaching Skills for Product Leaders, which I'll be offering to both US and UK/EU time zones. Pick the option that suits you and we'll go from there. My masterclass will aim to answer these three core questions: - What do we mean by “coaching”? - How can a coaching approach change your leadership style? - What is it about asking open-ended questions that make all the difference? The course is a mix of theory and practice, giving everyone an opportunity to put your learnings into practice. If you have any other questions, just drop me a DM and I'll be happy to have a chat.

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Seeing this says to me the Ruroc EOX launch has flopped. If you're asking customers "why didn't you buy" with options of: "Product Design isn't good enough" "I am waiting for a good promotion" ...You have to be deluded if you think you're going to get actionable information from a survey like this. Here's what has gone wrong for Ruroc. Firstly, "EOX" was designed as the 'Finale' of the Atlas line. It should have been positioned as the pinnacle of the range and should have replaced the Atlas 4. Atlas was plagued with issues from v1.0. We rushed, the pandemic hit, suppliers messed us around, we had to build our own factory REMOTELY to keep up with demand. To fix the issue once and for all I hired a specialist product designer who built out the team to deliver the 'perfect product'. It was costly, but it would allow us to reduce our Customer Service costs, return logistics costs, and reduce our in-house QC team from 18 to just 2-3. A huge cost to get a huge saving. Absolutely necessary for Ruroc to stabilise and continue growing at 70-100% YOY. That product, the one that should have been Ruroc's biggest success, is now called "EOX". To sell products online and grow successfully you need: - Scarcity - "I want stuff other people don't have yet, or I don't want to regret not buying when I had the chance." - Innovation - People want the latest greatest and best... if it's not that, why am I giving you my money if my current product does the job? - Social Proof - it's FOMO, who's wearing it, who's buying it, am I going to be the odd one out if I don't buy? - Reciprocity - What's this brand done for me? How have they engaged me? Do I buy into their mission, do I feel obliged to be part of it. - Commitment - OK I've pre-registered, I've followed the page, I've signed up for the newsletter, I'm watching the launch video, I'm going to buy. Not one of these tactics was properly employed during the launch of the "EOX" Further to that, some genius has made the decision to continue with the Atlas 4 and have it run alongside the EOX So now, as a customer of Ruroc, what does this say to me. Ruroc Atlas 4.0 Track - $679.00 (Has no real track certificate) Ruroc Atlas 4.0 Carbon - $595.00 Ruroc "EOX" - $559.00 (brand new should be better than Atlas 4) Ruroc Atlas 4.0 Street (fibreglass) - $319.00 (Confusingly is lighter than the Track and Carbon Atlas) So if I want the best, I buy the most expensive helmet? I can wear it on the Track right? No, not in USA or MotoGP. I want the lightest, so I buy the cheapest? I want the newest, but is it worse than the old models because it's cheaper? This is beyond confusing for customers. Customers give brands minimal attention. Your messaging is as much in the decisions you make around naming and pricing as it is anything else. Ruroc "Atlas-X" - $659.00 Drop the Atlas 4.0 and discount til it's gone Clear message to consumers - "the new product is better, replace your old helmet now" It's not hard.

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August’s Product Group London saw the group discuss Product Frameworks as the topic of the night alongside an insightful conversation with Randeep Sidhu, Healthtech Product Leader. • Product Frameworks – most people use product frameworks and find them (somewhat) useful (✅). What product frameworks is clear (✅). But from here the conversation varied with positives such as frameworks creating a consistent approach; helping align around a common language; providing a process to follow and guardrails; being repeatable, and supporting stakeholder engagement. And some negatives such as frameworks being useful when setting out, but losing their value as the team/individual become more experienced; causing confusion and wasting valuable time as they need to be explained, and reducing in value as they are customised. Plus, there were a few soundings about there potentially being too many frameworks! Sometimes at the end of an event there is a leaning in a particular direction, this one felt a bit more inconclusive – maybe we need a framework to help us decide J! • Randeep Sidhu – starting with details of his early career in education and consulting, Randeep then took us on a journey through his time working on the UK Covid app. A pressurised time, at the height of the pandemic, when he used Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to uncover unmet needs in the UK population and deliver a new app in 6 weeks. He also talked about his broader healthtech experiences around the world and give us a bit of an insight into his advisory work for Aviva (congrats on this recent appointment 👏), NHS Business Services Authority, Terrence Higgins Trust and the London Transport Museum. In particular, how working with these organisations enables him to use his digital skills and knowledge to support their work and have impact in areas that he really cares about. Thank you Randeep Sidhu 🙏. Thanks to everyone who came and engaged in the discussions 🙏. Thanks to Aspire 🙏 for hosting us and providing the refreshments. See you on 5th Sept! #tpglondon #prodmgmt #productmanagement #productframeworks

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How have I not read this before?! Insightful, informal and peppered with great advice for product professionals and anyone hoping to build great products and businesses. Whilst not all of it was new it was great to be reminded that at work ‘there are two things that matter: products and people, what you build and who you build it with.’ #buildgreatproducts #productinspiration #productbooks

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As an ambitious product person, probably the best thing that can happen to you is to report to a Craftsperson manager who has a high bar and can give specific, clear, not-hand wavy feedback on how your proposals and thinking can be more correct, although unfortunately if given a choice, >50% of ambitious product people don’t choose to report to such a manager.

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How to support your Support Team as a PM ... If you’re in Product, and especially if you’re new to the role, chances are your guardian angel is on your Support team. I see this firsthand almost every day. They know the software inside and out, they handle likely even more uncensored feedback than you do, and - just like you - every single thing they do is meant to benefit your users and your software. My other favorite tips for how to partner with Support as a PM: One: Make time for them. I know I mentioned before release notes help, but really work to find the best way to ensure that the team leads know what’s new, what's next, and which bug fixes are in progress. Is it an email? A Slack/Teams ping? A one sheeter? Ask their preference. Two: Shadow them! Especially if you’re new to the company, try to get time observing as they work. One company I worked for made several hours of shadowing Support *mandatory* for new hires and it was honestly the best onboarding idea I’ve seen. Three: If they say they’re worried and an issue is urgent - listen. The best Support folks are calm under fire and they don’t exaggerate, so if they’re worried about something, learn everything you can about it and loop in your lead engineer. It’ll be the easiest decision you make all day. And for my shameless plug, here’s to all the Ops & Support (both b'cast and software) colleagues who helped me over the years and/or bailed me out of trouble, including: Don Buckindail, Tad Lin, Robin Russ, LIT, ITIL,PMP, MIS, Kevin Spires, Matt McSweeney, Cheryl Fields, Mark Luciano, Christian Jackson, Kevin Taverner, Sue Rasmussen, Germain P. #ProductManagementTips, #SoftwareSupport, #BroadcastSupport, #ProductTeamwork

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NEW EERIE-SISTIBLE ROLES ... 🧛‍♀️ HEAD OF DESIGN - Series A - b2b2c - fintech/internal tools - REMOTE - 8-12~ YOE - $170-220K - hands on, then build team. Founding Player-Coach Design Leader. Equity. End to End. Strong UX to visuals, design systems, and brand. Startup experience and leadership experience required. 🦹 FOUNDING DESIGNER - Series A - b2b consumer - AI/ML Science/Edtech - REMOTE - 3-6 YOE - $120-150K - hands on - you'll lead product design, working closely with engineers and users to create impactful user flows, prototypes, and high-fidelity visuals. You'll also contribute to brand evolution. Ideal for someone proactive, detail-oriented, and experienced in fast-paced startup environments. 🧟‍♀️ This one may be more of a trick than a treat 👀 : SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER x2 - b2b - hardware/software - NYC onsite 5x a week. - $160-190K - Entrepreneurial mindset. Mix of hardware/software/service design. Shape Design System + brand. Rapidly prototype, improve app UX, scale operations with internal tools, and simplify complex processes, using research and feedback to refine concepts. Hopefully these descriptions came in candy! 🍬 🍫 TO BE CONSIDERED >>> send me your resume + design work and passwords + your LinkedIn page (If I can't find your LI on a CV or portfolio, we will have a problem lol) + your current location regardless if the role is remote. EMAIL: [email protected] - a BRIEF description why any of these roles resonates, (a direct link to a related project is also appreciated but pls do not send me 10 links and pls do not write lengthy paragraphs). THANK YOU!! Due to the volume I receive by EMAIL, I cannot reply to everyone. 👻 Happy Halloween from me and Midnight! He's like a teenager who doesn't want to be in a picture with his mom.

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The Product role is changing…. Recently I hear product teams talking as much about preparing business cases as PRDs. 🤔 I think this is driven by a) CEOs looking to better align with technical teams on business objectives and b) product teams becoming more commercially savvy.  Both are positive moves.  Learning to navigate a P&L early is a sensible move.

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There are a lot of newsletters out there, but the Product Leadership Essentials newsletter is your monthly guide to building up your product leadership skills. Subscribe and join and get the latest news and top tips sent straight to your inbox. 📩

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Are You Trapped in the "Get Sh*t Done" Cycle as a PM? If you're a "get-sh*t-done" product manager, I know your reality all too well. You're drowning in a relentless deluge of tactical tasks and endless fires. Meetings and minutiae are your constant companions. Meanwhile, the game-changing strategic initiatives that could propel your company and career get shelved. An afterthought amidst the mayhem. Here's the bitter truth: "Get-sh*t-done" PMs like you aren't promoted or properly rewarded. You stay underpaid, overworked, and easily replaceable. An expendable cog allowing others to rise. If that harsh reality sounds far too familiar, it's time to make a change. It's time to strategically position yourself as a product leader - both inside your company and to the external world. When you embody leadership from the inside-out, you forge an unforgettable personal brand. One that commands attention and amplifies your influence. You become the beacon others naturally gravitate towards when new teams need building, ambiguous issues need solving, or conflicts need resolving. No more saying "yes" to everything only to get buried. No more fruitlessly swinging away at people problems and organizational politics. You operate from a place of calm confidence, deftly navigating any challenge with poise. This mindset shift unlocks unshakable self-assuredness. You create the headspace for contentment, fulfillment, and joy. There's finally room to live life again - treasured family time, hobbies, new experiences (maybe even that Tesla?). And of course, respected leadership commands the financial rewards you deserve. Funding your kids' college and retirement becomes straightforward, not pipe dreams. But transformations like this don't happen through sheer grit alone. You need coaching from a world-class team armed with comprehensive frameworks. That's why I'm urging you to book a call with my team if you're ready to escape the "get sh*t done" trap for good. We'll equip you with the tools to shatter your glass ceiling and become the revered product leader you were born to become. No more getting things done. No more going underappreciated and underpaid. Just a clear path to sustainable career fulfillment as an elite product leader. If you are interested, please DM me "GSD" You already have everything you need to be an inspiring product leader - you just need the right guides to unlock your potential. If you're ready to level up, book your call now.

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It's wild to see how many product teams still "performing activities" rather than realizing business outcomes. And even if you're a PM who feels the need to "perform work" (so that you won't lose your job), helping move forward your business can protect, well, you and your team! Go attend Matt LeMay's webinar tomorrow! On impact-first product work.

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How can product teams move faster? Aakash Gupta was kind enough to invite me to his podcast to discuss speed and experimentation. Speed is the variable that leads to more wins or more learnings, eventually leading to wins. But there's more... here's all that we talked about: - How to Move Fast - Growth PMs: Don’t Just Rely on Quantitative Data! - Growth Product Leader vs Core Product Leader - Growth Teams and Partnerships - Building Great Referrals System - Lessons on Job Searching

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Agree with Aakash Gupta's perspective on the power of portfolios. Resumes are super dry, LI profiles all look the same. 😐 A portfolio allows you to express your story, style, and aesthetic in a way that shows your personality. 😎 Plus when you build the foundation and keep it rolling - it is so much easier than trying to go back and remember all the great work you did. 🏅

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