The manager of the IT-department of a large bank is in a meeting with a technology startup. The bank releases updates to their IT systems three times a year, the startup releases code multiple times a day. The IT-manager asks “How can you keep your system secure when you release…

The Why, How and What — (originally published at mindtheproduct.com) “Why” does the role of product manager exist? In order to know how to do something it is important to understand why that something exists in the first place. It is not hard to understand why we need developers. Nor sales, marketing, customer support and so on. But why do we need product managers? …

“Your products will mirror your organizational structure. Embrace the fact.” The expression “Don’t ship the org chart” (generally credited to Steven Sinofsky of a16z, formerly Microsoft) is frequently used as a word of warning in product development circles. It refers to how products are shaped by the inclination of development…

Jean-Claude Biver, LVMH Watch Division President and head of the TAG Heuer brand, stated this week that “The difference between the TAG Heuer watch and the Apple watch is very important,” Biver said. “That one is called Apple and this one is called TAG Heuer.” This misses the point in…

Stuff that never grows old — “When you start looking at a problem and it seems really simple, you don’t really understand the complexity of the problem. Then you get into the problem, and you see that it is really complicated, and you come up with all these convoluted solutions. That’s sort of the middle, and…