Winning your company over to modern product thinking (ProductCamp Boston 2016)

©2016 keithhopper.com

Winning Your Company Over to Modern Product Thinking

[email protected]@khopper

(Contact me for presentation with audio)


Keith Hopper coaches enterprise teams in how to rapidly bring the best new ideas to market

and avoid costly missteps.


What is Modern Product Thinking?

Modern Challenges• Lowered-barriers to

entry• Rapidly evolving user

needs• Need for being quick to

market• Highly uncertain

Modern Practices• Work in small, cross-

functional teams• Plan and adjust iteratively• Fix time, vary scope• Put the user at the center• Identify and test

hypotheses• Measure and learn


The Problem

1. The product market is increasingly competitive and dynamic

2. To respond, organizations need to change their approach to Product Management

3. It’s hard to bring change into an organization when you’re not in charge


• Disrupted by digital change• Seeing problems everywhere, internally and

externally• Overwhelmed by directions they could go in• Had no clear answers

The Christian Science Monitor is a 108 year old international news organization


How best to Help?

• Small, x-functional team• Outside of normal business operations • One simple goal: “Demonstrate some type of

new value to existing customers.” • Create a prototype and test it in a week

Instead of a complete overhaul, a full industry analysis, or a detailed innovation plan, we agreed instead to a teeny, tiny, little project.


Design / Discovery Sprints

AGILE(fixed-time iterations)

LEAN(experimentation)

DESIGN THINKING(user-centric)


Value: make a difference beyond reporting the news


Six-month Outcomes

• Several testing iterations• Launched major new editorial initiative, digital property

and campaign: csmonitor.com/redirect• Surpassed all existing internal metrics

– Page engagement– Shares, Likes, Views– Sign-ups / conversions

• Executives embraced new product direction and methods

• Org change creating PMs and cross-functional teams• Editorial and publishing on the same team


The Rider & the Elephant


Riders, Elephants & Paths


Elephants & Riders Have Issues

• Riders get overwhelmed with options• Riders focus on problems, doubt • Riders get stuck in planning and analysis• Elephants do what is familiar, safe• Elephants don’t listen to reason for long• Elephants are motivated by fear


Direct the Rider

• Focus on one, small behavior change• Create a single, achievable, near-term goal • Fight analysis by doing• Script the critical moves with specific and clear

instructions on how to proceed• Help visualize a near-term destination


Motivate the Elephant

• Address emotions, not logic– Social pressure, FOMO, pride, fear, safety, hope

• Shrink the change, but make it meaningful• Create wins and immediate gratification• Expect and permit failure “en route”• Grow people: build reassurance and

confidence


Shape the Path (Make the Journey Easier)

• Avoid breaking existing habits• Build new habits• Give the team real skills and practice• Find the bright spots and highlight – behavior

is contagious


How to Change Product Thinking

• Focus on one small, near-term goal• Deploy a small team for a short timeframe• Deploy a proven, highly structured process• Avoid analysis paralysis through execution• Equip people with modern product skills• Create and celebrate small wins• Understand what’s working and highlight


Q&A

[email protected]@khopper

Winning your company over to modern product thinking (ProductCamp Boston 2016)

Marketing