This Week in Consulting
Wednesday, May 20th 2020
What does the Future Product Management look like?
THIS WEEK’S MUST READ
“Our global Product community is as vast as it is diverse, and that is well represented in this report. Respondents are Product Managers from 263 cities in 85 countries helped us to examine the future of Product Management, including everyone from aspiring PMs looking for their first role to industry leaders at Fortune 500 companies. The purpose of this report is to prepare for the future that we have been shaping together. The key to success in the future will be for Product Managers to stay hungry for knowledge, educate themselves wherever possible, and stay ahead of the curve. “
The Survey presents the Future of Product Management as seen by practitioners themselves. It touches upon working conditions, digital transformation global challenges and disruption.
This Week’s Must Read is an insight piece from Product School on Product Management, and how practitioners see their present and their future.
Read on to Find out More: “Discover What the Future of Product Management Holds“ | Carlos González de Villaumbrosia, Product School.
THIS WEEK’S VIDEO:
The Art of Product Management with Sachin Rekhi.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
- Why we are now in the “Golden Age of Product Management”: “For many companies, product managers were confused for user experience designers, senior technology leads, or, more controversially, project managers. At best, teams acknowledged that PMs were product owners in the Agile sense, and as such their main deliverable was the product backlog. The real impact of product management was often misunderstood, and PMs did not have the software or resources to carry out their best work.” This article explores the rise of product management, the impact of digital and the changes in customer expectation. | Dottie Schrock, productboard
- The DNA of disruption: a nuanced view of disruptive innovation: “Disruptive innovation, as introduced by Clayton M. Christensen, has become a powerful way of thinking about innovation-driven growth. However, the unclarity around what disruptive innovation is and what it is not has led to the need to clarify it (Christensen, Raynor, McDonald, 2015). The need for refinement also stems from the fact that in practice we see engineers and managers alike struggle and miss the signals that something dangerous is coming.” The authors explain why understanding the principles of disruption and types of innovation can help companies avoid disasters. | Christoph Fuchs and Franziska J. Golenhofen for LSE Business Review
- Digital product management: A structured approach to product innovation and governance– “Companies preparing for Industry 4.0 operate in an environment that is evolving more rapidly than ever.1 As new entrants and technologies disrupt once-steady growth, the average tenure of a company on the S&P 500 has dropped 80 percent, from 67 years to 15 years.2 “In a rapidly changing world,” says Deloitte’s Center for the Edge cochairman John Seely Brown, “innovation and agility must reign supreme,”3 and launching new products is where companies’ innovation and agility meet the marketplace.” This article discusses how leaders can take advantage of digital transformation to better align innovation management, strategy and business model. | Jon Kawamura, Anne Kwan and Maximilian Schroeck, Deloitte.
- Digital Product Management: “What does success mean? Success means a withdrawal in time dedicating resources to another strategic initiative, pivoting to change the focus of our product, or achieving a sustainable and scalable business model that far exceeds the initial investment.” The author describes the emerging role of digital product manager. Can Lean Product Management be the right path for digital products? What are the skills needed for this role? What are the organizational resources necessary to the success of digital product management? | Gerard Chiva, Aktia Solutions
TRENDS
On the same theme,here is a selection of conferences that you might find useful
#mtpcon San Francisco: #mtpcon San Francisco is the product management conference where we bring together product leaders from around the world to explore the intersection of design, technology, and business – inspiring you to build better products.
ProductCon: You’ll learn best practices behind the most successful products, and new trends in AI, VR, IoT and Blockchain. You’ll also have the opportunity to interact with all our sponsor companies interested in recruiting PMs.
CONSULTING INDUSTRY NEWS
- NextVR acquired by Apple: “Back in April, it was rumored that Apple was the secret buyer behind an acquisition of NextVR, a live event VR/AR company. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple has confirmed that it was behind the purchase. The AR/VR company’s software is currently integrated with popular virtual and augmented reality headsets from brands like Playstation, Oculus, HTC, Microsoft, and Lenovo.” | iMore
- McKinsey: Six ways tech helps to contain COVID-19 in Asia “A new report by McKinsey & Co explores six key areas where technology is being utilised to safeguard lives, business and governments. Noting that countries in Asia have generally found very effective ways to mitigate the deleterious effects of the COVID-19, the company has analysed and broken them down into distinct categories.” | William Girling, Business Chief
- CRU: EU Steel: Why Carbon Matters More with COVID-19– “The European steel industry in crisis again? Sure enough, the industry is currently facing a perfect storm of collapsing demand, prices and high iron ore costs. This will naturally be attracting our clients’ time and resources. But it is especially important in such downcycles to take a strategic view of the future and anticipate structural change.” |PRNewswire
- Three online security basics for working from home: “The coronavirus (Covid-19) has forced many of us into the shelter of our homes. While working from home drastically reduces the chance of you getting yourself or others sick, it comes with a set of challenges compared to working in the office, including cybersecurity.” | Consultancy.uk
DIRECTORY
Interested in submitting?
Hélène Laffitte is the CEO of Consulting Quest, a Global Performance-Driven Consulting Platform and author of “Smart Consulting Sourcing”, a step by step guide to getting the best ROI from your consulting. With a blend of experience in Procurement and Consulting, Hélène is passionate about helping Companies create more value through Consulting.
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