Brendan Jarvis 🇺🇦’s Post

This week’s #mondayinspiration comes from Neeva Kaliebe, Operations Manager and OKRs Grand-master at Vision Health Pioneers Incubator! Why should founders care about Objectives and Key Results (#OKRs)? For Neeva, OKRs are like “the superhero capes of startup founders, giving them clarity, focus, and measurable progress in a world of swirling uncertainty”. Here is why she thinks they matter 👇 ✅ Clarity of Vision: Picture OKRs as the neon signs lighting up the path to success, helping founders communicate their #vision with superhero-level clarity. ✅ Prioritization: With OKRs, founders can dodge distractions like a boss, zeroing in on the most important #objectives and saving the day with efficient resource allocation. ✅ Measurable Progress: Think of OKRs as the trusty sidekick, providing founders with real-time feedback and metrics to track #progress, because every superhero needs a sidekick to keep them in check! ✅ Adaptability: Just like a superhero adjusting to unexpected plot twists, OKRs allow founders to pivot and flex their strategies in the face of adversity, staying #agile and ready for anything. For the upcoming cohort, Neeva has an exciting plan in store — a blend of interactive workshops and personalized coaching sessions around OKRs, all customized to cater to the unique needs of each team. “From facilitating kick-offs to refining OKRs and guiding existing OKR-Masters, I'm committed to helping them elevate their OKR game to new heights!” Is your team already using OKRs to track meaningful progress? 🤔 #strategy #agilemanagement #performance

What does great design look like and how does it drive product-led growth? 🤔 Recruited recently caught up with the incredible Jane Austin, CPO, Founder, speaker and all-round product superhero.🦸♀️ Jane covers how great design can propel product-led growth, offering valuable insights and a step-by-step guide In this week's episode of Product Speak 📣 🔗https://lnkd.in/eFcparmM Who's Jane Austin? Jane is an impressive Product Leader, boasting over 13 years of experience. She builds products for humans, that solve real problems, where experience is a differentiator, and ideally at organisations at an inflection point, whether that is a new phase of growth, having just closed a round of VC or PE funding, or going through a digital transformation. She's also the founder of health tech start-up Laurel to support people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and the therapists treating them. She's currently working on their MVP so if you have OCD and want to know more please get in touch. While she's working on this, she's available to support start-ups, scale-ups and digital transformation teams as fractional CPO/VP product/VP design and as a product or design leadership coach 🙌 Product Speak is written by #productmanagers for #productmanagers. We partner with incredible product leaders who provide insightful new product management content for you every week. 🥳   If you're interested in contributing, please reach out to us at [email protected]. Your input could be the next valuable addition to the product community 🚀 #productledgrowth #productmanagers #productmanagement #design #ux #userexperience #growth #startup #technology

Beware of false founder glow! Here's what it looks like--the founder or CEO of the company is a great connector and naturally magnetic. They meet with lots of companies and know lots of people. They also have an interesting background and great previous accomplishments. These are all great things! But... What sometimes happens is that companies start to believe they have product-market-fit before they do, simply because the founder is able to secure otherwise un-gettable meetings. These meetings are being won on the basis of the founder's reputation, prior experience, and storytelling about what the product MIGHT become, not because of the merits of the actual product. There can be and often is a massive chasm between these stories and the actual product. I call this false founder glow. It's when the allure of the founder's persona temporarily masks the true value and readiness of the product. The first part is a win--we want founders to be great at creating opportunities through access and storytelling and charisma. It becomes problematic when access leads to overconfidence, resulting in premature scaling or misguided product development decisions before we've got commitments from real users. "Fortune 500 companies are taking our meetings, so we know we're on the right track with our product," is the unspoken logic. Its partially true in that something the founder is saying is resonating with these companies. However, if the meetings don't convert into introductions to the operational people at the big companies doing the work your product solves, or if those meetings don't produce LOIs or deals, then the product either isn't mature enough yet or there is a disconnect between the storied vision and the reality. To bridge this gap, the Product team should actively participate in these meetings alongside the Founder/CEO, specifically aiming to identify whether the gap is due to product maturity or a fundamental misalignment in perceived value. #startupreality #productmarketfit #leadershiplessons #foundermindset #startupjourney #emergingtech #productleadership #productmanagement #falsefounderglow

CFOs wake up to a world demanding growth results,  news of volatile numbers, and high stakes projects. Lets learns how OKRs were that steady framework that led a Deeptech Startup into a Customer-Focused model. Founded by academics, iExec faced the classic startup challenge: bringing groundbreaking technology to market and finding the perfect product-market fit. 🚀 The Challenge: Bridging Academia and Market Needs, it was about evolving their culture to focus on business-oriented targets and demonstrating real customer value. 🔄 The Solution: OKRs for Strategic Transformation with a strong leadership commitment and the inclusion of the entire organization in the process. This approach also helped to accelerate decision-making. 🌐 Key Achievements: From Sandbox to Service iExec's journey with OKRs transformed their technology from an experimental sandbox into a reliable, scalable service. This shift was crucial for gaining customer trust and achieving commercial success. 👥 Lessons Learned: Keep It Simple, Involve the Team iExec's experience highlights the importance of simplicity and team involvement in OKR implementation. 🔗 Join the Journey! Are you ready to transform your startup with OKRs? Learn from iExec's experience and take your business to the next level. Let's embrace the power of OKRs together! https://lnkd.in/daFhHP3v 👉 Want similar results for your organization? Book a free consultation call with OKRmentors and go from wishing to achieving!

What does it mean to be a "product-led" organisation? I've been thinking about this since ✨ Büşra Coşkuner's talk at the ProductTankBerlin meetup a few weeks ago. She took Marty Cagan's "Product Operating Model" as the basis for discussion and it's certainly a useful framework. But under Marty's definition there are so many conditions to be met that hardly any org would deserve to be called "product led", so here is my own take. I think the "leadership mode" of the organisations is best defined by the fundamental question it asks itself in order to make a decision: - For a sales-led company the most important question is "What would our customers buy?". Nothing wrong with this approach, plenty of companies succeed by doing this. - An engineering-led company asks itself "What technology could we use?". Both Google and Yandex were largely engineering-led in their best times. - For a founder-led company the question is "What did the founder eat for breakfast today?" It's not the most stable environment to work in, but it still works if the founder's instincts turn out to be correct. - And finally for a product-led company the question is "What's the most important problem we can solve for our customers". It's the hardest one to operate because it's the hardest question to answer (and the Product Operating Model is the surest way to answer it). But in a world where there already is a startup for everything I believe it's the only one that can lead to consistent outcomes. #product #productmanagement #productleadership

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the ProductTank Toronto event and connecting with a dynamic community of product leaders. The panel discussion shed light on some critical insights that I'd like to share with you all. 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝑬𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄 • Startups with promising ideas adapt to the evolving product landscape by shifting their focus toward revenue and efficiency. • Companies are strategically staying lean and prioritizing revenue-centric approaches. • The central goal is to identify solutions that compel customers to pay, emphasizing the importance of practicality over ideology. • Product leads are urged to realign their metrics with business objectives. 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒗𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝑭𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 • Empowering product managers is crucial for success. • Embedding metrics into each feature is vital for making data-driven decisions, replacing reliance on gut feelings. • Cultivating an outcome-focused mindset is emphasized, prompting the question: "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦?" before development. • Establishing clear goals and a visionary perspective simplifies decision-making processes. I'm happy to hear your thoughts on these insights! #productdevelopment #product #productmanagement

Today was the official kick-off of Northstar Narrative! 🙌 A SOLD OUT 3-month program with 12 tech leaders from Google, Meta, Microsoft, Genentech, Pitney Bowes, and startups. Cohort 8 is exclusively VP/Dir leaders in tech. Each participating leader has a big ambitious OKR or strategy that they'll build a northstar narrative that gets them investment, buy-in or shared agreement. From engineering strategy to quality transformation to AI data governance to a global innovation challenge. In our first week kick-off session, our cohort shared pivotal moments from their pasts where they lost control of the narrative, and the cost it had for them. They then dove into techniques to reclaim the narrative and boost their storytelling agility. Especially when navigating complexity and influencing at scale. What did they learn? - Storytelling agility for any audience - The outcome, audience, format for their narrative - Balance between big picture idea and specific details - Framing at the right altitude for different stakeholders - Affective presence for more impact with less effort Excited we also unveiled 1on1 story coaching as a new core offering. And introduced our new Storied coaches Marshall Davis Jones Sara Tiefenbrun Mia Tagano Coaching Sandra Wells, to help these leaders to unlock clarity, confidence, and conviction. Lets go! 🎉 The latest journey has just begun, and I'm thrilled to see this new cohort already embrace taking control of their narrative. P.S. Interested in NSN? Join the waitlist for priority access. Our next cohort starts Oct 1. https://lnkd.in/gBrY_jmv

Do you need to get stakeholders to rally behind your initiative?? EVERY leader has been there... and it's a complex undertaking. You're on your own personal Matrix journey, or maybe battling the Death Star. Whatever. It's tough and you should find out who's been successful already, then learn from that. 🧠 STEP 1 --> Build shared understanding between the people who matter -- that's what Michael Margolis helps senior leaders and executives do. ⚡ STEP 2 --> Next? Figure out how you'll work WITH the power differentials, which is especially critical for data & AI initiatives (that's what I help orgs do! if building shared understanding requires consolidating architectural or strategic technical vision then... I do that part too. hmu) 💪 STEP 3 --> Plan to SUSTAIN THE CHANGE - because overcoming resistance successfully requires you to do exactly the opposite of what you've been trained to do, and that's where Greg Satell's wisdom can help you save time and millions. 📈 Does part of your transformation include building or improving your data stack, consolidating your trashboards, or getting signal from your scorecards? I've got proven teams ready to go, as early as July 8th. Lemme know what you need. Michael Margolis's cohort is full now, but you can reach out to him to reserve a spot for the next run. (Tell him I sent you!) If you don't know which lifecycle phase you're at, reach out & I can help you connect the dots #data #strategy #culture #power #counterfactuals

🚀 Exciting Announcement: Re-launching My Product Consulting Sessions! 🚀 Hello LinkedIn Community, As I celebrate 7 incredible years in the professional world, I am excited to bring together diverse experience in product management, data analytics, and entrepreneurship. And, I am thrilled to announce that I am re-starting my own product consulting sessions Why this journey? Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of leading dynamic teams, launching innovative products, and driving significant revenue growth. In my current role- I could spearhead the development of some groundbreaking products, collectively generating millions in revenue. My journey as a founder at Edgenus taught me the nuances of building a startup from the ground up, forging strategic partnerships, and growing a loyal user base with minimal marketing expenses. My Motivation: I am passionate about guiding young product enthusiasts and hustlers. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur with a fresh idea, a product manager looking to hone your skills, or a team seeking strategic insights, I am here to share my modest knowledge and experiences to help you navigate your product journey. What to Expect? Personalized Guidance: Tailored advice and actionable insights based on your unique needs. Strategic Planning: From market analysis to product launch strategies, I'll help you carve out a path to success. Leadership & Team Building: Learn to lead with confidence and build high-performing teams. Let’s Connect! If you are interested or know someone who could benefit from these consulting sessions, feel free to reach out. I am excited to embark on this new chapter and look forward to helping you turn your product visions into reality! Check the first comment to get to the link to reach out to me:) Thank you for your continued support! #ProductManagement #Consulting #Entrepreneurship #ProductLaunch #GrowthHacking #Leadership #CareerGrowth

“'Say something wrong and you get to the truth.' Because if you say the wrong things and talk with enough smart people, then at some point you get to the truth.”  - Vanessa Desi Damblemont Vanessa is the Principal PM of Aircall. For the last several months we have been interviewing some of the most interesting and inspiring Thought Leaders in the Product Management space. Vanessa is one of them. We would be sharing their stories with you. And in this conversation we dig deep into the challenges of crafting a strong story… We cover 👇 - How to involve users & customers in the decision making  - When enough feedback is enough  - Why you should start by building a story - How to craft a strong story And more! Vanessa’s approach to crafting a strong story is people first. This made us stop and think for a second. Because we sometimes get so focused on the outcomes we are trying to achieve, that we forget we need to achieve them together with others. If you are having a hard day, and you feel everyone is pulling you in all directions. Take a break, drink a cup of coffee and read her article, to remind yourself that those people also come with their own unique baggage and situations. Let us know what you think. Find the full story in the link in the comments. 👇 #startup #productmanagement #product