This Week - #4 OKRs and Dual Roles in Product Management
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Let's get on with week 4 content
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Q: How should I approach creating Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)?
This was a great question we were being asked by the community and we often ask ourselves. Like decisions and product prioritization, we decided to make this the second stack page on the ProductHustleStack. My approach is as follows:
Before we dive into objectives or product goals we must understand the company’s mission, and its strategy to achieve that mission. This is critical to enabling the product teams to develop their strategy which serves the company strategy.
Now that we have a firm understanding of the company strategy, it’s time as product managers to brainstorm and see how we can help achieve that strategy via our products. What challenges do we want to prioritize, enhance revenue, improve retention etc.
Now we are ready to define our objectives. The chart below does a great job of explaining this product stack.
Lastly, avoid the following anti-patterns. First, using OKRs to define feature outputs. They are a means to an outcome but not the outcome itself. Second, defining key results that are not clear, are not time-bound, and are not measurable. Third, creating way too many OKRs. If you are new, start with two or three. For context, entire organizations shouldn’t have more than six OKRs. And while some folks would argue widely with that, OKRs aren’t a magic bullet to get 100 objectives done, they are a great mechanism for communicating team and company focus.
Interested in the detailed explanation. Visit the OKR Stack Page on ProductHustleStack.co
Q: What is new on the Product Hustle Stack?
This week we added a new stack. A stack is a mini-collection of resources focused on answering a question and meant to be consumed as a whole. This month’s stack addresses the OKR topic, what is an OKR and how should we try and implement it. Along with that stack we’ve added 4, new resources.
Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke is a must-read for folks trying to find an approachable how-to guide on not just understanding OKRs but implementing them in your organization.
OKRs Done Right is a wonderful ebook by Itamar Gilad chock-full of great advice and examples from a practitioner of OKRs. You’ll have to enter an email address to get the ebook but its well worth the small price of admission
Escaping the Build Trap by Melissa Perri is a classic product management book not enough people know about. As another reviewer said, this should be recommended and required right alongside Marty Cagan Inspired.
Outcome OKR Workshop by Tim Herbig is a workshop (the first I think we are recommending) recording that dives deep into some great exercises Tim runs to get participants to understand how to create OKRs the right way.
TL:DR
Too Long: Didn’t Read is a section where we’ll post happenings that are noteworthy for Product Managers to understand. We may not feel their impact immediately, but these events will have an impact on our roles and the users we advocate for.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to talk to the Association of Product Professionals. The topic was the dual-track role many senior product managers are supporting, that of an individual contributor as well as a manager. Take a look at the transcript and please comment below with thoughts, questions and feedback.
Well, it’s great to be back. So until next week!
Sincerely,
Team Product Hustle Stack 👋
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