Kittens, Puppies & Other Fluffy Stuff.

Collaboration typically means “the act of working together”. Nice. Simple. Easy. For product managers, this means things like “rational discussions with key stakeholders about product objectives, strategies and the like ”.

War, Blood and Miscellaneous Body Parts.

Now we turn to the alternate meaning of the word: “to betray one’s country by cooperating with an enemy”. Harsh. This is a pretty serious crime. We’re talking treachery. We’re talking accomplices. We’re talking reprimand. And heads will roll. For product managers, this means things like “heated arguments resulting in red faces and walkouts”.

Considering the dual meaning, is collaboration doomed from the outset? If collaboration is the cornerstone of product management, what does this mean for product managers? How do you balance “working together” with “acts of treason”?

As a product manager, chief negotiator and ally to all, it’s important to know some tactics to prevent an all out war.

Here’s my strategy for collaboration:

1. No secrets, no spies, no lies. Allow everyone to share their perspective and maintain clear communication paths to build trust and prevent betrayal.
2. Find some neutral territory. This not only refers to things like product features, approaches and techniques, but also to the location of the discussion.
3. Know what you’re aiming to achieve. Identify the end result and know what the collaboration is aiming to achieve before discussions start.
4. Have a process for conflict resolution. Be clear from the outset regarding issues like who has the final say when there’s a dead-lock?
5. Look out for bad apples. Not everyone is cut out for collaboration, so learn to recognise the signs of an apple going bad, and try to address any issues early on (I recommend lemon, salt or vodka for neutralising the bad apple).

So, how do you prevent an all out war?

Interested in catching up with other product managers? Join Product Maven’s on 2-June, from 8.30am at Cook & Archies in Surry Hills. RSVP here.

A friend asked me to put together a little website for his new short film. The obvious choice was to use Wordpress as the CMS so my friend could have total control over the site. I set it up within about 3 hours… then, decided to apply the same WP-theme to this blog, which took less than an hour!

Here’s all the details:

Thurs-17-Mar
From 8.30am (til about 10am)
Cook & Archies, 1a/4 Buckingham St Surry Hills NSW 2010
Topic:  Agile or Waterfall?

RSVP: http://twtvite.com/pmm-mar18

My preference? It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Agile, and here’s why:

• Greater transparency
• Manageable deliverables
• Ability to identify issues early on
• Improved morale (through constant communication)

Now you get to vote!

Looking forward to seeing y’all on Thursday!

@mishymash

Ps. There’s only a few days left til Product Camp – so if you haven’t registered yet, you can do so here… http://www.pcampsydney.com/

At the tender age of 15, I decided I wanted to become a chef. Being a strict vegetarian at the time (borderline pain-in-the-ass-vegan – no disrespect to my vegan friends), I decided the traditional chefing paths weren’t for me (too many animal bits), so I found myself working at Laurie’s Vegetarian Restaurant as a salad hand and cook’s assistant. I have many stories about my time there, but I’ll try to stick to the point of this post and tell you a little about how and why Genevieve Maynard impressed me.

It was a cold winter morning, around 5.43am and I just arrived at work to start my day – first up, bake the vegan muffins, then prep the vegetables for lunch. I did a lot of prep… mostly cutting bags full of partially rotting onions, mincing chili and (the worst job of all) shredding cheese with an antique electric grater that spewed flecks of cheese all over the kitchen and sat ominously waiting to munch on my chili stained fingers.

Now, you have to remember, I was 15 years old. Genevieve was (and no doubt still is) older, wiser and far cooler than I’ll ever be. She rode a bike, played base, had dreds, acted tough and commandeered the kitchen with style. In contrast, and much like most 15 year olds, I lacked respect for my elders, had an annoying high pitched voice (which hasn’t changed much over time), and I thought I knew everything about everything. So, I’m guessing I annoyed the shit out of Gen, and I’m surprised with all the knives in the kitchen that she managed to resist the urge to stab me (or at least scare me a little).

Anyway, I digress.

On this one particular morning, I was doing my usual prep. We were making lentil casserole, so I needed to chop up celery (amongst a range of other ingredients). I walked into the coolroom to grab the aformentioned celery.

Now, remember, it was a cold wintery morning, and coolrooms are, as you would expect, cold. I diligently scanned the coolroom alas the celery was nowhere to be seen (ie. I walked in, thought ‘fuck it’s cold’, then walked back out again). Upon exiting the coolroom, I said (in my squeaky 15 year old voice):

“Gen, where’s the celery?”

At this point, there was utter silence in the kitchen. Then Gen turned around, knife in hand, scowl faced and said:

“OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES!”

So I did. And I found the celery.

I don’t know if it was my impressionable age, or the murderous look on Gen’s face, but this gem really stuck with me. So much so, that to this day whenever I’m looking for something, an object, a solution to a problem, my house keys etc, I still hear Gen’s words of wisdom, which is why, Genevieve Maynard is #1 on my list of people who impressed me.

Sadly (for me, not for her), I don’t see Gen anymore, though I’m always pleased to see that her music career took off.

So, who’s impressed you lately?

Tip: See Gen’s advice above – and trust me, it really does help in so many ways.

Details:

Cook & Archie’s
1a/4 Buckingham St, Surry Hills
Thursday, 25 Feb
From 8.30am onwards

Topic: Innovation – how (not) to kill it!

By now, most of you will be well settled into the new year, with new objectives, new recruits and new deadlines… but have you allowed time to really drive innovation? And if you are one of the lucky ones who have the time, where do you start?

Regardless of whether you are ‘naturally innovative’, it’s important to note that business innovation rarely happens in isolation. It requires teamwork. It requires key stakeholers to work together. And this is where it gets messy. Whilst you might be a natural innovator that doesn’t mean everyone on your team is. So how are you going to work together to innovate?

This is where your good friend PROCESS steps in!

I have to admit, at first, the idea of a ‘creative process’ seemed counterintuitive (perhaps because it sounded too much like an oxymoron).

But after delving deeper, I’m pleased to report to the naysayers that process can guide innovation – offering hidden pathways on an otherwise dead end road. For some, the creative process can be so dauntinging, it’s sometimes reassuring to know that at each step you have a little handy helper to set you on your way. It’s like your innovation GPS.

Here’s my tips for innovation (inspired by a recent Innovation workshop with Brainmates):

1. Know when you are in ‘innovation mode’ and when it’s time to knuckle down and focus on what can really be achieved.
2. Stay positive, listen and play nicely together.
3. Have an innovation plan so you know when you’re meeting your targets.
4. Get out of your meeting rooms, kick off your shoes & have some fun!
5. And… when it doubt – call in The Consultants (they really can be helpful sometimes!)

What works for you?

Looking forward to seeing you at #pmm

@mishymash

Ps. And for anyone looking for a great innovation workshop, keep an eye on Brainmates for more details.

PPs. For anyone interested, join me for Vindaloo against violence #VagainstVon Wed-24 Feb http://vagainstvsurryhills.eventbrite.com

Here’s a few things I’ve learnt over the past few years in product management:

• Responding to the community is not the same as reacting to the community
• Good communication does not mean ‘I sent you an email’
• ‘Agile’ does not have to be fragile
• ‘Now’ means ‘now’, not later
• Managing remote teams is difficult, but it is a great way to learn about another culture
• If you’re not failing somewhere, you aren’t trying hard enough
• Extreme programming does not require a crash helmet
• Team bonding often occurs late at night (usually coinciding with server meltdowns or releases)
• ‘Ruby on Rails’ is not a new Mattel product (nor a porno)
• Just because you can use Photoshop, it doesn’t mean you know good design
• Metrics and site statistics are only part of the story
• People can hear when you are smiling
• When communicating with your legal team, the term ‘privileged’ comes in handy
• Sometimes it’s helpful to be a ‘jack of all trades’
• A ‘no-one leaves the building’ policy is handy around release time

So, before I sign off and head to #shtbox for drinks, a huge thanks to the following people:

Rob & Nick – Thanks for all your support. I appreciate the confidence you have in me and look forward to working with you again in the future.

To the team at Pollenizer… You know I love you guys (esp. Jon, Mick & Phil – but the rest of you rock too)! Thanks for all your wise words and advice. And Mick – thanks for ensuring focus and helping me define my path.

To the X-Minds team… It’s been a fun journey and I appreciate all your hard work over the last 2 years.

To the Exist/Sydneo team… You guys are truly awesome! Jason Torres – it was such a pleasure working with you and getting to know you! I hope to meet you and the team F2F one day

To @armyofdolls … Thanks for supporting me through the craziness. I hope to return the favour one day.

And to all the people I met with, leached ideas off, explored new ventures with, and especially to all the Product Mavens… you really inspired me to do so many, many, many things (not least of which included setting up Product Mavens and taking a last minute holiday to Thailand over Xmas!).

So who’s joining me for drinks?

Over and out.

Mishy

Ps. If you’re thinking that this post was inspired by @dekrazee1 then you are 100% right! Rai, you are the community queen & I wish you the best of luck for the future!

I have no idea if this is actually how you are supposed to make this dish, but it tastes perfect to me! This dish is all about the tofu, so don’t clutter it with too many veges (though, if you’re not into tofu, I’m sure a fish version of this would be delicious – though you might need to reverse the cooking process and cook the fish before the vegetables).

Like most Thai food, this dish is best cooked just before serving, and of course it needs a very generous portion of unsalted, medium or long grain rice to accompany it!

Ingredients:

• 1-3 red Birdseye chili, sliced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, thick slices (if it’s too thin it will burn)
• 1/2 cup of diced vegetables (I used a mixture of long beans, capsicum and baby corn, but if you have a sweet tooth, add some chopped pineapple)
• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 2 cups silken Tofu, chopped into large cubes
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of peanut or sunflower oil (or a mix of both)
• 3/4 cup hot vegetable stock
• 1-2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 1-2 teaspoon sugar
• 1-2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 lime, cut in wedges
• large handful of coriander (separate leaves from stems, roughly chop stems)
• 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
• rice to serve

Method:

Basically, you’re going to cook the veges, add the tofu, season the sauce and then eat it!

1. Pat the tofu dry with a towel, then lightly coat the cubes in cornstarch and set aside (the tofu MUST be dry else the cornstarch will go gluggy). If you can’t be bothered to do this step, I’m sure it will still work out just fine (though the sauce might be a little thin and the tofu might break apart a little – don’t say I didn’t warn you!).
2. Add the oil to a hot wok.
3. When the wok begins to smoke, add the vegetables and stir for 1 minute on high heat, then push the veges to one side of the wok.
4. Add the tofu to the empty side of the wok – do not stir it immediately, wait until the tofu is sealed (otherwise it will fall apart)
5. After about 1 minute, the tofu should be heated through, lightly browned on 1 side and juices should be releasing from the tomato & other vegetables. You can stir it gently now!
6. Add 1/4 of the stock and let it bubble away for a few seconds, then add coriander stems, sugar, salt, pepper, fish sauce & soy, stir gently, and switch the wok to medium heat.
7. At this point, I’d recommend you taste your sauce. It should be spicy, a little sweet and quite salty (but don’t worry, the rice and tofu should mellow it out). If you need to re-season the dish add more stock and season to taste (but remember, the stock is salty too!). Once you’re happy with the flavours, it’s time to plate up! The seasoning might need to be adjusted depending on which vegetables you are using (if you want more sauce, add more vegetable stock, but be careful not to overcook the veges).
8. To serve, pile the tofu over hot rice, top with coriander leaves, peanuts and a generous splash of fresh lime.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: approx 4-5 minutes.

Project Management Tip: A little planning goes a long way.

Ps. @Ycnt_ibdonlyjen – You’ll have to let me know how it turns out!

Throughout 2009, I struggled to find the right tool set for the product development and roadmap planning. I was mostly working with external resources, with limited budgets and I also made the switch from PC to Mac, so there were a lot of adjustments.

I moved from Visio to OmniGraffle and from MS Project to Omni-Plan, but what I found for the most part, was that there are a lot of tools out there that achieve similar results, so it’s not the ‘technology’ that’s important, it’s how you use it.

My advice? Have a plan in place, not only for ‘project management’, but for yourself personally, as a Product Manager. Know that for internal concept work, you are only going to use quick and dirty tools like Skitch, and you’ll only consider wireframing tools once you know the concept is solid. Have a plan, and be brave.

Here’s some of my favourites from 2009 which I plan to continue using in 2010…

Planning tools
OmniPlan for roadmaps and Green-hopper/Jira for issues management and sprint planning

Wireframing tools
OmniGraffle for basic wireframes (recommend the Pro version only), Skitch for super quick mark-ups, Jing for video screen captures, and Photoshop for more detailed designs. I also find Formspring (and similar form creation tools) useful – it’s particularly helpful for demos, so you can actually show your colleagues/clients a working prototype of your forms (with conditions etc).

Document management
Confluence for ‘wiki’ style communication, GoogleDocs for document collaboration (not the most advanced tools, but they are reliable and easy for everyone to access) and drop-box for file sharing.

(I can see a pattern emerging in my personal usage with OmniGroup and Atlassian products, but I’m no loyalist, so if you have any other recommendations, I’m open to ideas!)

I’m also keen to try Google Wave as a collaboration tool for product planning. After all, it’s been designed as a collaboration tool, so it will be interesting to see the uptake in industry.

The other tool I’d like to use more in 2010 is my voice. In 2010, I’d like to have more phone calls, more skype talks, more face to face meetings, more voiceovers on my videos, more informal chats and overall, more vocal communication. Tone conveys so much, and without it, so much is lost. Emoticons just don’t cut it anymore.

In keeping with my voice-activation aspirations for 2010, I’ve arranged a F2F meetup for Product Mavens – our first meetup for 2010!

When: Thursday, 21 Jan, from 8.30am onwards (til about 10am)

Where: Cook & Archie’s 1a/4 Buckingham St, Surry Hills

Topic: What tools or frameworks will you be using to plan your product roadmap and related activities for 2010?

Hope to chat with you soon!