You Don’t Want to Miss Out on This

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It’s easy to have ideas.

You could rattle off ten right now.

I bet you hear dozens from across your organization every week.

This isn’t the hard part of your job.

The hard part is putting those ideas into context.

It’s deciding which ideas to pursue. It’s defending those decisions.

The Heart of Product Management

A few weeks ago, I outlined an end-to-end process for outcome-based product management.

It starts with mapping the challenge.

This is the heart of product management.

And yet, it’s the step that gets skipped most often.

I want to change that.

I want every one of you to start with a systems view of the challenge you are facing.

I want you to be able to create a visual that helps you to communicate that view to the rest of your organization.

I want you to use that visual to guide your product development.

To help you put each new idea into context.

To make it easy for you to know what to say yes to and more importantly what to say no to.

But I know it’s going to take some work for us to get there.

You may not know where to start.

You may be worried about your visual communication skills.

You may not know how to gather the information you need to create a complete picture of the challenge.

You may not know how to synthesize it down to one compelling visual.

Or you may not know how to use it as a communication tool to drive decisions in your organization.

It’s time for that to change.

Apply Now for the First Product Talk Course

I’m excited to announce that I will be launching a new course (starting in early November) that will hep you develop these skills.

You’ll learn:

• Why mapping the challenge is critical to your success as a product manager.
• How to immerse yourself in the challenge to get a complete picture of the system.
• How to synthesize what you learn into a compelling visual.
• How to test your view of the system and iterate as needed.
• How to use your visual to guide decisions and communicate your reasoning.

This first cohort will be limited. If you are interested, apply as soon as possible (more details on that in a minute).

The course will run for six weeks and each week you’ll get:

• A one hour live session with me as the instructor.
• Each session will end with a live Q&A session.
• A short reading and / or watch list to support each week’s lesson.
• A homework assignment that reinforces each week’s lesson and builds on the prior week.
• Access to a small group of peers who are going through the same learning journey with you.

I often hear from product managers who want to work with me as a coach. Unless their product leader is on board, it’s hard to make this arrangement work. This is one of the few ways you can work with me without a bigger commitment from your organization.

For this first cohort, I’ll be offering a discounted rate – 50% off the final price.

This first cohort will also be much smaller than future cohorts. You’ll get direct access to me and your fellow students.

For the same investment as a one-day workshop, you’ll get a six-week course that walks you through the material step by step.

You’ll get a variety of materials to match your learning style.

You’ll get homework assignments allowing you to practice the key concepts in a safe environment.

You’ll get feedback from peers and from me.

And you’ll get ample opportunity to ask questions and get help.

Are you ready to apply?

To qualify you must:

• Be willing to devote 2-5 hours per week to this course.
• Be currently employed as a product manager (I’ll open the course up to others in future iterations).
• Have access to a city with some public transit infrastructure. This will be required for the case study we’ll work through.
• Commit to complete all readings and homework assignments.
• Commit to attend all six live sessions.

If you are ready to invest in your product management skills, apply here.

Applications will close next Wednesday, October 28th.

However, the course may fill up long before then. If you are interested in joining us, don’t delay.