Question the Status Quo - Martin Eriksson at How to Web

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N T H E
S TAT U S Q U O
H O W T O B U I L D B E T T E R P R O D U C T S & B U S I N E S S E S

@bfgmartin
W H O A M I ?
dressmart.com
Emerald Street
Ventures

@bfgmartin
P R O D U C T TA N K . C O M

@bfgmartin
M I N D T H E P R O D U C T. C O M

@bfgmartin
M T P C O N . C O M

S t a t u s Q u o ( n o u n )
T h e s t a t e o f t h i n g s ;
t h e w a y t h i n g s a r e ;
t h e e x i s t i n g s t a t e o f a ff a i r s .
( l a t i n ) l i t e r a l l y ‘ t h e s t a t e i n w h i c h ’ .

@bfgmartin
S E T H G O D I N
Either you defend the status quo,
or you invent the future.

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N T H E S TAT U S Q U O

@bfgmartin
T H E R E M U S T B E A B E T T E R WAY ?

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N T H E P R O B L E M

@bfgmartin
If I had asked people what they wanted,
they would have said faster horses.
H E N RY F O R D

@bfgmartin
What users wanted
Faster horses
Clean up the shit in the streets
Less horse accidents
Possible solutions
Breed faster horses
Bigger manure shovels
Trafﬁc lights

@bfgmartin
The problem
Get from A to B faster
Horses have to shit
Horses are unsafe
Possible solutions
Cars, trains, planes, etc

@bfgmartin
If I had an hour to solve a problem,
I would spend the first fifty-five
minutes determining the proper
question to ask, for once I know the
proper question, I could solve the
problem in less than five minutes.
A L B E RT E I N S T E I N

@bfgmartin
Ask why?
Build a bridge.
Why?
So I can get across the river.
Why?
Because I work there.

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N T H E I M PA C T

@bfgmartin
To achieve advocacy your
product needs to be an
order of magnitude better
than the alternative.
N I L A N P E I R I S  
VP Growth, Transferwise

@bfgmartin
Think 10x not 10%.
This simple act of adding
zeros forces you to
challenge your assumptions.
K E N N O RT O N  
Product Partner, Google Ventures

@bfgmartin
C H A R L E S A N D R AY E A M E S
P o w e r s o f Te n

@bfgmartin
It’s often easier to make
something 10x better than
it is to make it 10% better.
A S T R O T E L L E R  
Captain of Moonshots, Google[x]

@bfgmartin
Incremental improvement
is guaranteed to be
obsolete over time.
L A R RY PA G E
Google

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N T H E S O L U T I O N

@bfgmartin
Do one thing.
And do it well.
J A N K O U M
WhatsApp

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N Y O U R C O M P E T I T I O N

@bfgmartin
Ticketing systems
Budget apps
Finance apps
Reporting apps
Product Management apps

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N Y O U R P R O C E S S

@bfgmartin
The myth of the hero founder

@bfgmartin
The myth of the hero designer

@bfgmartin
The myth of the hero product manager

@bfgmartin
Product is a team sport

@bfgmartin
Products today – it’s not some
product manager that has an
epiphany. That’s not how it
works. Product, design, and
engineering, work side by side.
M A RT Y C A G A N  
Silicon Valley Product Group

@bfgmartin
The agile manifesto
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

@bfgmartin
Responding to change over following a plan

@bfgmartin
“
”
To me, lean is a state of mind
that a founder and his/her
team needs to have across all
aspects of the business.
F R E D W I L S O N
Union Square Ventures

@bfgmartin
Don’t fail fast.
Learn fast.
T O M C H I
Google X

@bfgmartin
We own the process.
The process doesn't own us.
We call it agile jazz.
T O M L O O S E M O R E
gov.uk

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N Y O U R H I E R A R C H Y

@bfgmartin
Let your teams own the product

@bfgmartin
Let your teams work how they want

@bfgmartin
Let your teams work on whatever they want

@bfgmartin
As long as it’s aligned with your goals

@bfgmartin
Autonomous, independent teams that
focus on OKRs that solve customer
problems and drive business growth

@bfgmartin
Autonomous
No-one tells the team
what to do
how to do it
how to organise

@bfgmartin
Independent
The team has every skill and
resource needed to achieve
it’s goals within it
The team can change any
part of the product

@bfgmartin
focused on OKRs
Objectives & Key Results
are the only management
direction given
This aligns the team’s efforts
with the company’s goals

@bfgmartin
solving customer
problems
Focusing on customer
problems lets the team bring
their creativity to bear
Everyone is motivated by
solving actual problems and
seeing users delighted by
those solutions

@bfgmartin
driving business
growth
The teams are aligned with
business needs through the
OKRs and are nimble and
agile enough to execute

@bfgmartin
Why
autonomy
matters
Speed
Scaling
Motivation

@bfgmartin
Carrots & sticks are so last century.
For 21st century work,
we need to upgrade to
autonomy, mastery and purpose
D A N I E L P I N K
Drive - The surprising truth
about what motivates us

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N T H E C O N T E X T

@bfgmartin
Make your users awesome,
not your product

@bfgmartin
Nobody wants to be an expert at
your online ingredient shop or
recipe app, they want to cook.
That’s the context in which your
tool exists.
K AT H Y S I E R R A

@bfgmartin
Beneﬁts > metrics

@bfgmartin
Pageviews
Users
Clicks
Conversion rate
Sales
Acquisition
Activation
Retention
Referral
Revenue
# successful
matches
# of meaningful
interactions
# of conversions
generated for
advertisers
Are you measuring customer beneﬁt?

@bfgmartin
If you measure what your customers value,
you’ll focus on building more of it.
If you measure on what you value,
you’ll optimise for what you need.

@bfgmartin
Outcomes > features

@bfgmartin
As ______ I want to ______ So that ______
action resultpersona
inaccurate
& changeable
how do we know this
is the best action?
assumptions
Stories focused on outcomes

@bfgmartin
When _____ I want to _____ So I can _____
motivation outcomesituation
Stories focused on outcomes
Jobs to be done story: jobstobedone.org

@bfgmartin
Roadmaps focused on outcomes

@bfgmartin
Roadmaps focused on outcomes
Current Near term Long term

@bfgmartin
Quantitative + Qualitative data > opinions

@bfgmartin
In God we trust,
all others: bring data
W E D WA R D S D E M I N G
Statistician, 1900-1993

@bfgmartin
If you have facts, we’ll use them.
If all you have are opinions
we’re using mine.
J I M B A R K S D A L E
Netscape

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N Y O U R T H I N K I N G

@bfgmartin
Embrace curiosity. Ask new questions.

@bfgmartin
Embrace curiosity. Ask why.

@bfgmartin
Embrace diversity of people.

@bfgmartin
Embrace diversity of opinions.

@bfgmartin
Q U E S T I O N T H E S TAT U S Q U O
T H A N K Y O U

@bfgmartin
M I N D T H E P R O D U C T. C O M | @ B F G M A RT I N

Question the Status Quo - Martin Eriksson at How to Web

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