{"id":16436,"date":"2019-03-12T14:03:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T14:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/?p=16436"},"modified":"2019-06-17T03:24:23","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T03:24:23","slug":"managing-the-unexpected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/managing-the-unexpected\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing the Unexpected"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following insights were gleaned from a presentation at INDUSTRY given by John Vars of Varo Money @JohnV<\/a>.\u00a0Download Product Management TACTICS eBook<\/a> for more.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Life changes fast. This is true for us as humans, but as well as the products that we manage. It\u2019s all well and good to have a plan, but as Mike Tyson says, \u201cEveryone has a plan until you get punched in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Product people run into roadblocks constantly.\u00a0 When the roadmap changes, team conflict arises, or any other sort of chaos ensues, how do you approach it?\u00a0 Do you address it right away?\u00a0 Or wait a bit to see if things can work themselves out?\u00a0 If you find yourself pausing, recognize that and think about how can you be more decisive. Run at the problem even faster. Execute in the face of chaos.<\/p>\n

Of course, while we can\u2019t control that chaos — we can control the decisions we make when it\u2019s happening.\u00a0 When managing change, never surprise your boss or manager. When things slip or risk enters the project, talk about it. Keep it on their radar. \u00a0You\u2019ll need your manager\u2019s support throughout and the best way to get that support is to have them work through things with you.<\/p>\n

And while we can\u2019t control everything, we can reduce risk for the unexpected happening.\u00a0 Oftentimes, delays in releasing a product or feature could be one source of pain.\u00a0 Spend more time in estimation. Track your project and products closely. Make sure that processes are in place and being followed.\u00a0 It won\u2019t protect you completely, but it certainly reduces the chance for things going awry.\u00a0 Expect that some things will slip, and anticipate it early. Have people in place who can handle that — both in terms of how to manage things, but also communicate accordingly.<\/p>\n

Create a culture where people can be vulnerable or speak truth to power and provide feedback. Sometimes, things go haywire when they didn\u2019t have to — but the people who saw it coming don\u2019t speak up because they feel that they\u2019re not empowered to do so.\u00a0 Do what you can to change that, and make sure that everybody knows that they\u2019re not only permitted to speak up, but are expected to.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, these unexpected negative events happen purely because of pride.\u00a0 Somebody so close to the feature or product falls in love with it, and when they see things happening that might lead one to believe that changes need to happen — they don\u2019t speak up because it may hurt their product or feature.\u00a0 Reinforce that nobody should fall in love with features or the product itself — but instead, to fall in love with the mission. Keep everyone focused on that north star.<\/p>\n

To view John\u2019s full presentation, visit: https:\/\/productcollective.com\/happens-things-dont-always-go-planned\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following insights were gleaned from a presentation at INDUSTRY given by John Vars of Varo Money @JohnV.\u00a0Download Product Management TACTICS eBook for more. Life changes fast. This is true for us as humans, but as well as the products that we manage. It\u2019s all well and good to have a plan, but as Mike […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nManaging the Unexpected - Product Collective | Organizers of INDUSTRY: The Product Conference<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/managing-the-unexpected\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Managing the Unexpected - Product Collective | Organizers of INDUSTRY: The Product Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The following insights were gleaned from a presentation at INDUSTRY given by John Vars of Varo Money @JohnV.\u00a0Download Product Management TACTICS eBook for more. 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