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Blog Post: @ev Is Bringing #Holacracy Mainstream

Ev Williams has made quite a name for himself. Not just with the software products he has helped create, but also in the way he runs a company. This post on Medium describes one of the principles of a social technology called holacracy.

Simply put, holacracy is a system for running an organization based upon ideas such as empowering employees, limiting office politics and boosting meeting efficacy.

I really liked the concept in this article, which involves ending meetings with a “closing round” by all attendees. It can be used for summary, takeaways, confirmation, affirmation, etc. Even with 30 seconds of concise dialogue, a ton of information could be communicated to team members going forward.

“Great meeting today. It highlighted that I need to follow up with marketing on their projections for the new product hitting production next month. It will allow sales to start generating buzz with customers beforehand.”

Try this out in your next planning session or retrospective. It allow confidence to be built, remind others of roadblocks and issues, or tasks to be confirmed before starting them.

Blog Post: @ev Is Bringing #Holacracy Mainstream

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Blog Post: Now Is The Time To Buy #Mobile Ads

This report from Business Insider says it all. The share of US advertising dollars has mobile accounting for only 3%. I saw that number and nearly spit out coffee, but that’s not the only telling number.

Compare that to actual consumption of media, of which mobile has a 12% share, and there is quite a disparity.

What does that mean for your advertising dollars? Three words: buy, buy, buy.

Granted, the same people selling mobile ads can see the same report that you can, but old media mindsets are still prevalent. When there is plenty of space available for advertising, prices will be lower and the ROI will be higher. 

Every report I have seen shows this ratio of ad revenue to consumption will change. More media is being created for devices every day. In addition advertisers will put more and more of their dollars in the devices we use. That means you should get the best return for your marketing dollars while you can.

Blog Post: Now Is The Time To Buy #Mobile Ads

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Blog Post: Determining #Product Value

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my job is the exchange of ideas. There are practical exchanges with my team, colleagues and customers that impact the work we do on a daily basis. Then there are the theoretical exchanges that happen online with other product people that either enforce or correct current mindsets I have about being the best that I can.

I think it’s important for anyone, regardless of your profession (including stay-at-home parents), to have those kinds of conversations. You can improve performance, discover new developments, and be encouraged to stay the course.

All of those reasons are why I enjoyed this read from Ken Norton, who is a former product manager at Google.

Reading the post reminded me that value is determined in a number of ways. Being so close to our product, it is easy to be blinded by the glaringly obvious. The feature or fix you thought previously so important could actually be of little value to the end user.

“Our wish list approach also created false equivalence. There was a huge chasm between what #1 meant to us and what it meant to our users. For us, it was first amongst equals. To them it was a painful tumor overdue for removal.”

What chasm am I missing in my road map between two features? Do I have something ranked inappropriately?

Often, I am presented with “quick win” ideas by business. In the development team room, this notion is sometimes scoffed at because it can seem like we are placating to the customer instead of telling them what is really important. What I think Mr. Norton posits is that in reality, regardless of however “quick” the “win” is, the request holds real value to the customer.

Sure, the possibility exists that the customer is asking for unnecessary items. Opinions can always be shaped. The important thing to remember is to weigh all of the opinions and make the best decision with the data you have.

Only then can you posit that your product has the highest value to most of the users.

Blog Post: Determining #Product Value

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Blog Post: #Apps Can’t Be Governed

I knew this would happen. I warned that this would happen. Just didn’t think it would happen this fast. The Food and Drug Administration has now begun cracking down on medical applications that offer “medical diagnosis”. Biosense Technologies’ product uChek is now in the cross hairs of Big Brother with a formal inquiry underway by the […]

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