At a recent Product Management meetup, we had the chance to hear some product managers from Overstock talk about their experience in conducting research calls. It was great to hear their experience as well as hear from other product managers.
A few things in particular stood out to me. First was the continued debate around the use of personas. While I'm sure we all have heard the debate, and probably have feelings one way or the other, it is always interesting to me to hear both sides. And especially when either side is passionate about their love or hate of personas. I still sit somewhere in between. I find them valuable as long as they're dynamic, but can certainly understand why they are hated in some corners. A persona is easy to do wrong. Or easy to let grow stale. The second point was around recording notes from research calls we do. What is the best way to keep track of what we learn? I've had this question posed to me and didn't have a great answer. I've tended to use whatever is available, whether that is Excel (don't hate) or Google Drive or a handful of other tools. So when someone posed that question to the presenters, I was excited to hear their answer. But it turned out to be the same as mine. Either they just keep it in their head or write it down somewhere. The suggestion for recording the calls was made, but it definitely seemed like there wasn't a great answer. That's certainly something to think about. So what are your thoughts? Love or hate personas? And how do you keep track of research calls? Is there a great tool to use? Or who among us is going to make the perfect tool?
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I was having a tough week. Long hours working through some pressing issues. To the point I was even dreaming about work. So basically no mental rest day or night.
Now that's not to say I wasn't taking breaks. My evening routine almost always consists of spending some time playing with the kids and spending time as a family. And usually some time working out as well after the kids are in bed. But those breaks were never really enough to help me turn the page. The stress of work was ever-present and really wearing me down. I could see it affecting everything, but felt almost helpless since I had to get things done. Finally, toward the end of the week, I just couldn't get a personal project off of my mind. I had hoped to work on it earlier but decided it needed to wait until I had a better handle on the more urgent things. But there it was, nagging at my mind. And on Friday I finally gave in. I took a break for an hour or two to put together some creative ideas I had and work on some graphic design. It took a little convincing. I kept thinking how I should wait until I had more done to work on anything personal. But once I was into it enough there was no looking back. I became fully immersed and lost track of myself for a little while. And that was exactly what I needed. The stress of the entire week was gone. I realized how much I had been spinning my wheels on work without making a lot of progress. I had been too stressed and my mind too clouded to be effective at problem solving or really any creative thinking. And all it took was taking my focus off of work for a while and getting out of my own head. I'm sure this type of scenario happens to almost all of us. Too busy to take focus off of work so we spin and spin until we burn out. I even know the signs in myself and still fall victim to it. I know that I should take some time to work on side projects to help clear my head and sometimes I just don't do it. But those creative side projects can really be the fuel to keep you sane. They're invigorating and inspiring. They aren't just distractions from urgent work, but the key to actually being able to do good work. Being able to "get out of your own head" for a while not only helps clear your head, but also makes solving those work problems much easier. So hopefully I'll keep that in mind the next time I've hit major roadblocks and can't seem to solve problems as effectively. But then, that tends to be the problem to begin with, isn't it? My journey into product management is a bit convoluted. It took some trial-and-error and a few different roles, but I eventually found my home. So my story is pretty much like everyone else's who has gotten into product management. But I'll tell it anyway.
My first taste of product management was in a role I had at the computer labs at BYU. My title was Student Manager of Personnel. So many of my responsibilities were around hiring, scheduling, promotions, etc. But another aspect revolved around managing different products for all of the computer labs and its employees. One such product was a brand new internal employee website. This was really the heart of our organization, where everyone could find their schedules, swap shifts with other employees, manage their training, do reviews and find all other information for their work. And we set out to rebuild it completely. I had the chance to work closely with the developers building it (an extremely talented group) in order to make changes, give input, and guide the overall flow. Having been there for a long time, I knew many of the features that needed to be incorporated and added. I also had the chance to talk with other users to get feedback and ideas. It was my first chance to really do product management at some level (though I didn't know it at the time). Unfortunately my time in that role had to come to an end as I graduated. And I had to start on another path. Goldman Sachs was building out some new teams in Salt Lake City, and (ironically) one of them was a product management team within the fixed income group. Again, I still didn't have a full understanding of product management, but was excited to help build out a group in a new office and the role seemed like it had a lot of great opportunities, so I jumped at the chance. Now, product management at Goldman Sachs has a lot of different flavors. At its heart, it is the same as any traditional product management role. You work cross-functionally across the business. That includes working closely with sales teams, marketing teams, management, traders, operations, etc. On the technology side, it means working closely with a variety of technology groups to build out functionality, both internally and externally. And of course, it includes understanding clients and users. Anticipating their needs and developing products and features to help them. Now at a place like Goldman Sachs, that includes financial products like mutual funds and investment strategies. But it also includes many of the technology focused components as well. External websites, online tools and internal reports and tools. The things you think of when you think of traditional product management. Many people go into product management at Goldman Sachs with the view of moving to one of the teams they work with eventually. That may mean sales or trading or portfolio management. A few will stay within product management as well. My original intention had been to go into portfolio management after working on the product team. So that is the path I started down. I took two levels of the CFA exam (pretty much a designation centered on portfolio management). But I began to realize that I didn't want to do portfolio management, I wanted to be a product manager. With that new realization, I started to shift my focus. Since product managers tend to wear many hats at a place like Goldman, I wanted to start working with a group where I could really be a product manager (as opposed to a junior portfolio manager or something like that). And I was fortunate enough to find just the right group. As I began working on our money market products, my role became more and more product management every day. I've had the chance to work on many different products and features. That includes the launch of multiple new mutual funds (it is Goldman Sachs after all). But I also led a team in redesigning our existing external site. And then helped lead the effort to start to sunset our existing site and create a brand new external site with lots of new functionality. Internally I led a team redesigning some of our regulatory reporting. This involved all the data and software tools we used to create these reports and working with internal and external stakeholders to create a new process and end product. I've also had the chance to work on many other features and products within this group. I'll be detailing more stories in other posts, so be sure to check back. So that is how I got into product management. It has been an exciting journey and continues to be something that I love. I'm really excited about a few changes for 2017.
First, I've just completed a new personal site. I coded it myself and am quite pleased with how it came out. It is still a work in progress, but it is coming along nicely. Second, this blog is going to expand. I expect to be posting here much more regularly, as well as on Medium. I'll be working here first and then adding things to Medium as I'm ready. I'm planning on leaving most of my previous posts up on this blog, though you'll notice the focus shifting a bit from some of the previous topics. More product management and personal stories. Finally, I'll be catching up on a lot of Product Management reading that I've had on my list and haven't had a chance to get to. This goes along with the second point, as I'll be writing more about it as well, both here and on Medium. So I'd love to get your input and thoughts. Just don't judge as I'm catching up on the product management books that you've already read. So those are a few things in the works. Lots more to come in the near future, so I'm excited for 2017. About this time every year, article after article after article comes out about how terrible daylight saving time is. It doesn't save energy. It makes everyone tired. It's economically disruptive. It's archaic.
I suppose that's to be expected. We all get grumpy when an hour of our weekend is taken away. And when an hour of sleep is taken away from us (though we don't direct this same kind of anger at Netflix for some reason). I get it. And I feel the same way. I used to hate the time change. I still do really. It throws everything off for a while. The great schedule that you've got your kids on has to change all of the sudden. And try explaining that to a toddler. But really, are we going to blame all of our problems on daylight savings? We all know it's coming, but how many of us decided to stay up watching a movie anyway (I raise my hand as guilty on that one). Yeah, we're tired. But how often is that the case? Always? It's just this weekend we can all point to the same culprit and direct all our anger at it. I look forward to daylight savings every year. I want the long evenings. I don't need extra daylight in the morning. Mornings are for working. Or sleeping in. Evenings are for relaxing, spending time with family, grilling, ball games, etc. A little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about (John Mayer agrees). And those summer nights are what summer is all about. And let's be honest, how many of us like changing our clocks in the fall and losing an hour of daylight in the evening? I don't know anyone who likes that. Our consolation prize is getting an extra hour of sleep, but that's a small comfort when you're driving home from work at 5pm and it's already dark out. I would certainly prefer to not have any time change too. But I would prefer to have daylight savings all year long. If we can make that happen, I'm on board. If not, I'll live with switching the clocks twice a year in order to enjoy longer evenings. Tiredness be damned. Over the years, I've given a lot of thought about ways to improve soccer. While I'm sure that some of these things have been written about or discussed - maybe extensively - I haven't really followed any of those debates. So here are the suggestions:
Stop the Clock. I hate time wasting. Hate it. And the added time at the end doesn't make up for it. So how about just stopping the game clock whenever there is a stoppage of play. No more incentive to make pointless substitutions, fake injuries or otherwise waste time. And this would ensure that 90 minutes of soccer have been played. Review Crucial Calls. Refs make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes change the game. So let's start having a video review by another official after important calls. That would include goals, penalties and red cards. It wouldn't take much extra time. And there aren't a lot of these events (and many of my suggestions would make them less impactful), so let's make sure we get them right. No More Free Goals. I hate penalties. Many times they are the difference in a game. You can't convince me that a hard tackle just inside the box on the end line is worthy of a free goal. But that is the reward. I really like the back-pass rule here. Just let the opposing team have a free kick in the box wherever the infraction occurred. It gives keepers a fighting change while still putting them in dangerous spot. Add Subs. While I'd be open to adding more substitutes to a game (probably very controversial), I'm just referring to extra time here. If the teams are going to play an extra 30 minutes, let's give them each an extra 2 subs at least. It's no fun watching tired soccer, so let them get some fresh legs out there. Red Cards. What if a red card wasn't a death stroke? What if a substitute could be brought on? You could give the opposing team a power play (say 5-10 minutes of being a man up) and then allow the other team to bring on a sub (assuming they still have subs available). Games are far better when it is 11v11. Post Facto Cards. Not everything is caught during the game. While players can be fined or suspended after games, let's add cards to that. This would apply critically to diving. Make the diving stop. Soccer is notoriously stubborn when it comes to change, but it is past time to embrace it. We have new technology that could really help in getting things right and keeping everyone honest. And while the rules may have been in place for a while, why not rethink some of those? Let's get it done for the good of the game. After finishing the book The Big Fat Surprise as well as a variety of articles, accounts from friends, etc., it's become increasingly clear that our entire idea about nutrition is fatally flawed. Animal fat, eggs and dairy aren't only good for us, but essential for us as study after study have shown.
It amazes me (though probably shouldn't), how we ultimately got here too. A classic story of a few nutrition researchers pushing their idea forward, ignoring all evidence to the contrary, and ultimately railroading all opposing voices. Before the idea that fat was bad for you, there were a variety of competing theories, including the idea that the main culprit behind health problems might be sugars. But the influence of just a few people managed to get major health associations, and ultimately the US government, on board with the idea that saturated fat was the ultimate evil despite a terrible lack of evidence. I grew up in the midst of the anti-fat movement. As long as something was fat free, it was okay. It didn't matter about the other things in it, such as sugar. I'm sure most of us can relate. It has been the consensus for so long that it's practically nutrition gospel. It was what were told by all experts and everyone in the media. And yet look at where we are now. Obesity has skyrocketed along with diseases like diabetes and cancer. All this despite all of us actually following USDA food guidelines. And you can replace the word "despite" with the word "because" in that sentence. Contrary to their assertions, we really have given up a lot of the saturated fats and replaced them with carbs and sugars. And therein lies one of the biggest problems. When we all cut out saturated fats, they had to be replaced with other things. And that brought us foods like trans fats and vegetable oils. All of which are far worse for us than the butters and creams and lards people used before. Ultimately, it feels like a terribly sad story that has likely cost millions of lives. We replaced food that has been used for thousands of years of human history for foods that had never been used, and this is where we are now. And the problem was ultimately compounded by the government prescribing a certain diet to everyone. A diet that has been the source of our nutrition problems, rather than the cure. These guidelines have started to be walked back slightly, but the ideas are so ingrained that it will probably take a long time to change. It should also give us pause as we look at other scientific ideas that have gained consensus with a lack of evidence and keep us from silencing opposing voices prematurely (I'm looking at you, climate change). So for now, I'll take my eggs with extra cheese and as many servings as bacon as I can get. The internet is currently working quite well. It has been for a long time. So obviously we need to drastically change it.
I guess I'll risk standing apart from the "cool" crowd and say that net neutrality is a silly idea. The most obvious reason is that the internet is working just fine. Yes, if it's not broken, the last thing we need is government bureaucracies "fixing" it. But what if internet service providers start to restrict what I can access? What if they blocked certain sites unless I upgraded to a premium plan? What if small businesses had to pay to play? All great points. And what if all the unicorns in the world decided to stop dusting us with glitter and rainbows and turned against mankind? Beside the fact that the internet already operates with fast-lanes for companies willing to pay, the arguments in favor of net neutrality continue to set up non-existent problems in order to impose a so-called solution. And that solution would be turning ISPs into utility companies, nominally under full control of the government. Of course, what could go wrong with that? The government has time and time again shown that it cannot even succeed at basic functions. So obviously it should be put in charge of internet access. If that is the view you subscribe to, I certainly hope that you are happy with the internet exactly as it is right now. I hope you're happy with your current service, the current speeds and bandwidth etc. Because by turning ISPs into utilities, we would effectively take away any incentive to continue to develop and improve infrastructure. It is happening already as the debate rages on. Perhaps the scariest part of the net neutrality argument is that it is based on regulatory forbearance. The idea that regulators, once put in charge of the internet, would govern with a light touch. If anyone can please point to any regulatory agency that has ever governed with a light touch, especially in our modern era, I would be much obliged. Regulators by nature seek to increase their regulatory reach and power. There's no way around that. Why shouldn't companies like Netflix and Google help in the build-out of infrastructure, or pay to have their content delivered faster if all parties can come to an agreement? Let's not act like Netflix is some sort of start-up either. It consumes huge amounts of bandwidth. Wouldn't users be better off with Netflix helping to deliver movies faster? And wouldn't non-users be better off with freed up bandwidth. Now I'm certainly not arguing that we allow Comcast to hold companies hostage. There are already rules and laws in place to deal with that. And what incentive would Comcast, or any other ISP, have to do something like that in a competitive market? Competition ultimately will be the thing that helps consumers the most, not additional regulation. We all have multiple options for ISPs and they continue to grow. Last year we had a company start a new service in our area, offering double the speeds for the same price. We made the switch. The other companies quickly followed suit, offering faster speeds and lower prices. That is what we want, isn't it? Government simply can't regulate that into existence. The Moto 360 launched on September 4. I got one on September 6. As my friend who picked one up the same day said, we were probably among the first 10 people in Utah to have one. I was fortunate enough to have a wife who was not only eagerly awaiting the launch, but also was monitoring inventory at Best Buy around the state in order to grab one for me as soon as she could. An early birthday gift. Very early, and very sweet.
I've been looking forward to having a smartwatch for quite some time. I wanted to get a Samsung Gear when they first came out and have been interested since then. I'm a watch guy, and a gadget guy, so it's just about the perfect intersection. So what has it been like so far? Better than I expected. I didn't really realize how often I would be using it. Even that first weekend had me surprised. I'm a person who is constantly checking my phone. Emails, texts, news alerts and notifications in general have me reaching for my phone frequently. Now those are all on my wrist. I see each one as it comes and can act accordingly. No more digging out my phone just to realize it's a Groupon email. The same goes for music. The control is on my wrist, so I can skip songs easily now. All these things are great for when you're sitting at your desk, and even better when you're driving. We also went for a drive up the canyon that Sunday. I didn't realize how convenient it would be to have all my notifications so easily accessible. I can't tell you how many times I've felt my phone start to vibrate and had to pull it out to see if it was something important or something that could wait (almost always the latter). And it has inspired me to use services I hadn't fully utilized before. A colleague wondered how the location based notifications worked. So I set some reminders for myself for when I got to work and when I got home. When I arrived, my watch buzzed my and popped up my reminder. I've also started using voice commands with it. I've never been much for the voice commands until now. But having a wearable helps voice commands make a lot more sense, whether doing a quick Google search or replying to a message. And let's talk about the style for just a second. It looks like a watch. It's the kind of watch I'd be interested in if it wasn't a smartwatch. The leather band is subtle yet stylish (and leather bands are just generally better anyway). I've gotten compliments on the watch and people didn't even know it was a smartwatch. That's how it should be. Are there things I'd change? The battery life is the first that comes to mind. But I'm not a guy who wears a watch 24/7, so charging really doesn't feel like a massive problem to me. If I keep the screen on most the day, it lasts me 12-13 hours. If I change it so it's only on when I look at the watch, It could probably go 25+ hours without a problem. And I'd love for it to be a bluetooth speaker, but that may just be the James Bond lover in me. Admittedly, a smartwatch won't be for everyone. But I think it will be for most people soon. And as the software continues to improve, it really feels like the possibilities are limitless. I'm probably hooked at this point, so no turning back anyway. 27 May 1994
Today was "'buy and sell day." I sold magnets. I bought a name tag, a balloon filled with flower, a magnet, a Chinese star (made out of popcicle sticks), a little truck, two faces painted on plates, a tracing fun book, a gray thing that's little and hollow, a braded keychain, a viser and a travel gyde. That is a journal entry I made when I was 9, complete with spelling mistakes. It's funny reading that, because that is not a day that I would otherwise remember. But after reading it, I remember it vividly. The magnets I sold were made from putting plaster in molds and then putting a magnet on the back (a favorite craft from my youth). I had also made bookmarks, but didn't think they were good enough for "buy and sell day," so I didn't take them with me. I really like that balloon with flour (not flower) and kept it for a long time. And the only reason I bought those painted paper plates was because I felt bad no one else was buying them from that person. They weren't very good, but the kid had tried hard and I didn't want them to feel left out. Just those few sentences take me back and I can see and feel everything from that time, even what seemed unimportant. I'm probably a bit strange (though you could very well take the middle three words out of that sentence). I've always been a big believer in recording history. I have volumes of notebooks filled with journal entries and other thoughts as I've gone through life. And boxes and boxes filled with pictures. I'm not sure which of those two things I'm more obsessive about: taking pictures or writing about the experiences. But is that something I'd ever regret? Too many notes about experiences in my life? Too many pictures of the events? I have my doubts. I do know what I will regret - not knowing the stories of people who came before me. Not knowing what their lives were like, what challenges they face, what they accomplished in their own eyes. Especially those closest to me. So while I try to coerce as many histories out of my family as I can, I can't force it. But I certainly can make sure I write down my own experiences. So far, it has really only been for my own benefit. I don't really want anyone to read about me right now. But someday. I may never be famous or important enough to have a New York Times bestselling autobiography, but that really doesn't matter. No one will have lived the same life as me. And I think that will be valuable in some way. At least to someone. So I'll continue to write history, and hope many others will too. And someday maybe you'll be able to buy the bestseller about my life. Or maybe I'll just give you a copy. |
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