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Insights From The Thompson Twins On How Product Managers and UX Can Better Harmonize To Drive Bigger Business Impact

As a product manager, do you ever get frustrated by UX designers who want to influence decision-making, but don’t know how? As a UX person, do you find it frustrating when product managers won’t take your thoughts into consideration? The Thompson Twin’s 1983 pop song “We Are Detective” tells the playful story of detectives who are being spied on by other detectives, and there are lessons in here…

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Two Types of Product Managers

I love jokes because they can accomplish multiple objectives at once: Break tension, reduce stress, and pave the way for actual conversation. Feel free to deploy today’s #PMJoke at your convenience: New Around Here? Subscribe to receive future updates. Connect with me on LinkedIn. Follow me on Twitter to continue the conversation!

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H.O.S.T.E.S.S. Framework: Key To Winning Battle Between Supersonic Hair Dryers, Cup Cakes

Starting in the late 1970s, Hostess hired comic book creators to produce a series of single-page ads to promote Hostess fruit pies, cup cakes, and other desserts. In the Hostess ad Blown About, the Human Torch’s battle against the villainous Blow Dryer involves more than just cup cakes — and provides a tasty framework for helping Product Managers navigate an ever-changing market landscape. <…

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#Comic Books

Product Management Lesson From The Life Of Jack Rebney, Winnebago Man

Jack Rebney, aka “Winnebago Man”, aka “The World’s Angriest Man”, passed away recently at the age of 93. Rebney is probably the most famous person you’ve never heard of, but you have likely heard his voice. He was a former RV salesman whose hysterical, explosive, profanity-laced outbursts circulated on VHS tapes in the 1990s and then became one of the web’s first viral sensations in the early…

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#Jack Rebney #Viral Video #Winnebago

How Product Management Led Me To The Empty Tomb

Product management is a truth quest. Not to be grandiose, but — at its core — that’s what this field is. Our job as Product Managers is to find the truth, understand it, quantify it, qualify it because it may be true and also irrelevant to what we’re seeking to accomplish, and then make the relevant truths understandable to others so the business can make informed decisions about strategy and…

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Why Did The Vampire Fail As A Product Manager?

New Around Here? Subscribe to receive future updates. Connect with me on LinkedIn. Follow me on Twitter to continue the conversation!

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Snake-Eyes Silently Shows Product Managers How To Improve Cross-Functional Collaboration

G.I. Joe #27 is a comic book written by Larry Hama with pencils by Frank Springer, published by Marvel Comics in 1984, which explores the origin of the popular Joe code-named Snake-Eyes. < SPOILER WARNING >Key plotpoints are pictured below as we explore how product managers can improve cross-functional collaboration. You have been warned!< / SPOILER WARNING > While construction continues on…

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Product Managers, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane...?

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane…? is a 1991 thriller, starring real-life sisters Lynn Redgrave and Vanessa Redgrave as siblings entangled in a progressively-deranged codependent relationship — and carries an important lesson for Product Managers about using S.M.A.R.T. goals to create appropriate boundaries at work. < SPOILER WARNING >Key plot points of this grim, 32-year-old made-for-TV thriller…

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Top 12 Product Management Insights From 2022

Your teammates are starting to appear offline and Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You looms all around, so you know what that means: It’s time to reflect on the top product management insights from the last 12 months and explore pop culture’s highest peaks and lowest lows. Starting with… January High: Comic book industry reels as VIZ Comics ties Marvel Comics in the Top 10 Graphic…

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Product Manager Perspective - How Personalized Interactive Videos Enhance Customer Experiences

Product Manager Perspective – How Personalized Interactive Videos Enhance Customer Experiences

The fine folks at Duck Creek Technologies invited me onto their monthly podcast where they discuss market trends, innovative technologies, and implications for the insurance industry. Here is the description for my episode: From online shopping to ordering a rideshare, today’s consumers have become accustomed to receiving personalized, seamless experiences – and they expect similar experiences…

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#podcast

The Elusive Omni-Channel Advantage: How To Make The Complex Simple Using Scalable Technology

Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing published my article “The Elusive Omni-Channel Advantage: How To Make The Complex Simple Using Scalable Technology”. Honored to be part of Henry Stewart’s 30 year history of publishing professional and academic journals! You can eead the article here.

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Answering Captain Levi’s Question Is The Key To Building Trust As A Product Manager

Successfully fending off giant man-eating monsters is a bit like successfully leading a product in this regard: Without a strong trust dynamic among the team, you’re likely to fall prey to concerns much larger than you or your companions. As Simon Sinek puts it: “A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other.” In Attack on Titan: No…

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#anime #Attack on Titan

Product Management Insights From The Life Of Legendary Artist Neal Adams

Neal Adams, renowned for his work with various DC Comics and Marvel characters, has passed away. He was 80. His son Adam told The Hollywood Reporter, “My father was a force. His career was defined by unparalleled artistic talent and an unwavering character that drove him to constantly fight for his peers and those in need.” Reflecting on Neal Adams’ career and character, I see two important…

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#Comic Books

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Product Manager’s First Camping Trip

Sherlock Holmes takes his favorite Product Manager on a camping trip. After an evening of ghost stories and riddles, they settle into their sleeping bags. Around midnight, Holmes nudges the Product Manager awake. “What is it, Holmes?” the PM asks. “My friend,” Holmes says seriously. “Look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” The Product Manager considers a moment. “I see stars. Thousands,…

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"The Pinedale Shopping Mall Has Just Been Bombed By Live Turkeys!" Or, How To Rebuild Trust With Stakeholders In Product Management

“The Pinedale Shopping Mall Has Just Been Bombed By Live Turkeys!” Or, How To Rebuild Trust With Stakeholders In Product Management

In memory of Howard Hesseman (aka, Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati), we’re re-presenting this updated version of a classic Product Management Meets Pop Culture post. < SPOILER WARNING > Key plot points from this 30-year-old sitcom will be revealed as we look at the root causes of micromanagement and how Product Managers can navigate our way out those situations — usually before turkeys…

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One Awkward Man’s Quest To Stop King Arthur From Destroying Modern-Day England Illustrates The Importance Of Taking Calculated Risks In Product Management

When a group of extremists bring a mythic figure to life in their quest for power, a retired monster hunter yanks her awkward adult grandson into a world of magic, wizardry and heavy artillery in a desperate quest to stop the legendary threat. Once & Future (Vol. 1): The King Is Undead collects the first six issues of the ongoing supernatural adventure by author Kieron Gillen and illustrator Dan…

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Top 12 Product Management Insights From 2021

It’s that time of year when we reflect on the top product management insights from the last 12 months, align them with a calendrical cavalcade of highs and lows from pop culture, and add a soupçon of viral trends. “But I don’t need to reflect on insights from product management this year.” ????????????? January High: Dayglow releases the irresistibly groovy song “Close To You” which inspires…

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Chris Cummings