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We make a mistake when we think data will do the heavy lifting.

That facts will convince someone to do something.

It’s better to think of data as currency. It’s not the data points themselves that matter, it’s the meaning ascribed.

So when a stakeholder asks you for data, what they’re most likely seeking is justification.

That's what you need to help them do.

When you light one candle on a birthday cake, your task is straightforward .

You have plenty of time before the match goes out and it’s easy for the recipient to blow out, too.

When you light 10 candles, things are more difficult. You have to avoid being singed by the match as well as the forest of candles.

Your recipient has more of a task, as well. Big breath to get it done.

 When we share an idea, either in person or in writing, we tend to approach it like lighting 10...

One of the projects I cared most about was a massive flop.

I called it the User Shoes program, a way for me and my fellow product managers to visit consumers in their homes each month. 

It was ethnographic-research lite, where the objective was to expand our perspective by seeing how real people were using our products in the real world.

Knowing the corporate politics of the situation, I invited our sister brand to include a team member in the pilot program. 

What a mistake.

She...

Ever find yourself dealing with a "squeaky wheel"?

You know, that person who soaks up an inordinate amount of your time because they need more attention, more information or more platitudes?

It's easy to get sucked into managing their demands even when doing so doesn't really help you deliver your project or proposal.

For that reason, it's a good idea to map out who your stakeholders are and how significant their support is to your success.

Stakeholder Matrix

In this video I explain a...

Richard Branson was sharing a story about introducing TV screens to the back of airplane seats.

He went to his board and the banks but couldn’t get the $10 million loan he needed to retrofit his Virgin Atlantic planes.

So instead he called Boeing and asked “if I buy 15 new planes, could you include seat back video screens?”

“Of course!”, came Boeing’s reply.

Branson’s point was he couldn’t get a loan for $10 million, but he could for $2 billion....

A perennial challenge in business is making your priority someone else’s priority too. You know the drill. You have a project that you are under pressure to complete, but it relies heavily on input from other people. Problem is, they have projects they are under pressure to complete and don’t want to divert time, energy or effort to your patch.

Here’s how to go about it.

1. Minimise effort
2. Maximise relevance

Minimising effort

Minimising effort means stripping back what you...