Clear the stage for product management
“Ladies and gentlemen, do you still remember the days when you had to apply for one day of vacation, just so you could let the meter-reader into your home, who, by the way, said they would show up sometime between 8 o’clock in the morning and 6 o’clock in the evening? Those days are long gone.” The audience applauses, people smile with joy into the camera.
Just a few moments later, though, the audience listening to Serpil Uensal’s talk find out that their own jobs are also at risk because of the digital revolution, regardless of whether they are low-level employees with little responsibility or top C-level managers. Tense looks. Furrowed brows. Chin-scratching.
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The cluelessness starts to wear off
In a presentation that otherwise doesn’t seem critical, it is precisely these kinds of jolting moments that make the audience realize that just sitting around and waiting it out is not an option. Product development and product management live from innovation and viewing things through the eyes of the customer, not from administrating inertia.
Just as there are fewer and fewer meter-readers employed (since the data can be collected far more accurately remotely, and around the clock), every company that is involved in production, engineering, and even life sciences is forced to deal with the digital requirements of their customers and to further develop and digitalize their products.
You don’t necessarily have to reinvent the wheel
When looking to their left and right and trying to think outside the box, small and medium-sized companies and their product managers can’t outmatch the multinationals on the topic of product development and product management. They are structured differently and, due to the sheer number of employees and financial resources available, they have a much broader scope of possibilities.
And yet, the giants in their respective industries are under an enormous amount of pressure to generate success. Medium-sized companies that concern themselves with the product launches, expanded ranges, and customer communication of the supposed giants could instead be inspired by which tasks cloud solutions alone can help them overcome. Just a few years ago, these developments were unimaginable. Nowadays, product managers that want to satisfy the customer demands to the highest level first have to get to know the customer’s needs and identify them in the first place. New products and services can be tested with the help of the customers. Simple prototypes are sufficient.
Keeping up with the times
Today, it’s more important than ever to avoid this mistake: You develop your products with the highest level of precision, only to find out that your target group doesn’t accept them. This problem could come up with any new product or service that is in development. That’s why “trial and error” goes hand-in-hand with successful product development and product management.
Goodbye perfectionism
In this current age of rapid change and development, the only thing that product managers can do with any certainty is remove the word “certainty” from their vocabulary. Only one thing is certain: the product will either be accepted or rejected. But try telling that to a mechanical engineer, or for that matter, tell it to any manufacturing company where you can find the German engineering mindset. For several decades, Germany was always ahead of the pack. Products were planned and implemented over long periods of time. The fact that there just isn’t any time for that nowadays is something many companies have trouble understanding. Long-term planning can become a death sentence for companies that are not prepared to transition away from the waterfall method, or at least call it into question. One alternative for product management is to use agile production methods. The companies that understand this can look forward to a bright future.
Allow yourself to get inspired with a keynote speech from Serpil Uensal. This experienced public speaker has already given numerous talks on these subjects for a diverse range of audiences. If you have any questions about this offer, then please feel free to get in touch with us and we’ll gladly advise you!
