With over 30 years of experience, Mike Bauer is a product and strategy executive who has managed and overseen more than 100 products across data communication, enterprise software, connected products, the Internet of Things (IoT), marketing automation, embedded systems, and big data. He’s served in... Read More

Solving customer challenges should always be the North Star of any innovation plan. Bill Beane understands this concept better than anyone. As the Senior Director of Parker Technology Center and Innovation Systems at Parker Hannifin, Bill is responsible for helping to guide innovation to maintain... Read More

Product managers and project managers are two distinct roles. To launch new products successfully, they play a crucial role and must collaborate tightly. Product managers set the vision for the product, gather requirements and prioritize them, but it’s the project manager’s job to act upon this... Read More

I hear this a lot in product meetings: “You know what we need to do?” Before the conversation goes a sentence further, I’ll ask, “What problem are you trying to solve?” If their response is silence or a puzzled look, the discussion’s over. Here’s why: A product without a problem isn’t product... Read More

As innovation becomes a source of competitive advantage for companies, new roles and titles keep emerging. There was a time when project managers were the ninjas who got things done, on time and within budget. Next came the era of product managers who balanced customer needs with larger business... Read More

We’ve talked recently about InnovationOps in this space: a flexible yet structured approach to innovation that guides an organization through its unique innovation journey. InnovationOps brings together the people and processes related to discovery, product management, project management and... Read More

Great product discovery is key to delivering products that people love to use. This is because the more effective your discovery, the more successfully you can solve customer problems and design solutions that meet their needs. And when you do this well, your products will resonate with end users.... Read More

Almost every company uses roadmaps, but are they using them to their full potential? In my experience, not always. Read More

You’re a product manager who’s made your mark at one company, and now you’re looking for a new challenge. For the more adventurous, it often means leaping off the high dive into a new industry. While product management skills tend to be transferable, they’re only as effective as your knowledge of... Read More

You could argue that the best innovation combines equal parts creativity and structure. The creatives reading this might argue that deadlines and structured decision-making bind creativity, but successful organizations understand the importance of both. Read More