By Rose Metayer, Boston Private Industry Council, LinkedIn
When the group first got together
we generated a list of 20 topics we wanted to discuss in regards to product
management. I sat back and marveled out the level of engagement and curiosity
on being better and more innovative product managers. After the group split
into the two groups: products and people versus the products and process group.
The products and process group focused on discussing formulation of products,
product decisions and reference customers.
we generated a list of 20 topics we wanted to discuss in regards to product
management. I sat back and marveled out the level of engagement and curiosity
on being better and more innovative product managers. After the group split
into the two groups: products and people versus the products and process group.
The products and process group focused on discussing formulation of products,
product decisions and reference customers.
The group for the first half on
the conversation focused heavily on reference customers and product/market
fit. We determined that it is the product
team’s role to get and sell the product to the reference customers. Getting customers involved in concept of
products early on can be both beneficial and hurtful to the final outcome of
your product. Often times one of the road blocks in this process is that sales
teams will say what the customer needs but there is no accountability and the
product will fail. Therefore, some group
members agreed that it is beneficial to keep working with reference customers
until you get the perfect and the best product/market fit. It seems that the
most successful way to match product to market is to implement some grassroots
movement, i.e. calling current customers, reaching out to people, networking
with customers.
the conversation focused heavily on reference customers and product/market
fit. We determined that it is the product
team’s role to get and sell the product to the reference customers. Getting customers involved in concept of
products early on can be both beneficial and hurtful to the final outcome of
your product. Often times one of the road blocks in this process is that sales
teams will say what the customer needs but there is no accountability and the
product will fail. Therefore, some group
members agreed that it is beneficial to keep working with reference customers
until you get the perfect and the best product/market fit. It seems that the
most successful way to match product to market is to implement some grassroots
movement, i.e. calling current customers, reaching out to people, networking
with customers.
The dilemma with customer
feedback is that sometimes customers do not want to talk they just want the
product. There needs to be a strong balance between owning a market and owning
a set of customers. Do customers help or hurt you? “If we just built everything
our customers told us our product would fail miserably” (facilitator). In the enterprise software world customers do
not know what they want because they have not seen the software before. Customers have a hard time being innovative. Therefore,
customer opinion in the enterprise/software world is sometimes not very
helpful.
feedback is that sometimes customers do not want to talk they just want the
product. There needs to be a strong balance between owning a market and owning
a set of customers. Do customers help or hurt you? “If we just built everything
our customers told us our product would fail miserably” (facilitator). In the enterprise software world customers do
not know what they want because they have not seen the software before. Customers have a hard time being innovative. Therefore,
customer opinion in the enterprise/software world is sometimes not very
helpful.
In conclusion, you want customers
to feel that early on in the process they own the product.
to feel that early on in the process they own the product.
Session #1:
How do culture/values impact innovation?
How do culture/values impact innovation?
Topics:
- How to continue to motivate and engage people?
- Scale and maintain culture as you manage business growth?
- Impact on team dynamics/scaling?
- Improving culture within a team?
- Using culture to drive alignment?
- How to make employees feel as loved as the customer?
- How do tech companies define culture?
- How to foster a creative culture in a corporate environment?
- Diversity of culture in tech spaces.
From the moment this group got together I knew that the
group was energized to learn how to motivate their employees. Instantly, after
introductions the group dove into discussing how to motivate employees. David
Delmar from Resilient Coders spoke first and stated “the key to successful and
motivated employees is to give them these three things:
group was energized to learn how to motivate their employees. Instantly, after
introductions the group dove into discussing how to motivate employees. David
Delmar from Resilient Coders spoke first and stated “the key to successful and
motivated employees is to give them these three things:
Motivating staff in 3 main pillars (David Delmar- Resilient
coders):
coders):
- Autonomy
- Purpose
- Ability to hone your craft
The group discussed the pros and
cons of autonomy but most importantly the group began a discussion around
finding ones purpose in the work place, in particular finding it difficult to
find purpose in corporate spaces. One company had a “make-a-thon” where
employees were able to make whatever they wanted to. Employees then started to
realize that in their role they do not have the ability to “hone” their craft
and they do not have purpose. Therefore, when a new project comes up a leader
can ask an employee do you have the ability to hone your craft in this project.
As organizations we have to be accepting to failure. If you are pushing the
line of innovation and you are not failing then you are not pushing the line of
innovation hard enough. Welcome
experimentation instead of labeling it as failure. What is the right type of
“failure”?
cons of autonomy but most importantly the group began a discussion around
finding ones purpose in the work place, in particular finding it difficult to
find purpose in corporate spaces. One company had a “make-a-thon” where
employees were able to make whatever they wanted to. Employees then started to
realize that in their role they do not have the ability to “hone” their craft
and they do not have purpose. Therefore, when a new project comes up a leader
can ask an employee do you have the ability to hone your craft in this project.
As organizations we have to be accepting to failure. If you are pushing the
line of innovation and you are not failing then you are not pushing the line of
innovation hard enough. Welcome
experimentation instead of labeling it as failure. What is the right type of
“failure”?
If you have a company purpose and
if you have an employee who buys in to the purpose they will willingly work out
of the 100 percent boundary to work on other projects that align with their
passion. If you are only hiring staff that align with the purpose of the
company you might unintentionally limiting the type of staff you are hiring.
if you have an employee who buys in to the purpose they will willingly work out
of the 100 percent boundary to work on other projects that align with their
passion. If you are only hiring staff that align with the purpose of the
company you might unintentionally limiting the type of staff you are hiring.
The group lastly switched to a conversation around the
difference between office culture and office climate. We began our discussion
analyzing who creates cultures and company values. Maintaining culture in a
company typically comes top down. If your leader communicates the culture
effectively then as the company grows making sure the managers you are hiring
and who will eventually hire new people. If your staff connects to the values
they will all return back to the things that are the most important. Successful companies start by having a base
value and base culture that everyone can buy into. But then ask them what
motivates them to connect to the larger values. Use peoples intrinsic
motivators to motivate them to a bigger goal.
difference between office culture and office climate. We began our discussion
analyzing who creates cultures and company values. Maintaining culture in a
company typically comes top down. If your leader communicates the culture
effectively then as the company grows making sure the managers you are hiring
and who will eventually hire new people. If your staff connects to the values
they will all return back to the things that are the most important. Successful companies start by having a base
value and base culture that everyone can buy into. But then ask them what
motivates them to connect to the larger values. Use peoples intrinsic
motivators to motivate them to a bigger goal.
Ways that you hire
staff to make sure the match culture and value?
staff to make sure the match culture and value?
- Letting potential employees experience a day in
the life so that you can get used to the office. - Having someone in a different department and a
different team to see how you will interact with different people and teams. - Behavioral interview questions
Who creates a
culture?
culture?
- If someone is forced to create the culture it
will not be globally accepted - It starts out with people who are passionate
about something and he/she leads and others follow - The CEO leads it and involves others in
discussions about culture and values - The generator of the idea is the person who
creates that company - The norms that are created that are not verbal
i.e. if I continually take a 35 minute break and you allow that then you have a
culture of 35 minute breaks. - There is a difference between culture and climate (Culture comes from top down i.e. the CEO say
this is what we value; Climate is more grassroots and it comes from
bottom up) - Geographic distance influences culture as well
Session #2: How
to engage industry in STEM education K-12
This group was an eccentric blend of industry professionals,
k-12 professionals and MassTLC board members. The group decided that the best
use of the conference time would be to create a list of challenges and
solutions. The conversations began with a powerful quote from a group member.
The member proclaimed that “Innovative thinking in schools is not rewarded in
our current school system. For teachers you are rewarded for how long you have
been there and not how innovative you are being in the classroom.” An easy way
to bring technology into our classrooms is to simply start by inserting
technology into teaching curriculum. The group brought solutions to the table
on how the k-12 professionals could include technology in all types of classes.
k-12 professionals and MassTLC board members. The group decided that the best
use of the conference time would be to create a list of challenges and
solutions. The conversations began with a powerful quote from a group member.
The member proclaimed that “Innovative thinking in schools is not rewarded in
our current school system. For teachers you are rewarded for how long you have
been there and not how innovative you are being in the classroom.” An easy way
to bring technology into our classrooms is to simply start by inserting
technology into teaching curriculum. The group brought solutions to the table
on how the k-12 professionals could include technology in all types of classes.
Lastly the group talked about divergent vs. convergent
thinking. This new form of thinking in schools could be instrumental in
creating pockets of innovation in the classroom. With convergent thinking
everyone converges into the same answer. i.e. what is the square root of 64.
There is only one actually answer. However, if we teach students to think with
a more divergent mind frame our students will learn that there can be many
answers to some of the questions explored in the classroom. With this thought process students will be
more apt to explore many different pathways to come to a solution. They would
be more excited to incorporate technology into those possible solutions.
thinking. This new form of thinking in schools could be instrumental in
creating pockets of innovation in the classroom. With convergent thinking
everyone converges into the same answer. i.e. what is the square root of 64.
There is only one actually answer. However, if we teach students to think with
a more divergent mind frame our students will learn that there can be many
answers to some of the questions explored in the classroom. With this thought process students will be
more apt to explore many different pathways to come to a solution. They would
be more excited to incorporate technology into those possible solutions.
Challenges:
- Talent shortage on the industry side
- Talent on the sidelines
- Demographics misused in companies
- Curriculum does not match industry needs
- Need access to hands on learning environments
- Retaining talent that come here for schools do
not stay because they do not see Boston as a hub for tech innovation - Responsibility for vocational guidance falls on
parents - Students views of education is impacted by
what’s around them - Industry partners do not know how to help and
how to reach out
Solutions:
- Show kids that their
classroom knowledge can be used in the real world - Capture students in middle
school in order to foster their love of education - Putting young people in
professional settings - Parents becoming more
involved - Record student
presentations and send to parents from internships - Teach creativity and failure
