Positive team health,
high-velocity shipping,
and strategic execution.
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Yet we often get in
our own way.
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Clarify roles and responsibilities
Create living product documents
and processes
Lead difficult conversations
Demonstrate mindful communications
Join forces
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2
3
4
5
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Clarify roles and
responsibilities
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Seamless collaboration
requires clarity.
Who does what, when?
“Well, That’s not my job.”
“Wait, I already did that.”
“Uh, who was supposed to do that?”
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Lack of role clarity
manifests as inertia,
chaos or ambivalence.
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Discovery Design Development
Testing and
Deployment
Post-Deployment
and Iteration
Product Development Flow
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Discovery Design Development
Testing and
Deployment
Post-Deployment
and Iteration
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Discovery Design Development
Testing and
Deployment
Post-Deployment
and Iteration
Product
Manager
Product
Designer
Engineer
QA
Engineer
Product
Manager
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Discovery Design Development
Testing and
Deployment
Post-Deployment
and Iteration
Product
Manager
Product
Designer
Engineering
Manager
Data
Scientist
Engineer
QA
Engineer
Product
Manager
Strategy
Engineering
Lead
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EM ∩ EL ∩ PM:
Understand, own, and
share the story of “why”
Product Manager
owns the story
of “what”
Eng Manager
owns the
story of
“who”
Tech Lead
owns the
story of
“how”
∩
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Product Manager
owns the story
of “what”
Tech Lead
owns the story
of “how”
Product Manager + Tech Lead
scope and estimate
project work
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Product
Designer
Product
Manager
Business
Strategist
Data
Scientist
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Defined roles,
ratified across teams,
produce better accountability
and higher velocity.
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Create living
product documents
and processes
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Without it, you risk
re-inventing the wheel,
duplicating efforts and
unnecessary disagreement.
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Product Workflow
Documents Meetings Milestones
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Framing the problem, opportunity, and approach
Discovery
Documents Meetings Milestones
Narrative Doc
(aka Spec, PRD)
Feature Kickoff “Discovery Complete”
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Based on the problem, identify solutions
Design
Documents Meetings Milestones
Design Brief Product Review “Design Complete”
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Build the feature
Development
Documents Meetings Milestones
Technical Plan Architecture Review “Code Complete”
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Test and ship the feature
QA and Deployment
Documents Meetings Milestones
Test Plan — “Test Complete”
Deployment Plan Pre-Deployment Sync “Shipped”
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Based on how the feature is doing, what next?
Post-Deployment and Iteration
Documents Meetings Milestones
Post-ship
Feature Update
Post-Ship Sync
--
--
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Re-evaluate the documents,
milestones and meetings
that will make your product
development smoother
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Use your product
processes to benefit you
by sharing insights
and staying aligned.
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Lead difficult
conversations
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Amygdalas are threatened by:
• Receiving feedback
• Causing someone
else to freak out
• Being kicked out of
the cool kids group
• Someone else
thinking you’re wrong
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Amygdalas like it when
you have a sense of:
• Belonging to a group
• Progress towards a goal
• Choice/Autonomy
• Equality or fairness
• Certainty/predictability
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We rarely have models of
(or support for) how to have
difficult conversations
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Set ground rules
for meetings
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My fav ground rules:
Stay curious
Everyone is smart and trying
No open phones/laptops
Vegas Rules
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It’s awkward to talk
about your struggle
with another coworker
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Practice difficult
conversations
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Create an environment to
roleplay those conversations
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Find a great
conflict mediator
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Be mindful when you
communicate
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Poor communication
will dilute impact,
frustrate employees
and result in failure.
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Mindful communication
is ✨magical✨
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Reflect on the
dynamics in the room
1
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Be aware of your medium
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Consider the room’s
power dynamics
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Is this person in a
position to take the
action I’m suggesting?
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Elevate the
conversation
2
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Meet transparency
with responsibility
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Assume best
intentions
3
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Practice empathy
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Listen to learn
4
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Prepare to be surprised
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Reflect on the dynamics in the room
Elevate the conversation
Assume best intentions
Listen to learn
1
2
3
4
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Join forces
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Disjointed things
happen in siloed teams
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Lead cross-org meetings
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Answer questions
together, publicly
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Jointly lead meetings
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Write cross-org emails
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Roll out information to
everyone in tandem.
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Share context
across the board.
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Celebrate across
the board.
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Our teams saw us
coordinating and holding
each other accountable
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Honesty +
Candidness
Trust +
Accountability
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Join forces with your
peer leaders
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Clarify roles and responsibilities
Create living product documents
and processes
Lead difficult conversations
Demonstrate mindful communications
Join forces
1
2
3
4
5