
Top Design Trends to look out for in 2024
Coming from a product design / design background I love the evolution of the craft and 2024 looks to be one of the most exciting years yet. In addition to visual design there are some great trends emerging in UX too, some of which I’ll delve into here. Over the next...

Power on Through – Resilience in Leadership
Just over 17 years ago I sat face to face with a co-founder. The money had run out, the business was burning through a high monthly wage bill and income was just four figures a month. Everything seemed doomed. The first major product launch had been well received but...

Show Me The Money – Why Product Leaders Need to Be More Commercially Minded Than Ever in 2024
Investors are now more astute than ever. In fund raising discussions I've been involved with over the past few years I have seen a definite shift in attention to detail especially when it comes to funding tech start-ups. A good idea with great people is not enough to...

Imposter Syndrome Doesn’t Exist
10 years ago the day hadn’t started well. As a product strategist at one of the FAANG companies I was due to present a prototype to a VIP stakeholder and had arrived at the wrong office. My mobile network wasn’t working so I couldn’t order an Uber. Jumping in a black...

The Evolution of the Product Manager
Product management is a demanding undertaking. In addition to understanding the fundamentals of shipping software or hardware products you've got to be across any number of data points, customer feedback, stakeholder vision and so much more. In recent times as...

The Strategy Trap – Throw the books away!
It was Greece around 8 years ago and my daughter, aged 6 at the time, jumped on a little bike (sans stabilisers) and just like that wobbled into the distance and learnt to ride. She didn't read books, study videos or attend courses. She didn't even let us try to help!...

There’s no ‘I’ in Team. Or is there?
I recall it vividly. The inspiring CEO of an ed-tech start-up I'd joined was giving a passionate speech about the business. She spelt out the vision and then moved quickly onto how we would work together. One thing stuck in my head that day when she said 'You'll all...

How Parenthood Shapes Exceptional Product Leadership
I’ve often been asked about the factors that help make a great leader of teams, coach or Chief Product Officer. Experience in shipping products end to end, understanding users, data and analytics, the software development lifecycle - these are all fundamentals. But...

Leading and Lagging Indictors – Signals to act faster in product development
Whilst your organisation may want a roadmap scoped and OKRs set for the next quarter (at least) it is often challenging to understand how you'll get there and iterate meaningfully as you progress through weeks and months of development and releases. Normally you'll...

The Synergy of Product and Marketing Teams: Driving Success Together
If you're as old as me you'll remember the incredibly popular 'Mac vs PC' ads of the early 2000s. Simple, effective, funny - these three characteristics defined the first great campaign of the new millennium, from TBWA\Chiat\Day. The Mac vs. PC spots launched in 2006,...