The slides from this session can be found here: slides

Presenter: Chris Kocher 

Focus of this presentation is on big picture issues, not so much on tactical

1. If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there

• Must have solid direction or you'll waste lots of time and money
• Answer the question "What problem are we solving and who are we solving it for?"
• Insight into the customers real world problems is absolutely critical (eg is customer setting up their brand new computer with a crying baby in the background and cant figure out which cable goes where....easy to overlook in feature driven environment)

2. Never mistake a clear view for a short distance

• Often times poor timing has nothing to do with technology, it's social issues
• Example: Tablets for medical and warehouse management applications.  Same concepts as current iPad (touchscreen, app platform, etc.), but socially timing wasn't right
• Story of HP all in ones:
• Thought they could make a printer/copier/scanner/fax in a few years, took 20 years
• The path was very long even thought it was clear & obvious

3. There is no substitute for a coherent value delivery system

• Value proposition / elevator pitch can only go so far
• Make sure everything in your organization is driving that value proposition; from engineering work to how the receptionist answers the phone
• Building experiences > building products (Apple)

4. Nothing happens until someone sells something

• Disconnect between customers and channels, channels of distribution are very difficult to change

5. Startups often die of over-indulgence, not starvation

• Get overloaded with trying to do too many things
• Get the basic thing out the door and get feedback from the marketplace

6. We must all hang together or we will all hang separately

• DO NOT have multiple views of objectives and "what is success"
• Role of product manager is to bring everyone in to have the shared views and objectives for the product

7. Ah but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now

• PMs responsibility to say to everyone else "look this is not the right path, we need to change" when necessary
• When all else fails - bail - leaving is learning, not failing
• What makes a successfull product manager?
• Be a good customer advocate, always be in touch with what the customer is thinking
• Talk to customers, research, focus group
• Communication - very critical to communicate clearly because you are in the middle of everything
• Having a strategic view of things.  Easy to get pulled into the janitorial services and missing the big picture.