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Articles


How to Speak Truth to Power Without Losing Your Job (or Your Mind)
Which of your number one ideas is the number oneiest? Too many companies suffer from a “yes” culture, where product managers and others are

Steve Johnson
5 min read


Unleash the Power of ChatGPT in Product Management
This article is based on a presentation for the Silicon Valley Product Management Association on August 9, 2023. Since reaching millions...

Steve Johnson
5 min read


Protect Your Career from AI: A Guide for Product Managers
AI is rapidly transforming the workplace, and many product managers are watching… and worrying. As companies lean into automation and...

Barb Nelson
4 min read


Career Paths in Product Management
Learn how people transition into product management, the career paths within the field, and what it’s like to become a people manager.

Steve Johnson
6 min read


The Importance of Sales Engineering
Sales engineering plays a critical role on the sales team, particularly with complex products sold by a direct sales team.

Steve Johnson
3 min read


Is Product Management a Profession Yet?
Product management has existed for decades, yet many people today think of it as a new job.

Steve Johnson
3 min read


The Fundamental Question: "So What?"
Before you spend cycles defining that new product or feature, first make sure you can answer, “So what?”

Todd Middlebrook
2 min read


How To Merge Products
Merging the features of two products involves careful planning of customer requirements, technical directions, and stakeholder management.

Steve Johnson
4 min read


Win-Loss Interviews: Asking the Right Questions to Solve the Right Problems
After many years in product management, marketing, and competitive sales roles, I know how few businesses understand the power of...

Todd Middlebrook
3 min read


The Strategic Role of Product Management
Learn how agile created role chaos, how Quartz clarifies the product management triad, and how to reclaim product management.

Steve Johnson
1 min read


Don’t Sell; Advise: Embrace the Role of Trusted Advisor
The best salespeople don’t sell; they advise. Discover how product managers and consultants can adopt this approach to drive success. The...

Steve Johnson
4 min read


When to Hire Product Roles: A Guide for Growing Product Companies
Abstract: Discover the key signs that it's time to bring product management and product marketing teams to grow your business.

Steve Johnson
4 min read


The Real Reason Agile Created Chaos in Product Management
Learn why turning product managers into product owners was a disaster and how to fix it.

Steve Johnson
4 min read


How I Measure Process Success
Processes are like software. They are defined, deployed, and revised. And they need to be measured—what’s working and what’s not?

Steve Johnson
3 min read


AI is solving the wrong problems
I don’t need AI to create—I’ll do that; I need AI to take out the garbage.

Steve Johnson
3 min read


What's New for Quartz
We have embedded the Quartz Open Framework into most of our offerings and were delighted to work with the Quartz team to refine a new...

Steve Johnson
2 min read


How I Communicate with Leaders
It’s time to present your business plan or product strategy to your leadership. You’ve prepared too many slides, and you’ve started to...

Steve Johnson
3 min read


Best Techniques for Product Training
Approach training of customer-facing teams with just-in-time information. Instructional designers will tell you that 75% of what is...

Steve Johnson
4 min read


Unleashing the Power of Win-Loss Analysis
Win-loss analysis is one of the most powerful sources of product insights. Few salespeople want to do it, but they usually don’t want...

Steve Johnson
3 min read


Are Internal Procedures Sabotaging Customer Service?
Is your team focused on creating a superior customer experience or crippled by internal procedures?

Steve Johnson
2 min read
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