488: Product Innovation Strategy: Second of Seven Knowledge Areas of Product Mastery – with Chad McAllister, PhD
Product Mastery Now for Product Managers, Leaders, and Innovators
Exploring Product Innovation Management and Professional Development
Exploring the stages of the product life cycle, frameworks for innovation strategy, and the seven knowledge areas for product mastery to enhance effectiveness in the field of product management.
How product managers can master product innovation strategy
TLDR
Ever wondered how top product managers create winning strategies? This article dives into the world of product management strategy, sharing insights from the popular Product Mastery Now podcast. We’ll explore:
• What strategy really means in product management
• How different strategies work together in companies
• Cool tools for creating killer strategies
• Ways to get your bosses excited about your product ideas
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, you’ll find practical tips to level up your product management game. Ready to become a strategy master? Let’s dive in!
Understanding Product Management Strategy: It’s Not Rocket Science!
Think of product management strategy as your game plan for creating amazing products that customers will love. It’s all about figuring out where you want to go and how to get there.
What’s Strategy, Anyway?
Strategy is just a fancy word for a plan to make good things happen in the future. In product management, it’s like your roadmap for success.
Michael Porter says strategy is about figuring out what makes your company special and using that to beat the competition.
The Strategy Family Tree
In companies, strategies come in different flavors. Understanding how they fit together is key for product managers. Check out this hierarchy of strategies:
Business Strategy
A great business strategy is like a secret recipe for product success. Let’s see how to whip one up!
Be Different, Not Just Better
The saying in product management, “Different is better than better,” means that standing out is more important than just being a bit better than others. Think about it – would you rather have a slightly faster horse or a totally new car?
The Recipe for a Winning Business Strategy
- Pick your goals (like which products to focus on)
- Decide how new products will help reach those goals
- Create a product innovation charter (it’s like a mission statement for your product)
- Choose how daring you want to be (Are you playing it safe or going for broke?)
- Pick projects that match your big goals
Your Strategy Toolbox: Get Ready to Build!
Great product managers have a toolbox full of tricks for creating awesome strategies.
SWOT Analysis: Your Strategy Swiss Army Knife
SWOT helps you look at your product from all angles. It’s like giving your product idea a full health check-up.
| SWOT Part | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Strengths | What your product or company is awesome at |
| Weaknesses | Areas where you could use some improvement |
| Opportunities | Cool chances to grow or do better |
| Threats | Things that could cause trouble |
| Trends (bonus!) | Big changes happening in the world |
PESTLE Analysis: Your Crystal Ball
PESTLE helps you peek into the future and spot big changes coming. It’s like having a superpower to see what’s around the corner.
- Political: Government stuff
- Economic: Money matters
- Social: How people live and what they care about
- Technological: Cool new inventions
- Legal: Laws and rules
- Environmental: Nature and planet Earth
Business Model Canvas: Your One-Page Wonder
The Business Model Canvas is like a treasure map for your business idea. It helps you see the big picture on just one page.
- Who are your customers?
- How will you talk to them?
- How will they find you?
- What makes your product special?
- Who are your helpers?
- What important stuff do you need to do?
- What resources do you need?
- How much will it cost?
- How will you make money?
Innovation Strategy
Innovation strategy is like your recipe for cooking up amazing new products. It helps you stay ahead of the game and keep growing, no matter what’s happening in the world.
What Makes a Great Innovation Strategy?
- It’s custom-made for your company (no one-size-fits-all)
- It helps everyone in the company work together
- It helps you decide what’s most important
- It helps you make tough choices
The Innovation Strategy Puzzle Pieces
A solid innovation strategy touches many parts of your business:
- Technology: What cool new tech will you use?
- Marketing: How will you tell people about your product?
- Platform: Will your product work with other stuff?
- Open Innovation: Will you team up with others?
- Intellectual Property: How will you protect your ideas?
Getting your Organizational Leadership to Love Your Ideas
Got a brilliant product idea? Awesome! But how do you get your company excited about it? The secret is to show how your idea helps the company reach its big goals.
Matching Your Ideas to Company Goals
Your product idea needs to support one of these types of company goals:
- Financial (like making more money)
- Growth (like entering new markets)
- Learning (like mastering new skills)
- Business Processes (like making things faster)
- Customer (like making people happier)
Speaking Customer Language
Take boring business goals and turn them into exciting customer stories. Check out these examples:
| Boring Business Goal | Exciting Customer Story |
|---|---|
| Increase sales by 10% | What cool problem can we solve that will make 10% more people want our product? |
| Add feature X to keep up with competitors | How much happier will feature X make our customers compared to other things we could do? |
| Use new super-cool technology Z | What customer headaches can we fix with this new tech, and how much will it help? |
Pitching Your Ideas Like a Pro
When you’re telling leadership about your idea, make sure to:
1. Explain your idea clearly
2. Show how it helps the company reach its goals
3. Use numbers and facts to back up your points
Do this, and you’ll have a much better chance of getting support and resources for your awesome product ideas!
Leveling Up Your Product Management Career
Want to become a product management superstar? Understanding strategy is just the beginning! There’s a whole world of product management skills to master.
The Magnificent Seven: Knowledge Areas for Product Mastery
The podcast talks about seven key areas that top product managers need to know. We’ve focused on strategy today, but mastering all seven can turn you into a product management superhero!
Powering Up with Training and Certifications
Want to take your skills to the next level? Consider:
• Taking product management courses
• Getting certifications like the New Product Development Professional (NPDP) from PDMA
• Reading books and articles about product management
• Attending conferences and workshops
Remember, it’s never too late to start learning. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second-best time is now.
Conclusion
Mastering product management strategy is like having a superpower in the business world. By understanding different strategies, using cool tools, and aligning your ideas with company goals, you can create amazing products that customers will love.
Remember, becoming a strategy wizard doesn’t happen overnight. Keep learning, keep practicing, and don’t be afraid to try new things. Your product management adventure is just beginning!
Useful links:
- Check out the 2024 Product Development and Management Body of Knowledge by Allan Anderson, Chad McAllister, and Ernie Harris
- Find out how the Rapid Product Mastery Experience, the fastest path to higher-performing product managers and teams, can help your team
Application Questions
- Think about your company’s innovation strategy. How well does it match up with the overall business strategy? Can you spot any areas where they don’t quite fit together?
- Remember the last time one of your product ideas got the green light. How did you show that it matched up with the company’s big goals? How did you explain this to the decision-makers?
- We talked about three cool strategy tools: SWOT, PESTLE, and the Business Model Canvas. Which one do you like best for your work as a product manager? How do you use it when planning your strategies?
- How do you balance being different (“different is better than better”) with the pressure to have the same features as your competitors?
- Look at how your company develops new products. Does it match up with your innovation strategy? If you could wave a magic wand, what changes would you make to bring them closer together?
Chad’s Bio
Chad McAllister, PhD, is a product management professor, practitioner, trainer, and host of the Product Mastery Now podcast. He has 30+ years of professional experience in product and leadership roles across large and small organizations and dynamic startups, and now devotes his time to teaching and helping others improve. He co-authored “Product Development and Management Body of Knowledge: A Guide Book for Product Innovation Training and Certification.” The book distills five decades of industry research and current practice into actionable wisdom, empowering product professionals to innovate and excel. Chad also teaches the next generation of product leaders through advanced graduate courses at institutions including Boston University and Colorado State University and notably re-engineered the Innovation MBA program at the University of Fredericton, significantly broadening its impact. Further, he provides online training for product managers and leaders to prepare for their next career step — see https://productmasterynow.com/
Thanks!
Thank you for taking the journey to product mastery and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.
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