Aug 2, 2020The Live-Music-Shaped Hole In Our Pandemic LivesWaiting in front of Mayer’s Tavern for a late July beach vacation dinner, counting the number of patrons with their masks on, I heard a familiar guitar strum, the refrain “faaaaaaade into you.” The sound of a muffled bar band* covering an old favorite reminded me how much I missed…Live Music2 min read
Mar 27, 20195 Qualities You Need in an Agile Product ManagerStartup founders, who are often very happy to stay hands-on with their team’s software development, will eventually have to step out of those weeds to focus on bigger and better things. …Agile3 min read
Mar 20, 2019Protecting Your Team from UncertaintyAll managers have a responsibility to shield our teams from the distraction and stress of outside influences. Product managers, specifically, work hard to create tightly prioritized sprints for high priority releases that can easily be pulled off course by a seemingly innocent conversation. Protect your team from the uncertainty that…Product Management3 min read
Mar 13, 20194 Quick Ways to Make Time for Product ManagementOne of my greatest challenges as a product manager of a startup has always been making time to do the actual product management work. The day-to-day project management that falls on this role, quick feedback needed on delivered work and the never-ending need to address blockers were always more urgent…Product Management4 min read
Mar 5, 2019Think You’re Ready To Hire? Try These 5 Process Improvements FirstGetting more out of the team you have, and making them happier, too — You’d like to start shipping new features more quickly, and you’ve wondered if your team’s productivity could be boosted with some process improvements. You can always hire more people, but there might be a cheaper way to get a more done faster. …Product Management5 min read
Feb 26, 20195 Tips for Product Managers Who Do It AllLeveraging Agile to Showcase Your Value — While not all Product Managers enjoy handling the project management of their team’s software development, I believe this structure has its benefits, especially at smaller organizations. A blended product/project manager can add a lot of value by leveraging Agile, freeing up the founder to do what they should be doing…Agile4 min read
Feb 19, 201910 Signs Your Team Is Ready For a Product ManagerAs the founder, you’ve been doing fine directing your designers and engineers on your own so far. You’ve all been collaborating really well, and you like being able to give feedback every step of the way. Maybe that will continue to work well for a while. But maybe it’s occurred…Product Management3 min read
Sep 10, 2018Product management: Time blocking for your sanityRecently, a Reddit post on Mental health as Product Managers inspired me to write about what I do to feel in control in a busy, fragmented role. After all, the variety is what I love about the job, but that variety can pull you in too many directions, spread you…Productivity4 min read
Jun 28, 2017MVP Your Morning RoutineApply Agile to your morning to make time for the most important stuff. — As a software product manager, I’m a big fan of the power that Agile has given me to get important things done in a predictable, scheduled and flexible way. …MVP5 min read
May 4, 201710 Things I learned at Tuesday night’s DOT 4th Avenue Bike Lane Planning WorkshopOther than the unsurprising realization that I really don’t know much about city planning and traffic management, here are some interesting take-aways from the workshop on Brooklyn’s latest proposed bike lane. 4th Ave used to be 6 lanes. …Cycling2 min read