Andrew Miller

Y'all, I've been thinking about this a lot lately: exceptional product leaders aren't defined by how many features they ship – but by how many they deliberately choose not to build. Here's what saying strategic "nos" has taught me: 1. Every "yes" comes with an opportunity cost. When you say yes to one feature, you're implicitly saying no to dozens of others. Make it count. 2. The hardest nos are to good ideas. Bad ideas are easy to reject. The real challenge? Saying no to solid proposals that simply don't serve your core strategy. 3. The way you say no matters more than the no itself: - "No, because..." builds trust - "No, but here's what we can do..." shows partnership - "No for now, and here's when we'll revisit..." keeps doors open Product management isn't about making everyone happy – it's about making the right people successful. How do you handle saying no to stakeholders while maintaining strong relationships? #ProductManagement #Leadership #Strategy #ProductDecisions #StakeholderManagement

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Lean Agile talks about eliminating waste. If you’re walking into a PI event with all 6 sprints planned and pointed and all stories complete, you’ve created a lot of waste. Show me a PI event where you didn’t change a single story over 3 months and I’ll show you a waterfall organization.

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My latest post is live! In this piece, "Inside the High Performing Product Team," I dig into the key players on a product team and the mix of skills required to be successful at various levels of product management. Nerd/Noir #product #productmanagement #careergrowth https://lnkd.in/g3EVkKYX

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As a Product leader who has been devastated and stressed by unemployment in recent times I’ve invested a lot of my time in learning latest methodologies/principles by following thought leaders and influencers in industry. Unfortunately it’s led to me feeling more inadequate than informed. This post by Apoorva Mishra in Harvard Business Review nailed it for me. Simply, “influencer advice can overlook the day-to-day realities.” If you have a different take I’d love to hear it. https://lnkd.in/gC9tti3X #productmanagement #productleadership #realworld

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Ready to master your product backlog?🤔 Today, we're throwing it back to an insightful video where Chris Sims effortlessly breaks down "How Do Requests Get into the Product Backlog." In just under 10 minutes, Chris guides you through practical examples that are sure to refine and enhance your process. Watch now and transform your approach! https://lnkd.in/eVWSZ6iQ #productbacklog #agilemethodology #scrum

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Are you looking to level up as a product manager, leader, team member, delivery lead or scrum master? The next two public classes I’m teaching are both in June from ProKanban.org and there’s some places left. The new Accelerating Product Value with Colleen Johnson is the first global in-person offering and will give you the ability to drive innovation and exceed customer expectations with rapid feedback and better risk mitigation. If you join this class, we’re also offering a free ticket to Scrum Day London! Applying Metrics for Predictability with John Coleman is online next week and will give you proven strategies to answer the question every stakeholder or customer will ask you: ‘when will it be done?’ Links in the comments below 👇

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In a well-run organization, each role has a single orientation; they either support [individual] customers or they support the market. Read the full article: What Isn’t Product Management ▸ https://lttr.ai/AXP4S #nochaos #prodmgmt

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🚀 Launchpad to a Solid Product Operating Model I've been getting a lot of questions through networking and conferences about the keys to success in product operations. One thing I always emphasize: never skip steps when it comes to your product operating model. If you know me, you know I always start with a fundamental question: What does your business strategy look like? What direction do you want to go in? Without a clear strategy, how can you ensure your products reach the right destination? I've experienced firsthand the pitfalls of misalignment between product and business groups. It's easy to get caught up in the allure of building the best possible experience or solution for your customers and users. In the product world, it's tempting to dive into the latest industry drivers, like Artificial Intelligence, and find ways to incorporate them into your roadmap. However, incorporating trends should never be done in isolation. Aligning these innovations with your strategic business strategy is crucial. This alignment not only helps drive better bottom-line results but also ensures you deliver superior experiences for your customers. 💡 Key Takeaways: - Start with a Clear Business Strategy: Define your direction before diving into product development. - Ensure Alignment: Make sure your product and business groups are on the same page. - Incorporate Trends Strategically: Use industry trends like AI to enhance your roadmap in ways that align with your strategy. - Focus on the Destination: Always keep your end goals in mind to guide your product development. By following these principles, you can create a product operating model that not only meets but exceeds your business objectives. #ProductOperations #BusinessStrategy #Alignment #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #ProductManagement #SuccessTips #ProductOperatingModel

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⚠️ I often see product managers, especially those early in their careers, making a critical mistake that stifles innovation - coming to teams with predetermined solutions, essentially saying "build/design/write this." ⚡️This fundamentally limits organization's innovation potential! 🌟 Here's why. 🔍 Through years in product management, I've observed that: 💡 1. Engineering teams, given proper context, architect more elegant and scalable approaches than initially envisioned. 🎨 2. Design teams, armed with deep understanding of user psychology, create solutions transcending initial concepts. 📢 3. Content teams, empowered with clear user needs, develop transformative messaging frameworks. 🚀 While not from my experience, here's a story that perfectly captures this challenge: During the Space Race, NASA invested significant resources developing a sophisticated pressurized pen for zero gravity. Meanwhile, another space program simply asked: "Why do we need a pen at all?" And offered... ✏️ Pencils! 📚 This story (while more complex in reality) shows why we shouldn't limit teams with predetermined solutions. Had engineers been told "develop a space pen," they might have missed the simpler solution. 💡 Beyond this simple example lies a deeper truth: 🔹 1. Each professional brings years of domain expertise that we might not possess 🔹 2. Technical teams often see possibilities and constraints we haven't considered 🔹 3. Designers understand user behavior patterns that could lead to breakthrough solutions 🔹 4. Content teams know how to articulate value in ways that might completely transform the product approach 🔹 5. Innovation often emerges from the intersection of different perspectives and expertise ⚡️ By narrowing the solution space to a single person's vision, we miss out on the collective expertise and creative insights that could lead to breakthrough solutions. ⭐️ The truth is: our 💎 greatest value 💎 as product managers comes not from dictating solutions, but from unlocking the full innovative potential of our professional teams through the power of collaboration and trust. What do you think? Share your thoughts below👇

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PMs have to deal with a lot of tradeoffs. One that is often overlooked is what I call "UX debt." You have product features work, tech debt, and tech roadmap initiatives. But people don't realize that UX debt accummulates, too. What design tradeoffs did you or your designer have to make for the sake of time to market, engineering level of effort, or lack of research? When do you plan on going back and paying that debt down? I've mostly seen the UX paydown come in large scale redesign intiatives. Don't wait until your debt has accumulated so much that you pause everything else you're doing to redesign the product - by then it's too late. _________ This is an excerpt from my latest episode of the Collaboration Bridge featuring Kevin Harris. Check out the full episode here: Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/equnJStq Spotify: https://lnkd.in/emWWGaxT

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"What is the difference between a product manager and a product owner?" Today's a followup to yesterday's question. The two roles are commonly mixed up, so what's the actual difference between the two? If you have a question about product management, shoot me a DM. ✉️ I'm here to help! #productmanagement #productmanagers #careeradvice #askaquestion #askmeanything

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It’s just easier to deflect and let “sh*t roll down hill”. John Cutler is right. More engaged IT team members aren’t enough to overcome systemic #culture and leadership issues. “Someone hired those PMs. Someone funded those companies. Someone set expectations for those PMs. A leader benefitted (or didn't from their work). Someone had the job to mentor those PMs, and share business context and the strategy (assuming one even existed).” #itleadership #projectleadership #projectmanagement #productleadership #productmanagement.

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"Your requirements suck!" Feeling attacked? Feeling nostalgic? Feeling so f'n over it? I've heard this and felt all of this as a product owner / product manager. You know what, though, my requirements probably did suck. However, that's not all on us product managers. Want requirements to suck less? Check out this week's Nerd/Noir Substack by David Laribee to learn how ALL of us can make them better together. TLDR: Product, design, and engineering actually need to collaborate! #product #productmanagement #fun #discovery #design https://lnkd.in/gt4M6ZfE

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🔊 Did you know ⁉ Creating products incrementally in week-long cycles, integrating and testing continuously, key practices rooted in XP teams’ experiences 🤓 📖 I discovered this in Kent Beck's book, "eXtreme Programming explained: embrace the change". 💡 Highly recommended for 🧢 Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, and team coaches striving for high-performance software development teams. 💭 After articles on eXtreme Programming basics and first part of primary practices, let's dive into the last 7 practices vital to an XP team's daily rhythm: #SoftwareDevelopment #Agile #XPteams #KentBeck #ExtremeProgramming #Teamcoach #Agilecoaching UNi5 - Technologies

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Six Core Competencies of Great Product Leaders I've been incredibly lucky throughout my career to work with and learn from some truly outstanding product leaders. Drawing from these experiences, I've identified six core competencies that I believe are crucial for excelling in product management leadership. These are the areas where we can all grow: 1️⃣ Customer-Centric Thinking – Prioritize your customers and their needs above all. 2️⃣ Strategic Competence – Envision the long-term, aligning your product roadmaps with broader business objectives. 3️⃣ Execution and Analysis – Make data-driven decisions and manage your resources wisely. 4️⃣ Empathy and Communication – Inspire your team and communicate your vision while leveraging valuable feedback from stakeholders. 5️⃣ Adapt and Learn – Embrace cross-disciplinary collaboration and continuous learning. 6️⃣ Courage – Step up to make tough decisions even when the data isn't perfect. ==================== We all have areas to develop, but these are the skills to focus on to be a great product leader. Know someone who demonstrates one or more of these qualities? Feel free to tag them in the comments!

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Flow metrics are so important, and I discuss them at length in my new book. Here, Sonya gives you a crash course. I wouldn't have targeted Agile coaches in the title, myself, since this really should be focused at CTOs and even CEOs, but still, it's good stuff. Agile Coaches, Here’s How to Reveal More Options to Influence Your Business Outcomes | Nave

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There continues to be a lot of angst with both IC and leaders in the Product Management discipline. Tech and other industries are going through a generational leadership shift among other changes. Thought it would be a good opportunity to re-anchor myself by taking stock of what has been completed so far. It's been a while since I've practiced this level of transparency. So on to the list of books and new this year is a new category, Content Creators as I find myself (like many others I suspect) gaining a ton of insights from their content. 2024 tally so far 🧭 50K Linkedin Post views 📗 10 Books read, out of a planned 24 🦄 Passion / Discovery projects started in (AI, Agents) 🛠 0 App betas (this is surprising) 🛫 0 Angel investments Projects 💡 ProductHustleStack - Still generating lost of views and the number of resources curated currently stands at 121. Goal is to get these to 200 by year end 📋 Monthly Newsletter - ~700 subs. Goal is to get to the magic 1K 2024 Books (red means 🔥) 📕 Switch by Chip and Dan Heath 📕 Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg 📕The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath (see a pattern here) 📕Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip and Dan Heath 📕Red Notice by Bill Browder 📕Broken Money by Lynn Alden 📗Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis 📗Freezing Order by Bill Browder 📗The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway 📗The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More by Michael Stanier 2024 Discovered Content Creators (new Category) Alex M H Smith (Strategy) David Jimenez Maireles (rediscovered - anything Fintech) Kate Syuma (Growth) Kyla Scanlon (explaining the economy and larger trends to the rest of us) Ed Biden (Product) What are some of your accomplishments, passion projects, hobbies you've been able to take on this year you'd like to share? #productmanagement #growth #continuouslearning #leadership

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When driving change, it is important to model the change you wish to drive. I cannot count the number of times I've tried to nudge groups away from creating a detailed project plan for an "agile transformation" or more ironically, for a product-led transformation. Here's some ways to reframe that thinking and to model the behaviors you wish repeated and adopted. - Focus on outcomes, not outputs. What happens as a result of this change? That’s a much more important question to start with than what deliverables and artifacts we must produce. - What’s the roadmap for change? What outcomes happen now, next, later? What capabilities and changes support those outcomes? What are our horizons for each of those buckets? - Who are our customers, and what is their journey? Knowing who the change affects, their progress, feelings, and experiences along the way will greatly help enrollment and participation. Want to hear more? Check out David Laribee's most recent post on our Substack. Nerd/Noir #product #change #leadbyexample https://lnkd.in/g83Zsp4J

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What were you doing when you realized that "Yesterday’s velocity is not today’s velocity"? Were you planning a sprint? Refining the backlog? Conducting a retrospective? How did you feel? If you're like most Scrum Masters, you paused, took a deep breath, and thought, "How do we adapt?" Just as prices fluctuate in the market, the velocity and dynamics of a team can change from one sprint to the next. It's our responsibility to ensure that we are constantly adapting, refining, and realigning to ensure that yesterday’s successes don’t become today’s hurdles. The key takeaway? Just like "Yesterday’s price is not today’s price," yesterday’s strategies may not work today. Agile is about continuous improvement, and as Scrum Masters, our role is to ensure our teams are resilient, adaptive, and always moving forward. PS: How do you help your teams adapt when yesterday’s velocity is not today’s velocity?

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