Culture

This week in San Francisco was the Mind the Product conference. Product folks from across North America and beyond converged to share their successes, struggles, and ah-ha moments. It is an opportunity step away from the daily grind for a dose of inspiration and to meet others. With imposter syndrome getting more attention these days we are acknowledging that success is not a simple formula. Creating space to talk about the journey we are on, especially the tough bits, is therapeutic.

Every week I scan a curated list of feeds and watch Twitter for pieces that ask interesting questions, frame problems in new ways, and help me learn how others tackle the tough stuff of everyday life. This week I came across interesting reads about customer discovery, look through the lens of outcomes, OKRs in action, thoughts on tools and culture, and a new book on application security. Check out the interesting reads below along with my takeaway:

We are about to check point on an experiment to create more mindfulness around meetings. Originally billed as an exercise of going on a “meeting diet” through a defined blackout period, it morphed into a company wide introspection on the use of people’s time. It had a profound effect on the meetings I facilitated and attended. The immediate value was explicit permission to question agendas and decline meetings where I did not add value or find them helpful.