The 6 realities of implementing AI
Behind every “overnight success” is years of work in the shadows—and the same is true for artificial intelligence. AI chat bots may have exploded and captured public attention but scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers have been working on this since before the 1950s according to Harvard. For a long time we’ve used AI/ML for limited applications […]
My favorite Jobs to be Done resources
Jobs to be Done is a very effective way to think about what drives purchase and onboarding behaviors. I’ve been doing some workshops on it with colleagues and at first they aren’t buying it. They don’t see the value of functional, social and emotional goals until the switch flips and once it does it’s pretty […]
Why you should use outside product managers
Note: This was originally published on the 3Pillar blog and has been republished with permission An engineering candidate asked me why a product development services company like us has product managers. I loved the candor and directness of the question. Here is an expanded version of my answer. Why product management? Increased return on investments […]
The Outsourced Innovation Colony
This was originally published on Product Development Success Medium and enterprise companies are working hard to stay competitive and avoid being overturned by startups that are more innovative and nimble. They are trying innovation labs, incubators, accelerators, and when all else fails, buying companies outright. One option for fueling innovation in large companies is the […]
What Henry Ford Got Wrong and Right About Customers
If you advocate for including customers in the product development process you are going to inevitably will be confronting this: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” – Henry Ford There isn’t any evidence that Ford said this but there sure are a lot of people who believe this quote […]
Anatomy of an Innovative Team: Discipline
Note: This is the third in a series of posts about what is needed on an innovative team. Previous posts were on empathy and inquisitiveness A new idea is exciting and addictive. You can see the possibilities everywhere. Every new prospect or client I encounter is deeply passionate about their new idea. The trap is that […]
Anatomy of an Innovative Team: Inquisitiveness
Note: This is the second in a series of posts about what is needed on an innovative team. The first was about empathy. In our office there is always a lot of discussion in person and over email about new technologies and trends. The hot topic at the moment is mobile payments. It’s this passion […]
Anatomy of an Innovative Team: Empathy
Note: This is the first in a series of posts about what is needed on an innovative team. Teams should have different types of thinkers with different skills sets but these competency areas are critical. I had the privilege of doing a pro-bono strategy workshop for St. Jude this month as was able to tour […]