5min columns

for Kim Scott

Martin: In the last 30 years we have seen significant development but also the need for soft skills and providing feedback in the software industry. In this sense, is the programmer’s world somehow different and specific from other industries? Could you name those specifics in the context of your words, that it is not just a business?

Kim Scott: Radical Candor. Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity

Value for money

8/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2019 by St. Martin’s Press; EUR 18,99; 297 pages (The content itself 232 pages; Afterword to the revised edition 26 pages; Bonus chapter 22 pages; Acknowledgments 6 pages; Index 11 pages); Hardcover

Jacket design by James Iacobelli, Author photograph by Margaret Rosser, However, considering the cover, I would have expected better quality paper. The text density on the page is too high and the reading experience is getting low.

5 sentences about the book

Lightweight theory of how to provide feedback in 2 minutes, written in the too-long book. Helpful radical candor grid and at the same time a kind of redundant GSD wheel that can soon enhance the pantheon of semi-similar continuous improvements wheels. Although already a classic and legendary must-read book for every people manager, written in an eloquent style with many ear-catchy tweet-like sentences.

More than 5 sentences…

This book starts with a well-known truism that bosses are ultimately responsible for results. But bosses are not able to achieve results just by themselves. According to Scott, bosses should rather guide a team to achieve those goals. Essentially, the whole of Scott’s book is about an explanation of what “to guide a team” means.Scott rejects the concept of “professionals” deprived of the human, private and inner side of personality. It is a relief that she not only officially admits, but claims that it is necessary to bring your whole self to work so you can achieve business results. Bringing your whole self to work allows to understand what motivate each person and enable to set a trusting relationship which is the engine of all movement towards to goals: “Your ability to build trusting, human connections with the people who report directly to you will determine the quality of everything that follows” 8

Trusting relationships is the backbone of the culture of guidance. Scott identifies two dimensions that can help develop trust. The author calls the first dimension “Care Personally”: work is not “just a business”, but it is deeply personal. The second dimension involves telling people when their work isn’t good enough and Scott names it “Challenge Directly”. Radical candor is a moment when you put “Care Personally” and “Challenge Directly” together.Scott invented a grid that helps to understand better the dynamics of her concept. According to the author, we should NOT understand a grid as a system of boxes for the categorization of people. Rather, it is a matrix we are moving consciously (rather than unconsciously) during a single day, or from day to day. The point is to recognize when we behave with “Ruinous Empathy”, “Manipulative Insincerity” or “Obnoxious Aggression” so you can correct behaviour towards “Radical Candor”.

I’ve read a fully revised version with a new preface, bonus chapter and afterword. The new preface was an occasion for Scott to again explain that “Radical” does NOT mean “Brutal” but rather “Compassion”: “Compassion is empathy plus action […] Compassionate Candor engages the heart (care personally) and the mind (challenge directly). Unfortunately, the term -Radical Candor- doesn’t communicate that to everyone.” xiii

What did I learn?

Bringing your whole self to work; relationships drive your all movement towards business goals

Understand what motivates each person on your team — Apple vs Google approach to the promotion engineers; Engineers as Rock Stars and Superstars: “The rock stars love their work. They have found their groove. They don’t want the next job if it will take them away from their craft. […] Superstars, on the other hand, need to be challenged and given new opportunities to grow constantly. In order to distinguish between the two, you must let go of your judgments and your own ambitions, forget for a while what you need from people, and focus on getting to know each person as a human being. For many bosses, this means rethinking ambition.” 44One of my “open eyes” moments was reading this self-explanatory quote about a people manager’s job: “Your job is not to provide purpose but instead to get to know each of your direct reports well enough to understand how each one derives meaning from their work. 51 [my emphasis]

I found Getting started section [227] very useful — a step by step guide on how to enrol Radical Candor concept in your organization

What was missing?

A fully revised and updated edition consist of 280 pages. While reading the book, I had a strong feeling that one doesn’t need so many pages to pass core messages to the reader. Well, if Kim Scott will decide to publish a “light version” [with the preservation of the core message], just contact me ;)

“Get Stuff Done” (GSD wheel) is a tool for collaboration that consists of several stages. Starting from “Listen”, then “Clarify”, “Debate”, Decide”, Persuade”, “Execute”, ending with “Learn” stage — to be able to start again with “Listen”… I cannot help myself, but GSD wheel dissolved in my mind into a myriad of similar wheels of other theories. It becomes weird to me that authors, consultants and coaches are using the same scheme as a medium for their original ideas. It is like shooting an ambitious action film using the cliche of “Michael Bay movies”.

Favorite quotes

“Caring personally is the antidote to both robotic professionalism and managerial arrogance” 13

“A good rule of thumb for any relationship is to leave three unimportant things unsaid each day” 16

"What could I do or stop doing that would make your life better?” 35

“Your job is not to provide purpose but instead to get know each of your direct reports well enough to understand how each one derives meaning from their work” 51

“If you’re not dying to hire the person, don’t make an offer” 189

for Michael E. Mann

Martin: Congratulation on writing an amazing book. I was surprised that climate war is currently happening mainly on the language and discourse level. Simplifying, your book is an analysis of various narratives around climate change and its impact on reality. What’s was the original inspiration that you helps you to focus on language? What’s role did American (J. Searle, N. Chomsky) and European (M. Foucault) philosophical tradition played in your writing?

Michael: Thank you for the kind words about the book. You’re exactly right — the new climate war is really about polluters manipulating our discourse, using social media as a weapon to divide us, and introducing a lexicon of action-laden words like “adaptation”, “resilience” and “innovation” that may seem soothing but in fact reflect hollow promises and business, as usual, disguised as action. And then there is the use of doomist language to lead us down a path of disengagement, diverting climate advocates to the sidelines when they need to be on the frontlines, demanding action and change.

Michael E. Mann: The New Climate War. The Fight to Take Back the Planet

Value for money

8/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2021 by PublicAffairs; EUR 25,45; 368 pages (The content itself 267 pages; Acknowledgements 3 pages; Notes 63 pages; Index 14 pages); Hardcover

Cover design by Pete Garceau, Cover image by iStock/Getty Images, Print book interior design by Linda Mark. Nice jacket and book design. Good paper quality and reading experience (However, considering the cover, I would have expected a better quality paper).

5 sentences about the book

The book is more about language and narrative, about how we speak, when we speak about environmental change than about climate change itself. Mann’s book is optimistic and he believes that man can save the planet only when recognizing the tactic used by the movement of climate change deniers (fuel fossil corporations, right-wing media, Russians trolls, etc.)

The author recognizes old and new climate wars in science. The old one was about climate change denial and according to the author, it was defeated. Currently, even the right-wing agrees that climate change is happening. A new climate war is about action — what steps should we take — and it is still being actively waged by climate change deniers. (230)

In the beginning, the author provides historical context of the architecture of misinformation and misdirection toward such products as guns, tobacco, beverage. On top of that, he describes the tactic of responsibility shift: moving it from corporations to the individuals and connecting it with moral choice and guilt. Mann depicts the strategy of conservative media and shows examples of Russian trolls’ attacks on scientific society. This book presents the weak side of discusses geoengineering (164) and climate doomism (182) as forms that mislead us from systemic changes.

What did I learn?

I’ve learned that climate deniers’ narrative is a derivation of similar historical experiences with the gun lobby, tobacco industry or beverage companies. The author calls it “a deflection campaign” and describes mainly the historical context in the USA (the story about “The Crying Indian” was completely new for me).

I’ve learned the omnipresent power of discourse: who owns and leads the narrative can easily manipulate with it not only the masses but also bias critical thinking individuals in the society

One example shows the strategy of shifting responsibility from corporations to individuals — “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” I came up with my own example: “”Enjoy Heineken Responsibly” is our commitment to encourage the enjoyment of beer, responsibly and in moderation, as part of a healthy lifestyle.”

Similarly — in climate change discourse — there is a tendency to shift responsibility from corporations to the individuals in order to avoid system changes and regulations that are costly for corporations: “The fossil fuel disinformation machine wants to make it about the car you choose to drive, the food you choose to eat, and the lifestyle you choose to live rather than about the larger system and incentives.” 6

I’ve learned how the individual choice (what we eat, how we travel, overall daily lifestyle) becomes (unnoticed!) a moral choice with the tendency to blame others and self-blaming.

By the way, did you know that beef consumption is responsible for only 6 percent of total carbon emission, air travel only accounts for about 3 percent of global carbon emission?

I’ve learned that individual action is good, but is not sufficient: “We must change the system. Individual efforts to reduce one’s carbon footprint are laudable. But without systematic change, we will not achieve the massive decarbonization of our economy that is necessary to avert catastrophic climate change” 81 and this: “We should all engage in climate-friendly individual actions. They make us feel better and they set a good example for others. But don’t become complacent, thinking that your duty is done when you recycle your bottles or ride your bicycle to work. We cannot solve this problem without deep systemic change, and that necessities governmental action” 97 [my emphasis]

What was missing?

Very minor issue. If you expect that you will learn more about climate change itself in this book, then you can be a little bit disappointed. The New Climate War is focusing on discourse and language, and how the main protagonists behave when speaking about climate change.

Favorite quotes

“Here’s the point, though. Unlike microbes, human beings have agency. We can choose to behave like a virus that plagues our planet or we can choose a different path. It’s up to us. Our response to the coronavirus pandemic shows it’s possible for us to change our ways when we must.” 250

for Marty Cagan

Martin: In Inspired and Empowered you’ve amplified the role of ethics in software product development and leadership.

Working at Google was considered a dream job twenty years ago. Working in the 21st century big tech is like working in a 20-century tobacco company now. Kari Paul from Guardian wrote that these companies do not take enough responsibility for their platforms and their impact on society: “The result is less innovation, fewer choices for consumers, and a weakened democracy.”

You pointed out on Twitter the case of Sophie Zhang, a former data analyst at Facebook, with a hint of bittery: “So many in our industry like to talk how important ethics is, yet consider how many product people are willing to work for this company, or respect their leaders…” I am very curious to hear your opinion about what happened with these companies, what are the roots of change from revolutionary product disruptors to aggressive predators?

Marty: First, I do not consider working at most “big-tech” companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon, Netflix or the like today as anything like a tobacco company. No company is perfect, but it is not fair or accurate to put them into the same category as Facebook, for example. And even Facebook I would not characterize as an “aggressive predator.”

Marty Cagan with Chris Jones: Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products

Value for money

7/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; EUR 26,99; 416 pages (The content itself 395 pages; Acknowledgements 2 pages, About the Authors 2 pages; Index 16 pages); Hardcover

Cover design by Paul McCarthy, Author photos by Jill Warburton, Top-quality paper, the exquisite reading experience

5 sentences about the book

Compendium of knowledge and “how to’s” that should stand on the desk (not the shelf!), at every product people/line managers fingertips. At the same time it’s a very frustrating reading, but I mean it in a good sense: “The best science fiction of 2020: Like a Utopia, we all are trying to reach but still miles away from being there” (Daniil Lanovyi, Goodreads). Authors the authors touch upon topics such as coaching, staffing, product vision and principles, team topology, product strategy, team objectives and company transformation.

What did I learn?

Product strategy. The way Cagan/Jones explain product strategy is stunning and a must-read for every product manager. Focus, Insight, Action are three pillars that set product strategy in place. Authors describe their meaning very well — it’s very useful to change your daily approach.

Coaching. Lissa Adkins put coaching in the centre of attention in working with agile teams ten years ago, but this book was written for the specific role of an Agile Coach. Cagan/Jones put coaching in the very centre of line management as such and so re-define the role and purpose of people management/line management. Coaching is not secondary, it is not a spare time activity anymore, but “It is the most important responsibility of every people manager to develop the skill of their people”. Cagan/Jones provide steps, tools and essential guidance on how should coaching look like in modern 21. century company.

The Written Narrative. It’s a completely new tool for me — I really didn’t hear about it before! I wrote the written narrative about my current product(s) then and I have to admit that it is bloody hard work. You have to slow down. It teaches you humility and simplicity. It is like looking in the mirror: every buzzword is visible like a gas oil stain on the snow. Soon it will help you to identify gaps so you are able to prepare a checklist for your next learning and homework.

Imposter Syndrome. I’ve had discussions about imposter syndrome with my colleagues but only Cagan/Jones told me what it really means and how to approach it. The written narrative is the perfect tool to overcome imposter syndrome.

What was missing?

I would like to emphasize that these are very minor issues:

Case study. I didn’t understand what’s the purpose of this chapter. Maybe it is my fault that I lost focus at the end of the book, maybe the authors insufficiently explained the context. Simply, I didn’t get it and I missed the punch line.

Transformed/Loved. These are the next SVPG books written by Lea Kickmann and Martina Lauchengco that will be published soon. Although I understand the sense of making marketing teasers in Empowered I had a feeling that it is unnecessary.

Favorite quotes

“If you’re running a process like SAFe, then this is, unfortunately, you, and truthfully, I have no idea why you would want to read this book since what I describe here is polar opposite both philosophically and practically” 10

“When an organization has 20, 30 or even 50 “high-priority” objectives, initiatives, or projects all going on at once, we have the same problem, only much worse […] If the leaders are not willing or able to make these choices, then the product strategy is doomed from the start” 250

“In every single case I know of, including every instance where I was able to contribute to the product strategy myself, this never happens without real preparation.

You might have an epiphany in the shower, but that’s only after you’ve spent hours studying your data, your customer, the enabling technologies, and your industry” 252

Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie: Designing for Growth. A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers

Value for money

5/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2011 by Columbia University Press; EUR 25,99; 197 pages (with Appendix, Notes, About the Authors 227 pages); Hardcover

Gorgeous book layout by Daniel Lombardi, exceptional cover design by Noah Arlow, the exquisite reading experience

5 sentences about the book

Book is not about design thinking as such; it is not about design thinking “philosophy”. It is supposed to be a book — “bridge” which allows managers to cross from the traditional MBA approach to design thinking. Authors apply design thinking principles in business: “What would be different if managers thought more like designers?”

Authors introduce four staged framework (1. What Is?, 2. What If?, 3. What Wows?, 4. What Works?) which is linked to four project management templates (1. Design Brief, 2. Design Criteria, 3. Napkin Pitch, 4. Learning Guide) and ten tools (1. Visualisation, 2. Journey Mapping, 3. Value Chain Analysis, 4. Mind Mapping, 5. Brainstorming, 6. Concept Development, 7. Assumption testing, 8. Rapid Prototyping, 9. Customer Co-creation, 10. Customer Launch). The framework will teach you to

Explore current reality and framing the challenge (What is)

Generate new possibilities for growth (What if)

Test assumptions and refining and prototyping the concept (What wows)

Enrol customers to shape it into something you can execute (What works) 178

The book is divided into sections that depict a particular framework stage. Sections consist of chapters describing a particular tool. Tool description follows the same scheme: definition, when it is used, how tool de-risk project, a few bullet points “Getting started” and quick homework “Try this at home”.

If you are a non-designer and especially a corporate manager and if you’ve never read anything about this topic before, then this book might be for you.

What did I learn?

In spite of what I wrote in “What was missing”, I’ve learned that every invention and creativity starts with rigorous analysis of the current state. It is not a coincidence, that What is? stage requires the most work and tools.

I’ve found project management templates, mainly Design Brief and Design Criteria, very useful during product prediscovery

The last section, Leading Growth and Innovation in Your Organisation, reminds me of unnecessary steps and rules related to the change management process. When you want to introduce design thinking in your organization — the recap of pitfalls is very useful.

What was missing?

This was certainly not light reading. I have had a problem motivating myself to finish the book. The last section, Leading Growth and Innovation in Your Organisation, returned me back to the game.

(In comparison to the Sprint,) Design for growth is a toolkit that is much more complex and heavier to flip from “words and sentences” into practice. Yes, “Getting started” and “Try this at home” sections and many examples from real life should help managers translate what they read into day-to-day practice. But in my opinion, the book is in many places vague: it is up to the reader’s interpretation and imagination how to execute the final step to the realisation. In regards to this “last mile” — how to prepare/facilitate workshops — Sprint is much more transparent and focused on details, so you have a pretty good understanding of the workshops’ timing, prerequisites and inventory.

To be fair, the book was written 10 years ago and many books since then build their wisdom on such pioneering guides as Design for Growth

Unnecessary ”wording” differences. Brainstorming is not brainstorming, but ideation; Mind mapping is not mind mapping (as you usually know it — a diagram), but “describe the process of extracting meaning from a vast amount of information” 81. And do not confuse napkin pitch with elevator pitch: napkin pitch is napkin pitch and elevator pitch is an elevator pitch. I would not be so surprised if these wording confusions are results of academic writing.

Missing index.

Favourite quotes

Jake Knapp with John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz: Sprint. How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Value for money

9/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2016 by Simon & Schuster Paperbacks; EUR 12,99; 231 pages (with Checklist, FAQ, Thank-you Notes, Image credits, Index 274 pages); Paperback

5 sentences about the book

I’ve hoped that I would learn how to run a design sprint. Instead, I got not only a step by step manual but also a facilitator’s handbook and toolkit. And on top of that — real-life examples of design sprints, run by companies like Slack (business communication platform), Blue Bottle Coffee (coffee roaster), Savioke (autonomous delivery robots) and Flatiron Health (healthcare technology company). Perfectly structured book, with extra care for those of us who want to facilitate a sprint. It is truly hard to find a book that is worth every penny like this one.

What did I learn?

Basic Sprint principia:

Sprint only around the most important problem; focus on the big problem

The decider must be involved in the sprint: sprint is run by the team, but the most important decisions must be made by one single person (“Well, democracy is a fine system for governing nations, but it has no place in your sprint”, 139)

The map is customer-centric; it is a story, with the beginning, the middle and the end, and it must be a simple (words, arrows, boxes)

Turn problems into How Might We (HMW) opportunities: when you hear something interesting during the stage “Ask the expert”, convert it into a question (quietly)

Work alone together. Group brainstorms don’t work. Give each person time to develop solutions on his or her own instead.

Your Tuesday’s solution sketch must be self-explanatory, anonymous with a catchy title and writing

When creating a prototype change your mindset from perfect to just enough

The ideal number of customers for Friday’s test is five. 85% of the problems are observed after just five people

On Friday’s test, we are not seeking the user’s feedback but the user’s honest reactions

Don’t ask multiple-choice or “yes/no’’ questions (“Would you…?” “Do you….?” “Is it…?”)

As “Five Ws and One Hs” questions. (“Who…?” “What…?” “Where…?” “When…?” “Why…?” “How…?”)

Lifehacks:

Use classic yellow sticky note, because the multicolored notes cause unnecessary cognitive load

Avoid super-thin pens that encourage microscopic writing: use whiteboard markers — using thick markers on a small surface forces everyone to write succinct, easy-to-read headlines (236)

Use a timer. Tiny deadlines give everyone an added sense of focus and urgency (47)

Tools like “how might we notes” (75), “work alone together” (107), “crazy 8s” (111), “speed critique” (135), “notes-and-vote” (146), “the five-act interview” (202)

What was missing?

Nothing. Really. Maybe one mistake in Checklist. Page 239, “Explain How Might We” notes should be before “Ask the Experts”.

Favourite quotes

“On Monday, you’ll map out the problem and pick an important place to focus. On Tuesday, you’ll sketch competing solutions on paper. On Wednesday, you’ll make difficult decisions and turn your ideas into a testable hypothesis. On Thursday, you’ll hammer out a realistic prototype. And on Friday, you’ll test it with real live humans.” 16

“When we talk to startups about sprints, we encourage them to go after their most important problem. Running a sprint requires a lot of energy and focus. Don’t go for the small win, or the nice-to-have project, because people won't bring their best effort. They probably won’t even clear their schedules in the first place.” 27

“And if your Decider doesn’t believe the sprint to be worthwhile? If she won't even stop by for a cameo? Hold up! That's a giant red flag! You might have the wrong project. Take your time, talk with the Decider, and figure out which big challenge would be better.” 32

“Once the illusion is broken, customers switch onto feedback mode. They’ll try to be helpful and think up suggestions. In Friday’s test customers’ reactions are solid gold, but their feedback is worth pennies on the dollar.

Jeff Patton: User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product

Value for money

9/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2014 by O’Reilly Media; Euro 26,49; 259 pages (278 pages with Acknowledgments, References, Index, About the Author), Paperback

Cover design by Ellie Volckhausen, Illustration by Rebecca Demarest, Interior design by David Futato. Good paper quality and reading experience

5 sentences about the book

Rethink your expectations of this book: it is not a manual on “how to write user story”, but a broad compendium of knowledge about software product management

It is not one-time reading, but hand-book you reach for again and again to remind yourself of the basic principles

If you have prejudices against O’Reilly publisher, then this book is an opportunity to get rid of them

The narrator guides you with special care. He is whispering secrets to your ear and he is telling funny stories from everyday life. By the very end, you have a feeling that you’ve known Jeff Patton for a very long time. You may want to invite him for drinks and discuss some parts of the book. (The narrator’s voice reminds me of a character in Ridley Scott’s movie — A Good Year (2006). His name is Henry Skinner and he’s an uncle of our protagonist)

A unique book, an extraordinary book in the best sense of the word

What did I learn?

I understand better what user story mapping is

I know how to organize the workshop based on the conversation to get the big picture and common understanding of what to build

You will get several hints, useful tips and checklists like 1. Steps how to build a big picture; 2. Six simple steps for story mapping; 3. A checklist of what to talk about during the conversation; 4. Plan to build less; 5. Plan to build on time; 6. Plan to learn faster; etc.

I consider User Story Mapping as my top 3 books about product management on my list

What was missing?

The second half of the book talks about the user story mapping in the context of the discovery process, product backlog, backlog refinement, design thinking, product review, product release and retrospective. I had a strong impression that the narration lost tempo. Everything was fine until the author was focused on explaining what user story mapping is and how to use it. I don’t say that’s bad, but I didn’t read the second half with such focus, involvement and speed.

Favourite quotes:

“You and everyone else will learn that stories aren’t a way to write better requirements, but a way to organize and have better conversations.” xxv

“If you get nothing else from this book, remember these things:

Stories aren’t a written form of requirements; telling stories through collaboration with words and pictures is a mechanism that builds shared understanding.

Stories aren’t the requirements; they’re discussions about solving problems for our organisation, our customers, and our users that lead to agreements on what to build.

Your job isn’t to build more software faster: it’s to maximize the outcome and impact you get from what you choose to build ” xliv

“Stories get their name from how they should be used, not what should be written.” 3

“The original idea of stories was a simple one. It turned our focus away from shared documents and toward shared understanding” 4

“At the top of the maps is the backbone, which sometimes has a couple of different levels. You might start with the basic flow of the story, which is one level. But, when it gets really long, it’s useful to go up one more level to summarize things further.” 23

“Every time we do this we find holes. We find things that we thought another team should be taking care of, but it didn’t know.” 25

“Eric is part of a team that took those ideas and ran with them. That’s what product owners do. If you thought they were always acting on their own great ideas, well, you’re wrong. One of the hard parts of being a product owner is taking ownership of someone else’s idea and helping to make it successful, or proving that it isn’t likely to be. The best product owners, like Eric, help their entire team take ownership of the product.” 38

“But Eric knows his job is to minimize the amount he builds and still keep people happy” 41

“You’ve already learned the two most important things that make stories work:

Use storytelling with words and pictures to build a shared understanding

Don’t just talk about what to build: talk about who will use it and why so you can minimize output and maximize outcome” 84

“Stories get their name not from how they’re supposed to be written, but from how they’re supposed to be used” 91

“If you’re not getting together to have rich discussions about your stories, then you’re not really using stories” 92

“Story conversations are about working together to arrive at the best solution to a problem we both understand” 94

“It doesn’t need to be written in a template to be considered a story” 102

“For me, the story template works a bit like learning the snowplow. Use it to write the descriptions of your first stories” 103

“There are many different kinds of conversation with different people for every story” 110

“The most important thing here is that all these people are armed with the same picture in their heads: the picture they build while talking together” 123

“It’ll help everyone’s sanity to separate out two concerns. First: did we build what we agreed to build? And then: if it’s what we agreed to build, now that we see it, should we make some changes?” 125

“The difference between what you think people need and what they really need is the realm of product arrogance” 195

“Remember, our goal is to minimize the amount we build (our output) and maximize the benefit we get from doing it (the outcomes and impact).” 196

“Viable means successful for a specific business strategy, target customer, and users.” 197

“This leads me to one of the biggest mistakes people make, and that’s actually believing their minimal viable solution will be successful” 201

“They didn’t build a full prototype. They did have concerns that their solution would be really usable, and they couldn’t learn that from a comic book. They also had a few technical concerns that would require writing some prototype code to test. But none of that mattered if students didn’t have the problem, and didn’t respond well to their idea.

That smallest possible solution to test is what Lean Startup refers to as a minimum viable product. 214

Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer: No Rules Rules. Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention

Value for money

7/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2020 by WH Allen; Euro 23,01; 272 pages (293 pages with Acknowledgments, Selected bibliography, Index), Hardback

Jacket design by Two Associates, Author photography by Austine Hargrave, Book design by Lucia Bernard, Portrait Illustrations by Henry Sene Yee. Top-quality paper made from Forest Stewardship Council, the exquisite reading experience.

5 sentences about the book

The book itself is organized around the triad “talent-candor-control”, similarly, as the Netflix organization is built. Netflix’s organism can live only when all elements are in place — they depend on each other.

First, the organization builds up talent density by creating a workforce of high performers. Then it introduces candor by encouraging loads of feedback. In the end, it removes controls such as vacation, travel and expense policies.

In the next steps, the triad is tuned: strengthening talent density by paying top of the market, increasing candor by emphasizing organizational transparency and releasing more controls such as decision-making approvals.

Last chapters are dedicated to maximizing the triad: the Netflix’s Keeper test is used for maximizing talent density, the circle of feedback is used for maximizing candor and emphasizing leading by the context not control eliminates most controls.

Narration consists of two parallel storylines provided by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer. Hastings represents a voice of practicality; he plots the conditions thanks to whom Netflix organization was established as we know it in its current form. On the other hand, Erin Meyer documents that there is a theory (psychological, sociological, cultural) behind every Hastings’s example.

What did I learn?

As well as Spotify model, Netflix triad works for Netflix and should not be treated as a copy+paste instruction model

Giving and receiving feedback is the additional inspirational lecture in the raster of similar books. Creating a culture of candor could be feasible in the micro-cosmos of your organization too (team, department).

“Don’t seek to please your bosses” — organization expects that employee tells her/his opinion and every person is responsible to tell what she/he thinks. If you start with line management or if you lead the product, there is a place to set up a relationship with your employees or colleagues in such a way and get benefit from it.

“My career is my responsibility”. The self-awareness of Netflix’s employees related to payment and salary awakened me and I realize my ignorance in the topic. Did you do your homework and are you familiar with the salary trends of your job position on the market today?

The place of the failure in the organization and how could be treated in the relationship of the employee and the boss (1. Ask what kind of learning came from the project; 2. Don’t make a big deal about it; 3. Ask her/him to sunshine the failure)

What was missing?

Mentioning above, reading the book could be as watching reality through the glass. Ok, interesting Netlifx story, the organization works only when all elements are in place. There are only a few things you can take away; you can try in your micro-cosmos but I would not expect the same results as Netlflix achieved.

Favourite quotes:

“In hindsight, I understood that a team with one or two merely adequate performers brings down the performance of everyone on the team. If you have a team of five stunning employees and two adequate one, the adequate one will

Sam managers’ energy, so they have less time for the top performers,

Reduce the quality of group discussions, lowering the team’s overall IQ,

Force others to develop ways to work sound them, reducing efficiency,

Drive staff who seek excellence to quit, and

Show the team you accept mediocrity, thus multiplying the problem.

For top performers, a great workplace isn’t about a lavish office, a beautiful gym, or a free sushi lunch. It’s about the joy of being surrounded by people who are both talented and collaborative” 7–8 (Reed Hastings)

Again you wonder, Should I speak up? But again, your lips stay sealed. You’ve probably experienced moments like these. You may not always remain silent. But often you do — and when you do, it’s likely to be because of one of the following reasons:

You think your viewpoint won’t be supported.

You don’t want to be viewed as ‘difficult’

You don’t want to get into an unpleasant argument.

You don’t want to risk upsetting or angering your colleagues.

You’re wary of being called ‘not a team player’” 18 (Erin Meyer)

“At Netflix, it is tantamount to being disloyal to the company if you fail to speak up when you disagree with a colleague or have feedback that could be helpful. After all, you could help the business — but you are choosing not to” 18 (Erin Meyer)

“We hire you for your opinions. Every person in that room is responsible for telling me frankly what they think” (Ted Sarandos) 26

“Because of our high-talent density, our employees were already conscientious and responsible. Because of our culture of candor, if anyone abused the system or took advantage of the freedom allotted, other would call them out directly and explain the undesirable impact of their actions” 52 (Reed Hastings)

“Real life is so much more nuanced than any policy could ever address” 57 (Reed Hastings)

“Spinning the truth is one of the most common ways leaders erode trust. I can’t say this clearly enough: don’t do this. Your people are not stupid. When you try to spin them, they see it, and it makes you look like a fraud. Speak plainly, without trying to make bad situations seem good, and your employees will learn you tell the truth.” 118 (Reed Hastings)

“When you succeed, speak about it softly or let others mention it for you. But when you make a mistake say it clearly and loudly, so that everyone can learn and profit from your errors. In other words, ‘Whisper wins and shout mistakes’” 123 (Reed Hastings)

“That’s when we added a new element to our culture. We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when you disagree with the idea and do not express that disagreement. By withholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing to not help the company.” 141

John Doerr: Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs

Value for money

6/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2018 by Portfolio/Penguin; Euro 24,20; 246 pages (306 pages with dedication, resources, notes and index), Hardcover

Jacket design by Karl Spurzem, Book design by Amy Hill. Very nice jacket and book design. Good paper quality and reading experience (However, I would expect a better quality of paper, compared to the amazing jacket).

5 sentences about the book

The book consists of two parts. First part describes OKRs and values such: focus, alignment, tracking and stretching — that accelerate OKRs. The second part pointed out the importance of culture in modern companies and CFRs (Conversation, Feedback, Recognition) which, together with OKRs, create new continuous performance management and reinforces HR.

From a narrative point of view, this book also consists of two parts. Theoretical writing is beautifully completed by stories with examples from real life, written by protagonists like Bill Gates (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Sundar Pichai (Chrome), Susan Wojcicki (YouTube) and many others. I especially enjoyed Doerr’s story about the beginning of the OKRs at Intel and his mentor Andy Grove. The book begins with another fantastic story about the early days at Google, where Doerr rotated among the first investors.

In the end, OKRs have roots in 20th-century mentality. Intel’s story Operation Crush is scary reading about the company that beat its competition not by innovation but by marketing (creating a new narrative). It makes more sense now to understand the behaviour of big tech companies in the 21st century that adapted OKRs (more below).

What did I learn?

I have finally understood what OKRs are and what are the powers that drive them (focus, alignment, tracking and stretching). I’ve learned to define the objective and key results and think about them in the context of my work/my life.

Except for basic rules, there are at least these reminders I have to keep in mind: 1. KRs must describe outcomes, not activities (257); 2. We must not forget to ask “What’s in this for me” when we want to make OKRs real for individuals; 3. Define a few OKRs that promise a real value, make it stretch but realistic; 4. OKRs are not written in stone — reformulate or delete them if they are not helping anymore.

I found a connection between OKRs and CFRs super useful, it could be especially handy for line managers. I’ve made many notes and I intend to put them into practice.

Google’s OKR Playbook (255) — internal Google’s document for employees describing how to set, track and read/interpret OKRs.

I understood the root cause of unethical behaviour of the big tech companies towards their users and society (more below).

What was missing?

TL, DR: What kind of products can be created in an organization driven by OKRs and CFR without asking about ethical issues? Doerr didn’t address the ethical risk (Should we build it at all?) in OKRs conception that has a direct impact on companies’ culture of big tech organizations. Yes, big tech delivered a lot of obvious values for end users but at the same time, they aggressively dominated the market so competition became impossible (and end-users lost more than they gained). Even worse, big techs are not able to steer their platforms anymore, and their products are becoming a weapon in the fight to weaken democracy in the western world.

Working at Google was considered a dream job twenty years ago. Now, working in the 21st century big tech is like working in the 20-century tobacco company. In other words, I cannot imagine how someone can be proud to be a Google/Facebook/Amazon/Apple employee anymore. Today big techs are considered as predators: these companies don’t just run services — they own the internet’s utilities; they use that commanding position unfairly and at the expense of others.

The next thing is the social dimension. These companies do not take enough responsibility for their platforms and their impact on society: “The result is less innovation, fewer choices for consumers, and a weakened democracy.” (Guardian)

If the author is not willing to speak about this topic because it is not in the context of his book, then, the best he could do was not to open culture topic while talking about Google.

OKRs do not address ethical risk: “Just because we have the technology to build something, and even if it otherwise works to accomplish the specific business objective, this does not necessary mean that we should build it. More commonly, the issue is that our technology and design skills are such that we might come up with a solution that meets our business objectives (for example, around engagement, growth, or monetization) but can end up with a side effect of cousin harm to users or the environment.” (Marty Cagan, Inspired, 2018, 169)

How is it possible that the author talks about OKRs and forget about the ethical side of reality? Susan Wojcicki (Google, YouTube) writes: “Judging from our experience at Google, I’d say that OKRs are especially useful for young companies just starting to build their culture” It is evident that ethical aspect that is missing in OKRs conception could also have an impact on culture. This could be a reason why in Google and the rest of the big tech companies they are blind ethic wise while doing the business.

Favourite quotes:

“An OBJECTIVE, I explained, is simply WHAT is to be achieved, no more and no less. By definition, objectives are significant, concrete, action-oriented, and (ideally) inspirational. When properly designed and deployed, they’re vaccine against fuzzy thinking — and fuzzy execution. KEY RESULTS benchmark and monitor HOW we get to the objective. Effective KRs are specific and time-bound, aggressive yet realistic. Most of all, they are measurable and verifiable. You either meet a key result’s requirements or you don’t; there is no grey area, no room for doubt.” 7

“OKRs surface your primary goals. They channel efforts and coordination. They link diverse operations, lending purpose and unity to the entire organization” 8

“OKRs are Swiss Army knives, suited to any environment” 12

“At medium-size, rapidly scaling organizations, OKRs are a shared language for execution. They clarify expectations: What do we need to get done (and fast), and who’s working on it? They keep employees aligned, vertically and horizontally.“ 12

“OKRs were constant reminders of what our teams needed to be doing. They told us precisely what we were achieving — or not.” 28

(About Andy Grove) “He had an amazing ability to reach into your chest and grab your heart, pull it out, and hold it in his hands in front of you” 32

“Measuring what matter begins with the question: What is most important for the next three (or six, or twelve) months? (…) What are our main priorities for the coming period? Where should people concentrate their efforts?” 47

“Leaders must get across the why as well as the what. Their people need more than milestones for motivation. They are thirsting for meaning, to understand how their goals relate to the mission.” 50

“Meritocracy flourishes in sunlight. When people write down ‘This is what I am working in’, it’s easier to see where the best ideas are coming from” 78

“One underrated virtue of OKRs is that they can be tracked — and then revised or adapted as circumstances dictate” 113

“Aspirational goals draw on every OKR superpower. Focus and commitment are a must for targeting goals a real difference. Only a transparent, collaborative, aligned, and connected organization can achieve so far beyond the norm, And without quantifiable tracking, how you know when you’ve reached that amazing stretch objective.” 135

“If Andy Grove is the patron saint of aspirational OKRs, Larry Page is their latter-day high priest.” 138

“Stretch goals are invigorating. By committing to radical, qualitative improvement, and establish organization can renew its sense of urgency and reap tremendous dividends” (Susan Wojcicki, 156)

“But goals cannot be attained in a vacuum. Like sound waves, they require a medium. For OKRs and CFRs, the medium is an organization’s culture, the living expression of its most cherished values and beliefs.” 212

“In the high-stakes arena of culture change, OKRs lend us purpose and clarity as we plunge into new. CFRs supply the energy we need for the journey” 216

“As OKRs build goal muscle, CFRs make those sinews more flexible and responsive. Pulsing gauges the organization’s real-time health — body and soul, work and culture.” 217

Notes:

(Dr. Grove’s Basic OKR Hygiene)

Less is more. A few extremely well-chosen objectives.

Set goals from the bottom up. To promote engagement, teams and individuals should be encouraged to create roughly half of their own OKR’s, in consultation with managers.

No dictating. OKRs are a cooperative social contract to establish priorities and define how progress will be measured.

Stay flexible. KRs can be modified or even discarded mid-cycle.

Dare to fail. Stretched goals.

A tool, not a weapon. OKR’s and bonuses are best kept separate.

Be patient; be resolute. Every process requires trial and error. 33

Continuous performance management (CFR)

Conversations: an authentic, richly textured exchange between manager and contributor, aimed at driving performance

Feedback: bidirectional or networked communication among peers to evaluate progress and guide future improvement

Recognition: expressions of appreciation to serving individuals or contributions of all sizes 176

“If a conversation is limited to whether you achieved the goal or not, you lose context. You need continuous performance management to surface the critical questions: Was the goal harder to achieve than you’d thought when you set it? Was it the right goal in the first place? It is motivating? Should we double down on the two or three things that really worked for us last quarter or is it time to consider a pivot?” 177

Conversations

Goal setting and reflection. The discussion focuses on how best to align individual objectives and key results with organizational priorities.

Ongoing progress update. The brief and data-driven check-ins on the employee’s real-tine progress, with problem-solving as needed.

Two-way coaching. To help contributors reach their potential and managers do a better job.

Career growth. Identify growth opportunities.

Lightweight performance reviews. Employee’s accomplishments since the last meeting. 183

Feedback

“Public, transparent OKRs will trigger good questions from all directions: Are these the right things for me/you/us to be focused on? If I/you/we complete them, will it be seen as a huge success? Do you have any feedback on how I/we should stretch even more?” 185

“In more mature organizations, feedback is ad hoc, real-time, and multidirectional, an open dialogue between people anywhere in the organization” 185

Recognition

“Modern recognition is performance-based and horizontal. It crowdsources meritocracy.” 186

Institute peer-to-peer recognition

Establish clear criteria. Replace “Employee of the Month” with Achievement of the Month”

Share recognition stories

Make recognition frequent and attainable

Robert Iger: The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

Value for money

8/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2019 by Random House; EUR 19,39; 233 pages (247 pages with acknowledgements, index, about the author); Hardcover

Jacket design by Pete Garceau; Jacket photograph by Gavin Bond. Exceptional cover design and cover image. Top-quality paper, the exquisite reading experience.

5 sentences about the book

The book is divided into two parts: Learning and Leading. Learning starts from early beginnings at ABC (1974) till COO role at Disney (2005). Leading captures the period from the first acquisition (Pixar, 2006) until now (2019).

Reading experience could be divided into two parts as well. On one hand, you are following backstage stories of the amazing relationships like that with the mentor Roony Arledge (ABC), Tom Murphy and Dan Burke (Cap cities), Michael Eisner (Disney), Steve Jobs (Pixar), Ike Perlmutter (Marvel) and George Lucas (Lucasfilm). On the other hand, you can witness the evolution of leadership — the importance of optimism (30, 86), the necessity of prioritization and clarity of the message (100), negotiation and fairness, empathy (179) and integrity (John Lasseter and Roseanne Barr stories, 203).

Last chapters conclude Iger’s vision into practice: we witness Disney+ (streaming service) being born. All these acquisitions suddenly make sense and fulfil Iger’s three strategic goals (high-quality content, embracing technology, global impact).

What did I learn?

ABC years with mentor Roony Arledge and owners Tom Murphy and Dan Burke and interesting background stories like Twin Peaks and David Lynch (39)

Disney early years and difficult relationship with Michael Eisner (Disney CEO)

Three strategic priorities of the new Disney CEO (101)

The flipside of Pixar acquisition story that I’ve already learned in Ed Catmull’s book Creativity, Inc (138)

Heartwarming relationship with Steve Jobs (136, 158, 174)

What was missing?

Nothing

Favourite quotes:

“And I tend to approach bad news as a problem that can be worked through and solved, something I have control over rather than something happening to me” (xiii)

“It was a perfect example of the need for optimism. Things were dire, for sure, but I needed to look at the situation not as a catastrophe but as a puzzle we needed to solve and to communicate to our team that we were talented and nimble enough to solve these problems and make something wonderful on the fly.” (30)

“Managing your own time and respecting others’ time is one of the most vital things to do as a manager” (63)

“At its essence, good leadership isn’t about being indispensable; it’s about helping others be prepared to possibly step into your shoes — giving them access to your own decision making, identifying the skills they need to develop and helping them improve, and, as I’ve had tom do, sometimes being honest with them about why they’re not ready for the next step up” (67)

“If leaders don’t articulate their priorities clearly, then the people around them don’t know what their own priorities should be. Time and energy and capital get wasted” (100)

“Don’t let your ego get in the way of making the best possible decision.” (120)

Notes:

(Robert Iger’s principles for true leadership)

Optimism. Even in the face of difficult choices and less than ideal outcomes, an optimistic leader does not yield to pessimism. Simply put, people are not motivated or energized by pessimists.

Courage. Fear of failure destroys creativity.

Focus. Allocating time, energy, and resources to the strategies, problems, and projects that are of the highest importance and value is extremely important, and it’s imperative to communicate your priorities clearly and often.

Decisiveness. All decisions, no matter how difficult, can and should be made in a timely way. Chronic indecision is not only inefficient and counterproductive, but it is deeply corrosive to morale.

Curiosity. A deep and abiding curiosity enables the discovery of new people, places and ideas, as well as an awareness and an understanding of the marketplace and its changing dynamics.

Fairness. Strong leadership embodies the fair and decent treatment of people. Empathy is essential, as is accessibility.

Thoughtfulness. It is the process of gaining knowledge, so an opinion rendered or decision made is more credible and more likely to be correct. It’s simply about taking the time to develop informed opinions.

Authenticity. Be genuine. Be honest. Don’t fake anything. Truth and authenticity breed respect and trust.

The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection. This doesn’t mean perfectionism at all cost, but it does mean a refusal to accept mediocrity or make excuses for something being “good enough”.

Jeff Gothelf: Forever Employable: How to Stop Looking for Work and Let Your Next Job Find You

Value for money

3/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2020 by Gothelf Corp; EUR 16,53; 91 pages; Paperback

Cover design by David Miles, Interior design and typesetting by Jennifer Blais, Author photograph by Dailon Weiss, Very good paper quality and exquisite reading experience

5 sentences about the book

Jeff Gothelf tells his story of how he became forever employable: from the director of UX department in an American company to the successful author of the book Lean UX and public speaker. This approach is beneficial to the reader because the author is revealing his personal experience, his successes and fails. There is also the flip side of the coin. There is no guarantee that you will hit the lottery as Gothelf did. Moreover, you may not be the type of person who is willing to step into the spotlight. I refused to read this book as a recipe on how to become a public speaker. I enjoyed the parts where the author is describing his existential crossroads and general thoughts (“no one else has your story”).

What did I learn?

Would you start a business as a public speaker or consultant? If yes, this book is for you! (author’s experience, tip & tricks, toolkit, etc. ∞)

Under the hood of public speaking: I got an overview of how tough and demanding work it is.

“no one else has your story” — I started using my own previous experience as an advantage and I intentionally connected my past experience with current product management work.

Reading this book I realized that it is not my path. Forever employable is like forever busy: “I’ve stayed active and I’ve engaged in the conversation on the latest tools, the latest challenges, the latest topics of discussion, and the latest design trends.” (80) The “latest” does not mean the “most valuable”. Bearing in mind the limiting amount of time that we have on earth, I would like to have a choice and I don’t want to be forced to focus on last trends.

For the rest of us, who do not plan to become public speakers or consultants, I would like to recommend in this context a book Business Model You: A One-Page Method For Reinventing Your Career by Tim Clark, Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur.

What was missing?

The book title (and especially subtitle) could be (intentionally?) misleading (There is a fragment on page 72, the author describes strategy how to title articles, I would call this slightly unethical). There is minor content for those of us who are not thinking about starting a business as a public speaker or consultant.

The author intends to provide quick recipes (89) on how to become a public speaker. Personally, I do not like this conference tourism and circus that create unnecessary noise and false illusion of value (“Every discipline in the world has conference, and there are thousands of them every year” 66 — yes, I am talking exactly about this noise…)

Unnecessary reference to dubious “authorities” like Gary Vaynerchuk (23)

Favourite quotes

“You might think you don’t have a story to tell, or at least nothing unique. Not true. Your experiences are unique, even in a crowded profession. Most important, no one else has your story.” 15

“Becoming forever employable and future-proofing your career doesn’t mean abandoning the things that have made you successful up to this point. In fact, quite the contrary. Your experience and expertise — both professional and personal — are exactly where you should be looking (and mining) to determine the flag you’re going to plant. So, instead of throwing away your experience, build on it.” 19

“The key to becoming forever employable is to shift your perspective on what you’re able to do with your existing body of knowledge and some additional effort on your part” 78

Roman Pichler: How to Lead in Product Management: Practices to Align Stakeholders, Guide Development Teams, and Create Value Together

Value for money

6/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2020 by Pichler Consulting; EUR 24,10; 158 pages; Paperback

Cover design by Ole H. Størksen. Cover image neutral. Good quality paper.

5 sentences about the book

While reading, I felt like the book consists of two parts. The content of the first part (how to set up goals and interactions with Scrum master, Development team or Stakeholders) you have already met in Pilchner’s previous books (Strategize, Agile Product Management with Scrum). I really enjoyed the second part, Conversations (listening and speaking), Conflict, Decision-Making and Negotiation and Self-leadership. Referring to his predecessors like Covey, Sofer, Lencioni, Rosenberg — Pilcher brings these topics to the product management context and boils it all down to the essence. Practical examples of how to react in particular situations will guide in the day-to-day.

What did I learn?

“Listen and speak” practical pieces of advice. The author reminds me again how important active listening is and how difficult it is to learn. Speaking is also a trick-thing, I’ve learnt the flipping and framing technique (77)

A handy summary of conversation techniques (83)

Structured brainstorming — practical guide on how to take the decision-making process in the group (126)

Tips for negotiating successfully — A case study “Sophie, Head of Sales” — the author explains very well, that negotiation is not manipulation. A very practical guide on how to work with the tough manager in a corporate environment and create a culture of trust and understanding

As the main benefit, I consider the last chapter about Self-leadership and mindfulness. I will give meditation a second chance.

What was missing?

Content from chapters “Goals” and “Interaction” duplicates from previous Pichler’s books

Pilcher’s writing is at a dead end now: how to write the next books and do not steal the content of the previous ones? How to deliver value without giving the reader a feeling that he is not paying for the same content twice?

Favourite quotes

“When I am not mindful, not aware of my mental state, I get lost in the experience.” 142

“Mindfulness, therefore, is not about suppressing or getting rid of thoughts and feelings, particularly unpleasant one like envy, anger, fear, or doubt. It is not about reaching blissful or special mental states, judging or fixing things, or being super productive and amazingly successful. It simply means paying attention to what’s happening in our inner world so that we become more aware of our feelings and thoughts.” 142

“In whatever way the week unfolded, honestly reflect on what happened, how you felt, and what you can learn from it.” 145

Marty Cagan: Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love 

Value for money

7/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2018 by Wiley; EUR 20,41; 326 pages; Hardcover 

Very nice cover image by John Lawson. I would definitely expect a paper of better quality (quite disappointing). The is a bizarre and significant difference between nice hardcover design with gold type and grey, light and thin (cheap) paper 

5 sentences about the book

It is the second edition of the book originally released 10 years ago. Inspired is a structured compendium of product knowledge that includes well-defined roles and processes. It is the handbook that should become handy in your daily routine. Chapter 6 "The root causes of failed product effort" is a stunning, depressing and condensed list of pitfalls which define the toxic work environment. The second part of the book shortly describes and enumerates many discovery techniques and inspires for further searching in other resources. I am excited for the next book called Empowered which should be released by the end of  2020. 

What did I learn? 

I learned I am not alone (Chapter 6)

As a Product Manager, I should take a programming class and business accounting/finance class

Condense overview of roles ("The right people"), artefacts ("The right product"), discovery ("The right processes") and relationships ("The right culture") 

Product management at a glance: A handy compendium of knowledge that should lay on my desk for daily use

What was missing?

Nothing.

Favorite quotes:

"It doesn't matter how good your engineering team is if they are not given something worthwhile to build" 2

"The honest truth is that the product manager needs to be among the strongest talent in the company. If the product manager doesn't have the technology sophistication, doesn't have the business savvy, doesn't have the credibility with the key executives, doesn't have the deep customer knowledge, doesn't have the passion for the product, or doesn't have the respect of their product team, then it's a sure recipe for failure." 42

Ed Catmull: Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration 

Value for money

9/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2014 by Bantam Press; EUR 22,19; 326 pages; Hardcover 

Exceptional cover design and cover image (Buzz from Toy Story as an orchestra conductor). Top-quality paper with Sabon Type, the exquisite reading experience 

5 sentences about the book

I was reading this book in kindle edition several years ago and I’ve decided to buy the hardcover version to my library. What I like foremost is Cadmull's storytelling, how warm he depicts Pixar's beginnings though circumstances. I was not focusing on advises how to build creative work culture, I rather focused on an amazing story of developing a culture of candor. 

What did I learn?

How great storytelling looks like. I will for sure return to this book again. 

Well described creativity process at Pixar (Braintrust, Notes day, etc.) and Disney

A great product is not a matter a spark idea of one genius but hard, repetitive, collaborative work of the team

What was missing?

Nothing.

Favourite quotes: 

"Having a finite list of problems is much better than having an illogical feeling that everything is wrong" 151

"If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better". 74

This story contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part II.

If I ever were to lose you I’d surely lose myself Everything I have found here I’ve not found by myself

Pearl Jam — Future Days

There is a common opinion that the major theme of Last of us part II is revenge and never-ending circle of violence. I want to show you that such a simplification make you miss the richness and depth of subconscious motivations of characters, which explain a very natural ending of the story. My thesis is that the main driving force of the story is not revenge, but loss. Each main character — Abby and Ellie — lose a piece of identity. They begin a journey to regain their identity.

The great part of each identity constitute memories of our relatives and friends. Abby and Ellie have lost the ability to retain their last good memories of their fathers — real (Abby) and foster (Ellie). Both fathers died a violent death and the game shows that this is what becomes the last memory of their daughters. Both experience brutal flashbacks.

As players, we constantly relive the scene in which Abby walks in with the hospital counter and opens the door to the operating room, where her father lies on a pool of blood. In exactly the same way, while playing the role of Ellie, we are direct witnesses to the brutal and bloody death of Joel. And then, as Ellie, we relive it all over again. Ellie — haunted by the bloody flashbacks — cannot enjoy country life with Dina and JJ.

The blind circle of the revenge is broken by the twists in the flashbacks. While opening the door, Abby does not see her father but hanged Lev and Yara. From this moment she gets a sense of purpose which is very different from revenge. Next time, Abby opens the door to see her father standing there and smiling. In exactly the same way in the last fight between Ellie and Abby, executed in flashback, we see — for a little moment — how Ellie re-call Joel, not dead and in blood, but sitting on the porch. Memories about both fathers are restored peacefully.

I joined a new team a few months ago and I’ve started learning about our product. The learning time also contained a few exercises. As a product team, we signed a contract to know each other better and clarify mutual expectations. We refreshed our product vision board (credit to Roman Pichler) to know customers and their needs and reformulate our mission in this way. We reviewed our metrics and definition of done. For the first time, I tried to use Opportunity solution tree approach to get to know product backlog. We organized a team workshop and I want to describe our experience in the following lines.

Teresa Torres and Opportunity solution tree

Opportunity solution tree is detailed described in Teresa Torres’s article Why This Opportunity Solution Tree is Changing the Way Product Teams Work.

Torres’s Opportunity solution tree is “a simple way of visually representing how you plan to reach the desired outcome. It helps you to make your implicit assumptions explicit.”

Opportunity solution tree exercise is based on the Bernie Roth coaching powerful question. Torres explains Bernie’s question on a non-IT example. Firstly, identify something that you’ve always wanted in your life; for example, a house, a better job, more leisure time. Secondly, if you had whatever you wrote down, what would that do for you?

“The power of questions is that they help us move from a solution (buying a house) to the implicit opportunity (feeling grounded in your community), through to generating new ideas.”

Using opportunity solution tree different way

While reading Torres’s article I got the idea, how to use her approach in a different way, particularly — to understand product backlog in our team better.

As a product manager in the new place, I inherited a product backlog that contained around 40 features which titles and descriptions I found hard to understand. Features were like chaotic electrons without gravitation.

These features are solutions which are connected to invisible opportunities. The real magic is to reveal these opportunities together with the product team. As a bonus, you will get the tool that helps you with “strategic decisions about which opportunities to pursue what helps you prioritize solutions.”

It is much easier to prioritize opportunities than features because they are directly linked to business goals.

How to (workshop step by step)

I explained the Opportunity solution tree (what is it; purpose and goal, powerful coaching question, etc.)

I provided an example by asking everyone Bernie’s non-IT powerful question — 1. identify something that you wanted in your life; for example a house, a better job, more leisure time. 2. if you had whatever you wrote down, what would that do for you? — teammates wrote their answers on sticky-notes.

I asked for a volunteer to reveal his/her answers; then I revealed my case/answers and explained the theory in practice again.

I printed product backlog to the cards before the workshop and split our team into 3 pairs

Each pair worked on 13 cards and should answer the question: if we will deliver this feature, what would that do for our users?

Each pair wrote opportunities and each pair connected features to opportunities, if possible.

Finally, we made a big picture: each pair presented their features and opportunities, we discussed and mapped similar things, removed duplicates etc.

I especially enjoyed the vibrate and valuable discussions which filled up the room.

Summary

Opportunity solution tree approach helped us understand several aspects of the product backlog and offer unique occasions:

We got a valuable debate about features and their possible outcomes. We moved from feature-thinking to opportunity-thinking way.

We anchored chaotic features to their orbits — opportunities in the product backlog.

We identified the gravitational field of particular opportunity and so we got the occasion to compare and decide which feature we can do first and which later.

We got a map of opportunities which were linked to the business goals and we got a room for easier decision making and we could focus on what matters.

Yuval Noah Harari in his book Sapiens wrote that there was a certain period when Homo sapiens lived on the earth together with other human species like Homo rudolfensis or Homo neandertals, or Homo ergaster. Just imagine the world where in the streets you can meet not only people from different continents but also our “cousins”. How would turn our human interactions out? How would such a very different world look like?

“The linear model gives the mistaken impression that at any particular moment only one type of human inhabited the earth and that all earlier species were merely older models of ourselves.”

Only school linear and progressive narrative of human evolution remained in my head, that from imperfect life form to the ideal one, which is, of course, Homo sapiens.

I was stunned while reading Harari’s sentences because I realized what rich imaginary world I lost when believing in a linear school narrative.

Ken Robinson once mentioned that “the man is obsessed with linear narrative: that it starts here and you go through a track, and if you do everything right, you will end up set for the rest of your life.” A lot of things — which are decisive for the next development of our lives — we take for granted, things that we think are obvious. Things that people think: “It can’t be done differently, that’s how it’s done.”

I guess that we are using simplified models, schemas and linear narrative because the reality is too complicated. We simplify reality to the schemas and linear models to feel in control and to feel secure. This way we can handle our daily routine.

The problem is we forget that we are using schemas and we treat them as reality. The facade of the building becomes a building itself in our mind.

All the good art is built on this paradox. Literature, music, painting challenge things we think are obvious. When we experience art, it resonates and leaves us with the reflection that reality is much more complicated as it seems.

Product software development shares with the art the common creative approach to reveal the right problems. I observe that I constantly fail to maintain focus on it. I am bounded to the hypnotic facade world by strong ties because it offers me tempting guidance to the obvious answers. Constantly I have to remind myself that things are not so straightforward and simple as they appear. Just ask yourself, how many shortcuts and schemas do you exchange with your colleagues in your work daily?

The first step is to realize we are surrounded by simplified mental models. If you can do so, make the conscious decision which schemas will you accept and use in your daily routine and which simplifications are not acceptable to run your work or life with.