tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401877425856477586.comments2022-04-08T17:43:54.212-07:00Ian McAllister's Product Management BlogIan McAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795248632326080875noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401877425856477586.post-67513372752089142172011-07-19T01:13:22.443-07:002011-07-19T01:13:22.443-07:00These tips are really useful. Thanks for sharing t...These tips are really useful. Thanks for sharing them! I've got them bookmarked. I would be curious what sort of tips you would give, along the same lines, for presentations. Perhaps you're already answered it on Quora!ELnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401877425856477586.post-33697997436199765622010-04-23T19:59:14.383-07:002010-04-23T19:59:14.383-07:00People don't like change. Many ideas would hav...People don't like change. Many ideas would have been great to have early on, but just aren't good enough to justify changing people's habits now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401877425856477586.post-73678009093317702162010-04-14T08:53:17.785-07:002010-04-14T08:53:17.785-07:00Nice list. My favorite is #1, direct and to the po...Nice list. My favorite is #1, direct and to the point.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05388105629483011225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401877425856477586.post-39688510320806378022009-04-14T10:43:00.000-07:002009-04-14T10:43:00.000-07:00Ian, Thanks for the promptness.
Seems like you h...Ian, Thanks for the promptness. <br /><br />Seems like you have some sort of framework - a function of employee credibility and due diligence, when considering employee ideas. I'd say you're a good manager if you're able to execute successfully on this framework. <br /><br />Unfortunately, a significant number of managers (based on my experience and that of a few friends) are focused on 'defensive' projects (as you say in another posting) rather than offensive ones and that prevents them from adopting frameworks like yours. <br /><br />Your blog goes into my RSS reader. Keep posting.Creativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276021130705426821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401877425856477586.post-87834985836048739212009-04-14T09:00:00.000-07:002009-04-14T09:00:00.000-07:00Insead, good question. My point is not that you ha...Insead, good question. My point is not that you have to do all the work, but you at least need to create a spark - a glimmer of hope that the idea is worth pursuing. In the case you present, I would probably ask you, "What leads you to believe that people want to do this? How many? If successful, how many books do you think would be created? Would they be good books? Would people want to buy them? If we invest significant time and effort to build and market this program are our customers better off in the long run? Is Amazon?"<br /><br />Lots of questions to be answered before something like this would be greenlit. You need to answer at least some of them and then "success-based investing" kicks in. You may need to do some work after-hours to answer some initial questions, or carve a little time out of your day without hurting your normal job performance. If you bring some answers, then I as your manager might give you air cover to be a little less productive and pursue some more. <br /><br />The key thing is that I have to believe the idea has promise, and I have to believe that you're capable of moving the ball forward. Make sure you earn that trust and confidence by how you do your day job before expecting time to pursue other ideas.<br /><br />If the idea has to get pitched to another team then even more questions need to get answered. If there is enough potential upside I might work with you to get the idea to the point at which it might be successful once pitched. This isn't about me taking credit for the idea, it's about trying to help it reach the tipping point rather than letting it fall flat.<br /><br />Sounds like a good topic for another post. Thanks for posing the question.<br /><br />-IanIan McAllisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01795248632326080875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401877425856477586.post-64943050971900293062009-04-14T07:57:00.000-07:002009-04-14T07:57:00.000-07:00Just want to challenge the first point about You'r...Just want to challenge the first point about You're lazy. I think the example you give is a bit exaggerated. Most likely, like most managers, you're probably tapping the most out of your employees and keeping them busy on current projects. Now, if I've got a great idea, what I need is time to go out and do the research necessary to build a strong case. Therefore, I'm going to need that approval from you my manager to take some time off to develop my idea. <br /><br />So imagine, I came to you and said, that, "Hey, I think Amazon should get involved in a new concept called collaborative authoring - i.e. you create an environment where a bunch of people get together and author a book and Amazon publishes that". It's just an idea. It's the 1% of the idea, but I would need to get budgeted time to understand the needs of the market. I could mockup something as well, but still, if there isn't a culture where I am slowly given increasing amounts of time, you the manager do indeed become a bottleneck to the idea. <br /><br />Thoughts?Creativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276021130705426821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401877425856477586.post-63670999270227602212009-04-07T00:47:00.000-07:002009-04-07T00:47:00.000-07:00Love this. More later but thanks for the comment a...Love this. More later but thanks for the comment and the post.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07309498805887496554noreply@blogger.com