In the mean time, a colleague sent this to me today - it certainly resonated and is closely related to my research topic as well: Strategic Plans for Product Development:
Showing posts with label portfolio development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portfolio development. Show all posts
New Product Development Strategic Planning
It has been a while since I posted something - summer kicked in, workload and also some time taken out to work out what my topic should be for my Exec MBA dissertation (Management Challenge in Henley Business School speak). So where are we now? Topic decided - I will elaborate more in future posts. It is a topic that is certainly of interest to the product management community and to anybody that has been involved in a merger or acquisition.
In the mean time, a colleague sent this to me today - it certainly resonated and is closely related to my research topic as well: Strategic Plans for Product Development:
In the mean time, a colleague sent this to me today - it certainly resonated and is closely related to my research topic as well: Strategic Plans for Product Development:
Naming Your New Product? Let the Battle Begin!
Every product manager knows the drill: business case approved, use cases completed, product requirements documented, then comes the dreaded "what are we going to call it".
As soon as this moment is reached in a product life cycle, suddenly everybody has an opinion. Personally I think that it is easier to pick a name for your unborn baby - at least generally there are only two people that have to agree (with a little advice thrown in from others of course, but you are under no serious obligation to comply with their wishes).
As soon as this moment is reached in a product life cycle, suddenly everybody has an opinion. Personally I think that it is easier to pick a name for your unborn baby - at least generally there are only two people that have to agree (with a little advice thrown in from others of course, but you are under no serious obligation to comply with their wishes).
Advice / instructions will be issued
by exec's in the management hierarchy, sales, marketing etc. And for
the most part this will be driven by personal bias, opinion and
nothing much else. I have yet to see a substantive or rational reason put
forward for any product name - generally the biggest ego rules. But there is light at the end of the
tunnel!
solutioneering: does not deliver (part 1)
Somebody asked me the other day whether I was still blogging. The answer I gave was "yes" I am, but I have not posted anything for a while.
The reality is that I have been caught up in MBA project deadlines, exams and a whole load of stuff going on in the office which has proven to be a distraction and a source of new material for this blog .... in time.
The twig finally snapped. I was in a meeting last week and the debate was raging about how to structure a customer solution and the associated proposal. Earlier in the day, I had seen on a PowerPoint slide the phrase "(re)setting the customers expectations". It got me thinking about why there was a need to (re)set a customers expectations?
My conclusion - it is due to Solutioneering. Plain and simple, nothing more and nothing less.
One definition of Solutioneering that I came across is "putting solutions before problems" (defined by D. Keith Robinson) and this describes exactly one of the fundamental reasons why both sales and product management often struggle to (a) scope a customer solution and (b) understand what the customer value proposition should be.
In the telecoms and systems integrator environments, we have no shortage of expert and highly skilled solutioneers. I bet that if one really checks, one of the main reasons why there is a gap between customer expectation and delivery, is simply because all of this talent has been focused on the development of a solution, without really understanding what the problem is that the customer is trying to solve.
So what are the pro's and con's of Solutioneering? This got me thinking and also back and the keyboard to examine this in more detail ...... in Part 2.
The reality is that I have been caught up in MBA project deadlines, exams and a whole load of stuff going on in the office which has proven to be a distraction and a source of new material for this blog .... in time.
The twig finally snapped. I was in a meeting last week and the debate was raging about how to structure a customer solution and the associated proposal. Earlier in the day, I had seen on a PowerPoint slide the phrase "(re)setting the customers expectations". It got me thinking about why there was a need to (re)set a customers expectations?
My conclusion - it is due to Solutioneering. Plain and simple, nothing more and nothing less.
One definition of Solutioneering that I came across is "putting solutions before problems" (defined by D. Keith Robinson) and this describes exactly one of the fundamental reasons why both sales and product management often struggle to (a) scope a customer solution and (b) understand what the customer value proposition should be.
In the telecoms and systems integrator environments, we have no shortage of expert and highly skilled solutioneers. I bet that if one really checks, one of the main reasons why there is a gap between customer expectation and delivery, is simply because all of this talent has been focused on the development of a solution, without really understanding what the problem is that the customer is trying to solve.
So what are the pro's and con's of Solutioneering? This got me thinking and also back and the keyboard to examine this in more detail ...... in Part 2.
3V's are key for a Successful Customer Focused Strategy
Strategists will be aware of all the usual models: Porters 5 Forces, Ansoff’s Matrix; BCG’s Growth-Share Matrix; 7S McKinsey Model, PEST(LE) model; SWOT analysis; IDIC (Peppers & Rogers) etc. Maz Iqbal in a blog post puts forward the notion that the 3 V's of Vision, Value and Value Proposition are potentially another framework that is relevant and could be used.
He argues that having a vision is key: "The power of a Vision Statement lies in its ability to enroll a diversity of actors (Tops, Middles, Bottoms, Customers, Suppliers...) in an inspiring point of view on the future such that they co-operate in moving towards and creating that future." The point that he makes about taking the different stakeholders along with you is an important one.
He goes on to argue that values are "real - authentic" and "act both as guides and as constraints on what you will and will not do and how you will conduct yourself". They have "another advantage, they allow you to find / attract value chain partners", again having partners that share the same values is pretty fundamental.
Finally he concludes that "If you get the Value Proposition right then you will attract hordes of customers. If you actually deliver on the Value Proposition – the customer experience delivers the value proposition – then you will keep customers and they will get more customers for you through word of mouth."
It makes sense, anything to add?
(you can read the blog post here.)
He argues that having a vision is key: "The power of a Vision Statement lies in its ability to enroll a diversity of actors (Tops, Middles, Bottoms, Customers, Suppliers...) in an inspiring point of view on the future such that they co-operate in moving towards and creating that future." The point that he makes about taking the different stakeholders along with you is an important one.
He goes on to argue that values are "real - authentic" and "act both as guides and as constraints on what you will and will not do and how you will conduct yourself". They have "another advantage, they allow you to find / attract value chain partners", again having partners that share the same values is pretty fundamental.
Finally he concludes that "If you get the Value Proposition right then you will attract hordes of customers. If you actually deliver on the Value Proposition – the customer experience delivers the value proposition – then you will keep customers and they will get more customers for you through word of mouth."
It makes sense, anything to add?
(you can read the blog post here.)
5 Lessons for Product Practitioners from Steve Jobs
As the world reflects on the passing of Steve Jobs, it inevitably triggers some thinking about lessons learned and the legacy of learning's that he leaves behind. Here is my list of Jobs'isms, which I am sure is just one of many.- Keep it simple
- Believe in what you are doing
- Love your product
- Failure is simply another step towards success
- Release your product when it is ready - not before.
I am currently working through the implementation of a new strategy, a portfolio repositioning and a new product development kickoff (all @ the same time), these 5 key principles coupled with understanding WHY (see previous post), has been absolutely key to keeping focused on the key objectives at hand.
Gartner Magic Quadrant's: Any use to anybody on their own?
The post summer phase of the year often brings new challenges, and this year is certainly no different as we gear up to start really building new capabilities in the business. Part of that process has meant that I have had the opportunity to attend many a vendor briefing, and what has struck me is how the "Gartner Magic Quadrant's" get interpreted and used in presentations.
In 9 out of 10 times, a single view of the latest Magic Quadrant is trotted out to justify a marketing statement. If I had a penny for each time that a vendor claimed that they were now the market leader and used a MQ graphic to justify the claim ...... I should long ago be sitting very comfortably on a beach in the Bahamas with a tall cool drink in hand.
Practitioner's that are tracking the market generally will examine fairly large volumes of data in order to be able to spot a trend and draw any sort of meaningful conclusion. MQ's are not comprehensive data sets, and are simply one set of data points, they simply do not tell the whole story.
In 9 out of 10 times, a single view of the latest Magic Quadrant is trotted out to justify a marketing statement. If I had a penny for each time that a vendor claimed that they were now the market leader and used a MQ graphic to justify the claim ...... I should long ago be sitting very comfortably on a beach in the Bahamas with a tall cool drink in hand.
Practitioner's that are tracking the market generally will examine fairly large volumes of data in order to be able to spot a trend and draw any sort of meaningful conclusion. MQ's are not comprehensive data sets, and are simply one set of data points, they simply do not tell the whole story.
Product Strategy and Portfolio Development need Scenario Planning
I have been thinking about innovation, and how to identify, and then prioritise potential product portfolio development options. Quite often, the choice of what needs to be done in order to rejuvenate a product portfolio or evolve it into the next generation of offerings is driven by individual personalities, or a limited leadership group, or just simply "group think" that is driven by financial decision making metrics, or the latest "pet" idea. How then can the business ensure that all angles have been covered before a decision is made?
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