The lure of data

Bijan Sabet:

These days there is a lot of talk about “growth hacking”. It’s a natural desire to be interested in that stuff. We all want to see numbers going up and to the right every week and every month. And paying attention to the data provides a seductive way of optimizing the product to see the charts move.

But the thing to keep front and center is recall the reason why this product and company exist in the first place.

Why are we building what we building? Why are we doing what we are doing?

Josh Elman:

While big numbers are a nice signal of, well, big numbers, I don’t think they are an indicator at all for whether a product is really working. Whenever I hear some of these stats, I always ask the same question:

How many people are really using your product?

Jack Dorsey’s field notes for fostering a more innovative workplace

Transcribed from the WSJ:

THE COMPANY WE BUILD IS THE PRODUCT WE BUILD

Friction in how we work together will manifest directly in the product we build.

That’s putting ourselves before out customers, which is selfish and rude.

We won’t be selfish or rude.

WE MOVE WITH PURPOSE

We strive for all of our actions to be thoughtful, focused, and bold, performed in concert.

Life is too short for anything but.

LIFE, IS FOUND IN THE INTERSECTIONS

Our work is one of balance:
    
    design + engineering
    timeless + fleeting
    form + function

We mix disciplines to improve our work.

BRING IT TO THE TABLE

We show our work to keep the entire company on the same page and moving as one. We take notes along the way.

We push in our chairs: every detail matters, including the work space we create them in.

The dining table is the center of a home, the work table is the center of our company.

“As a PM you’re the team manager washing jerseys…”

Andy Johns’ advice on being a product manager:

Start by asking yourself if you can remain motivated by doing non-sexy work. The role of a Product Manager is to grease the wheel for the rest of the team so that they can get stuff done more quickly and effectively. The role of the product manager isn’t what most people think. You don’t sit around thinking of the next “Oooo and ahhh!!” product idea and pontificate about the direction of the company. A select few get to do that, but for the most part you are scheduling meetings and check-in’s with the team to maintain cadence, keeping everyone on track by being extremely detail oriented (taking notes, pulling results of products shipped, etc), and communicating with the rest of the company to reduce inefficiencies.

As a PM you’re the team manager washing jerseys and making sure all the players arrive for pre-game warm-ups so that they are ready to play. You’re not the starting point guard.

Now, the benefit of being in that role is that you get to spend most of your time honing your decision-making abilities. You learn how to operate a company fairly well. You spend a great deal of your time working with a team of people and can work on management and leadership skills. That sort of experience can set you up for more senior operating roles at companies someday.

So my advice to you is to ask yourself if the realities of being a Product Manager line up with your preconceived notion of what it means to be a PM. If not, then realign that understanding of the role and ask yourself if that’s the sort of thing you’ll enjoy doing daily. Or, if you would be happier satisfying your “builder” side by writing code for a few years to begin with.

This rings particularly true for fast-growing startups NewsCred. Ever since I transitioned to my current role as PM a little under 2 months ago, I’ve found most of my time is spent making sure that the wheels are turning, that despite all the chaos, the company and its mission are moving forward. 

Hijacking the Cashtag

That feeling

When working on a problem, sometimes you get this feeling. A feeling that comes when the pieces suddenly fit into place and the answer you’ve been looking for all that time begins to appear.

The feeling is like “a remembering.” Not so much a discovery of something new, as a remembering of what you knew all along. Something right in front of you.

That feeling is the best indicator you have your answer.