“Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.”
I came across this quote from Yuval Noah Harari.
It is a great articulation of the importance of cultures and belief systems that lend themselves to be open to curious inquiry.
It resonated.
I share notes on personal finance every few months. Given recent events, I thought I’d share a few notes that are top of mind.
1) A penny saved > a penny earned. Best to tighten up and watch those expenses extra carefully at this time. Also, it is likely a good time to defer any major planned purchases for a while.
2) Ensure you have an emergency fund that enables you to sleep peacefully at night. Most investment advisors will say you should lock in 6 months worth of expenses in cash as an emergency fund. If you’re able to manage that, that’s great. If you think you need more than that, that’s also fine. Whatever it takes to sleep peacefully.
3) Beware selling stocks. If you own stocks, beware selling them unless you desperately need the money in the next 6 months.
4) Consider buying into the market more. Is now the best time to buy? Nobody has a clue. What we do know is that today is a better time to buy in than 2 months ago when prices were sky high. So, if you’ve been consistently been investing in the markets, now may be a good time to bump up your monthly contributions with your savings (see 1).
5) If you’re comfortable and have enough to get by, consider keeping an eye out for small (or large) ways to help folks who need. Even small things such as being a regular patron at your favorite restaurant can go a long way.
PS: For folks graduating in the class of 2020 and for anyone else looking for a job right now, it is hard to keep track of which companies are freezing hiring and which aren’t. Here’s a great live resource from the Candor team for job seekers to understand which companies have announced hiring freezes.
We’ve had rainy weather pretty often these past weeks. And, I’ve observed that my mood and energy get a significant lift when the weather is sunny.
In normal times, this happened less often because of the number of experiences that were possible even on a rainy day – people, places, books, etc.
But, as life has predominantly revolved around family, the computer screen on work days, a few rooms at home, and a few mile radius around home (again, weather permitting), the weather has become a key determinant of what the day’s experience might turn out to be.
It has made me more aware of how much we are shaped by the weather around us – consciously and unconsciously. The weather around us makes certain kinds of activities and ways of life possible.
There’s a saying that we are just the average of the five people we spend our time with.
What if all five of these people are shaped by the weather? :-)
Every once in a while, I write something fervently hoping it won’t come true.
That is just false hope of course. The truth doesn’t care about hope.
Over the past few years, such posts have been about the climate crisis. More recently, the post was about the Coronavirus. I wrote 3 things in that post that gave me pause –
i) We don’t understand exponential growth.
ii) The most dangerous places with COVID-19 on the planet today – particularly if you are over 50 years – are places which are neither acting early nor ramping up on testing. Given the lack of understanding around exponential growth, the US administration’s attempts to compare COVID-19 to the flu and downplaying its risks would have lethal consequences.
iii) The only way out is drastic action – both lockdowns and significantly increased testing. The best action is the kind that looks overly cautious in hindsight.
At the time of writing, I think the number of cases of Coronavirus in the US were around 1000 or 2000. 15 days later, we have already crossed 100,000 cases with no signs of a slowdown as yet. As we’ve finally gotten to drastic measures and lockdowns in many states, I’m hopeful we will begin to flatten the curve in 4-6 weeks depending on how drastic the lockdown is.
It is hard to make an accurate prediction without widespread testing. So, there’s a lot of missing data and that makes it hard to understand what is actually happening. The cost of delay and dithering is significant and real. But, at least, we’re on the path.
I am conscious of the fact that the tenor of my notes in the past weeks have been grimmer than usual. I’m sorry about that. What I write about reflects what is on my mind. And, it has been frustrating to see slow action on a problem that was clearly going to get out of control – especially one that has real impact on lives and livelihoods.
There are no marks in life for cramming the night before the test. On challenging tests, it hardly ever ends well.
If there is one thing you take away from this post, it is that physical distancing is more important than ever – no matter where you are on the planet and no matter what your local authorities are telling you. Even if there are just a few cases where you are right now, it is best to exercise caution.
This is likely the most significant global event since World War II. It is a different kind of war – one that will be fought from the confines of our homes.
It is also a marathon – not a sprint. So, I hope stay safe, find peace amidst the chaos, and find ways to keep your spirit up. Also, let’s continue to replace social distance with physical distance and social connection.
Wishing you well. :-)
Outside of the news, there’s a lot of positive/inspirational/educational/heart warming content on feeds everywhere. More than ever, folks are making an effort to share some love and make the best of this unique situation. That is great.
Amidst all this, it is worth reminding ourselves that it is okay if we’re feeling none of that.
It is okay if we’re feeling (one or more of) – lonely, sad about being cooped up, dispirited about talking to people on a screen, annoyed with ourselves about wanting some time away from our kids, anxious about barely holding it together in our jobs, missing the office, hopeless, worried about our finances and/or our jobs, frustrated about misguided projects taking up our limited bandwidth, and guilty about not doing enough for others.
In sum, it is totally okay if it feels as if everything sucks and all we want to do is to play victim for a while.
There’s no way out of a funk without acknowledging that we’re in a funk in the first place. We have to meet ourselves where are.
Progress – especially mental and emotional – is not linear. Every once a while, we have to take a few steps sideways or even backward to eventually make our way forward.
I was thinking about habits that have fallen into the casualty list due to (and not thanks to in this case :-)) the lockdown.
I was reflecting on the habits I miss the most at the current moment and there were two that came to mind. The first is the ability to switch off from attempting to get things done (not necessarily work). And, the second is the steep fall in the number of minutes I’ve listened to books on Audible.
The inability to switch off is a fact that most parents with young kids have to deal with. I don’t think there is any way out when you are attempting to keep young kids occupied through the day while getting work done and, somehow, keeping the household clean with dishes washed and clothes laundered. No complaints. We’re all in it together. And, there’s much to be grateful for.
The Audible habit, on the other hand, is one I miss more than I realized. As weekdays, weekends, and any such time compartments have blurred, I realize I miss content stimulating content that pushes me to think about things outside of getting things done at work/home and/or the lockdown/pandemic.
So, here’s to reviving that habit in the coming days.
There is a lot written about the Coronavirus every day. However, as the volume of content goes up, so does the amount of unhelpful data thrown into what is written. As a result, it is challenging to find answers all the questions that might be on our minds – are local officials panicking?, are they reacting fast enough?, is that total case number too high?, etc.
A better approach to understanding the data is to focus on one or two ratios/metrics that matter. In this case, I think we’d be better served if we ignored the news and just looked for change in one ratio – Total number of cases / Total number of new cases yesterday.
The result is the number of days it takes for cases to double. If that number is =<7, then the strictest of lock downs are called for as cases doubling every week will overwhelm the healthcare system and result in more fatalities. If that number is >10 or 15 and increasing, it means the strict measures are working.
Of course, this applies just as well to any business or product we work on. While there may be any number of possible metrics or pieces of data to react to, boiling things down to one or two ratios/metrics that speak to the fundamentals of our business/product help us quickly discern the signal from the noise.
In response to a recent post, Theo shared – “Maybe thanks to – and not due to – the Coronavirus, we will all be a bit closer to our loved ones.”
Thanks to – and not due to – is a powerful way of reframing any challenging situation.
It resonated.
A note for new subscribers: This post is part of a monthly series on my notes on technology product management (this is what I do for a living). You might notice that these posts often link to older posts in the series on LinkedIn even though they are all available on this blog. That is intended for folks who only want to follow future product management related posts. Finally, for all those of you who don’t build tech products for a living, I believe many of these notes have broader applicability. And, I hope you find that to be the case as well…
A quick overview of what we’ve covered on “Notes on Product Management” so far –
In our last post on Notes on Product Management, we covered how we’ll build our strategy. Thanks to the experience of going through the strategy creation process, you and the product team understand where you need to focus. The next step is to translate that into a product roadmap.
A product roadmap is a high level summary of what we will build to execute on our strategy. I’ve laid out the 5 steps that I’ve found helpful below.
Unlike prior posts, this post will very tactical and, thus, long. I’m going to do my best to share rationale – but, in many cases, there’s a lot of learning from various iterations (read: stumbles and missteps) baked into these notes. So, please feel free to ask questions in the comments and I hope you find it helpful.
Step 1 – The Roadmap brainstorm: The first step to building the team’s roadmap is a brainstorm with the entire product team.
The best scenario is when every person on the product team is present in-person. Co-location is very powerful. Even in the case of a largely remote product team, it is worth waiting to have everyone together as part of a team event to do one of these. A good brainstorm session can take anywhere between 2 hours to 4 hours. These can be shorter – but it is generally worth the time. (If you’re wondering about the remote version of this given the circumstances, don’t worry – I’ve got you covered below)
For details on this step, I’m going to get very tactical (forgive me):
i) Invite everyone on the team – below is a snapshot of the folks who may be on your invite list
ii) Book an airy room with a view – It is worth booking the best room in your building well in advance. You may even want to consider taking the team offsite to do this (you will just need a white board).
iii) Agenda –
a) Objective: This meeting will be successful if…. a) we get to know each other, b) align on context – strategy, data, and user feedback, and c) brainstorm product ideas to execute on our strategy. I also share that my success metric for this meeting is “% of shut laptops.”
b) Fun intros: Invest in doing something beyond having folks introduce themselves. Fun facts, 2 truths and a lie, interesting questions, cross introductions, etc., are ways to make this fun. Time invested in getting to know each other is always well invested.
c) Context:
i. Strategy: Remind everyone of the strategy.
ii. User research/feedback: Request the “Voice of user” team to share a 1 slide synthesis of user research/feedback
iii. Data: Similarly, request the “Voice of data” team to share a 1 slide synthesis of data
d) Brainstorm:
i. Prompt: Share the prompt – What are 3 features you would prioritize for us to successfully execute on our strategy?
ii. Brain-writing: Give everyone 5 minutes to write their individual ideas down on post its – this will ensure every member of your team (especially the quiet ones) have time to think
iii. (optional) Group brainstorming: Split folks into teams of 3 or 4 and ask them to discuss for another 5 minutes and further hone their ideas
iv. Summarize ideas: Go to a whiteboard and ask every person to share their ideas with their reasoning – as they share their ideas, cluster similar ideas in groups as themes will inevitably emerge
v. Prioritized vote: Next, and most important, ask every member to vote for their top 2 across all ideas and tally the top themes. Inevitably, 3-4 high priority areas will emerge.
It is impossible to over state the importance of the prioritized vote. It is the step that separates a successful brainstorm from a failed one. Failed brainstorms have organizers take back sheets or photographs of un-prioritized ideas. In successful brainstorms, the entire team walks out with a shared understanding of the few things that matter.
e) Next steps: Promise to synthesize the results of the brainstorm in a roadmap sheet that you will share with the team.
An outcome I’ve observed over the years – a team with shared context always converges on the right set of big ticket items that matter. This is the most magical part of well run brainstorms. You don’t need to pre-alignment meetings to get alignment within your team. Setting context will do.
And, if you are remote, there’s a way to do this remotely too. You just need to set up a spreadsheet where everyone can vote. Below is a screenshot and click here for a sample spreadsheet.
Step 2 – Organize your plan to ensure you are taking a portfolio view: The next step is to go through your plan and organize your bet into a portfolio view. The 4 buckets I’ve found helpful to use are –
3 common questions that come up when discussing these buckets.
i) Is there a correct allocation between the buckets?: No. This is entirely situation dependent. If you are going through a massive technical migration, you will have a large allocation on “Foundations.” If you are under urgent revenue pressure, your “Core” bucket may be heavily stacked. So, use your judgment.
If there is a mistake to avoid, it is over-indexing on “Core” to optimize for short term metric wins. I’ve personally found a ~20%-40%-40% balance between Foundational, Strategic, and Core to be optimal as it ensures we’re making progress across the board. I don’t generally make allocations for venture bets because those allocations are best made at the level of a business unit vs. in an IC PMs portfolio.
2. Where do you allocate time for fixing bugs?: There are two kinds of bugs – blockers/criticals and everything else. All blocker and critical bugs need to be triaged, by definition, immediately.
Other bugs that fall into “everything else” bucket require judgment. Often times, non-critical bugs point to workflows that need to be re-engineered – these can be incorporated in the “strategic” bucket. The rest is up to you. Different folks have different philosophies on it and these also need to vary between enterprise products and consumer products. I don’t know if there is a right one – the only thing that matters is picking the philosophy that works for you, your team, and your product.
3. What is the best tool to use to create this roadmap?: I don’t know. Maybe there is one – then again, there may not be. I’ve found spreadsheets to be wonderful personally. But, I also tend to be a minimalist when it comes to tools. So, feel free to experiment… just remember again that there is no right answer. Find one that works for you and your team.
Step 3 – Figure out if you can accelerate progress via partnership or M&A: Building a product internally is just one way to achieve your goals with a positive RoI. You can also accelerate your progress via two other strategic options – partnerships and, every once in a rare while, M&A.
If you believe there is an M&A target or two worth considering, build a strong working relationship with your investment/Corp Dev team to build out the investment case. In such cases, make sure your investment/Corp Dev team members have full visibility of your strategy and roadmap (invite them to that brainstorm!).
M&A aside, more often than not, you will likely find ways to partner. There are again two ways to do this –
Step 4 – Share a high level visual in your strategy doc: Bring this back to your strategy doc with a high level visual that breaks your roadmap either in quarters or 6-months/halves. Enterprise roadmaps can go as long as two or three years. But, if it is a consumer roadmap, 18 months is about as long as it probably makes sense (it is unlikely you’ll go 6 months before changing it again :-)).
Use this visual to check if everyone is bought in and if the timelines makes sense – this is especially important if you are running an enterprise product with go-to-market commitments. Below is an illustrative visual – it tends to be helpful to bring cluster features within initiatives that seek to help us execute on our strategy and drive toward metrics that matter. These strategy pillars and metrics, in turn, hopefully map straight to the user/customer problems we set out seeking to solve.
5) Set expectations both externally and internally: Once the team is aligned, the final step is to set expectations.
a) External: Your GTM partners will now use the roadmap to create the customer/user education plan. This may involve previews, presentations, updates to client decks, and the like.
b) Internal: The more tricky part is setting internal executive expectations. This is especially important if you are planning strategic bets or key infrastructure upgrades that may impact your metric forecasts. This is the biggest area where I’ve seen folks make mistakes – and it is definitely the area where I have some painful war stories myself.
The key here is to take the time to work through the first and second order effects of your planned roadmap. Ask yourself – what will be the impact to metrics that matter for each initiative? Then, think through what happens when all the initiatives roll out together – will there be any compound effects? Finally, think about initiatives partner teams are planning to undertake – do any of them impact your strategy?
When you go through that exercise, you will likely realize that there are a few curve balls that you need to further flesh out. If you are managing a business with revenue expectations, work through these steps diligently with your Finance and Ops partners so you know what to expect. Once you know what to expect, communicate and get exec support.
The better your own understanding of what lies ahead and the better you set expectations, the more freedom you’ll have to execute on your vision. Fail to do that and your roadmap will just be a spreadsheet full of ideas that never saw the light.
Building good roadmaps is a core aspect of an IC PM’s job. But, how these roadmaps get built is often misunderstood. It is the PM’s job to facilitate the conversion within the product team and use the team’s collective brainpower, insight, and perspective to create this roadmap. As a result, we can’t just walk into a new team and build a roadmap. Those kinds of roadmaps result in poor products.
Instead, we need to take the time to get to an understanding of the core problems, articulate them in clear problem statements, define a strategy with the team, and then build the roadmap. When we walk into a new team, we often have to do this in parallel with executing on an existing roadmap.
The outcome of a well run process is a team that is aligned and rowing in the same direction. And, a test of this is when they refer to the roadmap as “our roadmap” instead of “the PM’s roadmap” or “your roadmap.”
When that begins to happen (and it often takes time and a lot of reinforcement), good products and happy users/customers generally follow.
The next time we find ourselves dealing with irrational anger, here’s a quote by Thich Nhat Hanh that might give us some perspective – “Three hundred years from now, where will you be and where shall I be?”
(H/T Claudia Dawson on Recommendo)
PS: A second and final PS on the Premium subscription gifts – I heard from someone who hadn’t received the original email I sent with the gift + next steps. If this is you, please just let me know on rohan at rohanrajiv dot com. I have gifts for everyone who asked for one via the form on the post (and a couple extra in case you missed it).
A Learning a Day 