The End of an Era

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Billy Graham, integrity, passion, priorities, purpose, skills, vision

He who has a why can endure any how. Knowing your why is an important first step in figuring out how to achieve the goals that excite you and create a life you enjoy living (versus merely surviving!).

This quote from German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche seemed appropriate given the topic of purpose has been on my mind quite a bit lately.  To some degree all of us yearn for a sense of belonging, to know our strengths are being brought to bear, to know we are adding value or making a difference.

Several factors recently have me revisiting this, and yesterday’s passing of Billy Graham is one of them offering a fantastic example of someone who was singular in his belief, in his passion, in his vocation.  Put aside any religious biases for a moment … what leadership lessons can we take from his legacy?

Knowing Me, Knowing You

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assessments, curious, leadership, mentor, negative habits, perspective, self-awareness

Had a wonderful lunch conversation today, and the context reminded me of an article I once read many moons ago.   And as happens sometimes, my mind would not let go of the topic.  So I decided to see if I could dig it out of the archives … lo and behold, I still had it!

The article is titled Unschooling: The Secret to Being a Great Leader and this is one I definitely recommend you dig into for yourself.  There are a couple of poignant items I took away, and they brought to mind lessons I learned from a Leadership training program I went through almost a decade ago. Allow me to share thoughts from both.

Are You Sure You Are Ready?

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details, failure, go-to-market, launch, market problem, pilot, positioning, readiness, research

Today’s topic has been top of mind for the past several weeks.  Over the course of my career, I’ve found it to be one of the most under-appreciated, under-utilized, and misunderstood topics in product management. Finding maturity in this specific area has been a rare occurrence, and yet the importance it carries cannot be understated.

For some it means simply finishing development, exiting QA and putting code into production.  For others it is a toss over the wall to marketing so they can wave their magic wand. And for others it is akin to showing up for a final exam without having done the work along the way to ensure success.

Yep, you may have guessed it … product launch.  Or perhaps you know it as go-to-market, or maybe product readiness. Whatever you call it, fundamentally it begs the question … are you sure you are ready?