This may come off a little idealistic, but I am a firm believer in focusing on user experience and real consumer problems when creating products.

I recently came across this awesome presentation from UC Berkeley professor Sara Beckman on product development*, which reinforces why Product Managers should “forget about personal problems and worry about customers lives.” Like she says, the important thing is NOT why you personally want to use this product or why you think it’s cool.  Instead, you should be thinking about why your customer would rather use your product, rather than any other product.

Many companies fall into the trap of making profit and forgetting about their consumers. When times are good, they can get away with this.  When times are tough, however, things can get ugly really quickly when you stop innovating or focusing on consumers. This is why having PMs who live and breathe what their customers need and how to solve their problems will make any company more successful than their competitors.

*unfortunately this awesome presentation has been taken down from the website.

Building an ideal company culture is a challenge that every startup experiences. From personal experience, working at a re-startup, I understand intimately the challenges associated with managing strategy and growth while remaining cognizant of the company culture being developed. When one of my colleagues recently raised the question “what kind of environment would I like to work at”, it got me thinking…

While it is important to make sure that business goals are met, and employees are meeting deadlines on their assigned projects, it is also important to focus on individual goals and creating a nurturing environment where employees feel like they are working on what they’re passionate about. This reminded me of a video that I watched a year ago which really inspired me.  It gives an incredible insight on what motivates people. I really think this is why companies who focus on product and their people do so well.

Enjoy: