Dan Beranek

“If there is no clear owner, then it’s the PM that owns it.” I sat down with Esteban Contreras from #ProductState to discuss Product leadership, or Prioritization process at Productboard. We also dug into the concept of Extreme Ownership, which is a principle I firmly believe in. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eVN47mWn #productmanagement #productexcellence #ownership

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Leadership Teams of the Future: Acting Like Org Designers I recently listened to an insightful episode of "At Work with the Ready" that delved into what it truly means for leadership teams to function as organizational designers. The discussion was a masterclass in understanding how the role of a leader has evolved—and where it’s heading. One of the standout moments for me was the commentary on the transformation of leadership over the last century. It was fascinating to consider how great leaders have adapted and redefined their roles to meet the changing needs of their organizations and the broader societal context. At this moment in history, we find ourselves in a unique pattern—one where the traditional separation between management and execution is no longer sustainable. The complexity of today’s business environment demands that leaders move beyond the Sunshine Zone, where they are solely focused on steering the ship from afar. Instead, they need to have their hands on the work of the business itself. The episode emphasized that because of the level of complexity we are operating in, we can no longer afford to separate thinking, judgment, and strategic decision-making from the actual work of the business. Leaders can no longer be removed from the daily grind; they must engage directly with the doing. This means that both leaders and doers need to embody both thinking and doing—collaborating closely to ensure that critical strategic moves are deeply integrated with the realities on the ground. It’s a powerful reminder that the future of leadership isn’t about standing apart from the work, but about diving into it. By acting as organizational designers, leaders can reshape their roles and their organizations to be more responsive, human-centric, and capable of navigating the complexities of the modern world. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend giving this episode a listen. It’s a must for anyone serious about evolving their leadership style to meet the demands of the future. https://lnkd.in/gkJ_wZGS #Leadership #OrganizationalDesign #FutureOfWork #TheReady

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The title may appear intimidating, but the core message is actually very encouraging and exciting. We are entering an era of creators, whether we refer to ourselves as designers, engineers, or product managers. By mastering the power of AI, we can unlock a new level of autonomy in our ideation and creativity.

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😅 Ever been in a meeting where "some data" pops up, and you ask, "Where's this from? What's the source?" Only to get, "Well... I can share the Excel file, but I just downloaded 500 entries from our database." 🤷‍♀️ How many times have you wanted real-time data to do your own analysis, just to hear, "That's not doable" or "We'll add that to our dashboard soon"? ✨ Time for change! Accessing and analyzing data is a breeze with Sigma. Join us for our Fall 2024 Product Launch tomorrow (Sep 17) and get ready to be blown away! 🤯 #DataMadeEasy #SigmaLaunch #RealTimeAnalytics #GoodbyeExcel

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Coining ‘enshittification’ is a good first step towards righting the ship. Now we can accurately describe the issue

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Product Market Fit, a new framework. I've been working on this for a little while now and figured it's time to "eat my own dogfood" and test it out in the market. In this framework I provide a visual outline of the journey from "day zero" to PMF. Along the way founders must iterate on their product as well as their market to close the Product Market Gap in order to get to PMF. More details in the article. Let me know what you think 🙏 https://lnkd.in/gyF8V--x

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Check Sigma Computing latest and greatest this fall. Learn how Sigma can actually really transform your company into a data driven company, getting everyone hands on insights and data analytics. https://lnkd.in/gb8iNq9J

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Ever wondered how some products become cult favorites while others fade into obscurity? It's not magic—it's positioning. Product positioning is your strategic playbook for standing out in a crowded marketplace. So What is Positioning? It's about deliberately defining how your product is the BEST at something your target market genuinely cares about. 5 Critical Positioning Components: 1. Competitive Alternatives: Know exactly what customers would use if your product didn't exist 2. Distinct Attributes: Your unique "oh, snap!" features 3. Differentiated Value: The specific magic you bring to customers' lives 4. Best-Fit Customers: Your true fan base 5. Market Category: How you clearly define your product's space Inspired by insights from April Dunford "Obviously Awesome" and my deep dive into strategic product positioning. Want the full breakdown? Check out the complete article below👇 #ProductPositioning #MarketingStrategy #ProductMarketing #BusinessGrowth

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The relationship between a leader and their executive is rarely straightforward. Supporting executive vision while offering clarity where blind spots exist requires a delicate balance—one that becomes even more nuanced when the company’s mission and immediate business outcomes seem at odds. How do you keep conversations focused on the larger purpose without losing sight of the practicalities that sustain it? The answer isn’t always obvious, but it lies somewhere in the tension between mission and results. This tension isn’t a flaw in the system; it’s part of what makes leadership dynamic. The mission often pulls toward long-term impact, demanding patience, innovation, and sometimes calculated risks. Meanwhile, business outcomes require urgency and deliverables that keep the organization stable. The challenge is to approach these moments not as conflicts but as opportunities to align—where the mission and the outcomes inform each other, rather than compete. In these conversations, framing is everything. Insights are most effective when presented as opportunities for alignment, not as challenges to decisions already made. It’s less about resisting and more about guiding—finding ways to keep the mission central while respecting the pressures of the immediate moment. This often means focusing not just on what needs to be done, but why it matters, and what ripple effects it could create for the broader vision. Trust plays a critical role here. Building trust isn’t just about competence; it’s about knowing when to step forward with a thoughtful perspective and when to let the conversation move ahead without your input. It’s also about understanding the weight of their responsibility—recognizing that your role is to inform and clarify, not to dictate. At its core, engaging with an executive in this way requires both confidence and humility. It’s about ensuring the mission and outcomes remain in dialogue, even when they feel contradictory. And it’s about creating a relationship where tough truths can be surfaced, not as barriers but as pathways to progress. When done well, it’s less about finding a perfect balance and more about ensuring the organization continues to move forward with both purpose and pragmatism.

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As a seasoned design leader at this stage in my career, I’d like to share a reflection of one of my greatest challenges—and privileges—navigating the delicate balance between leveraging well-established design patterns and crafting new, innovative product experiences. Why the balance matters: Tried-and-true design patterns are powerful because they provide familiarity and usability for users while reducing cognitive load. They’re a testament to the collective wisdom of our industry, refined over time through countless iterations and user feedback. However, relying solely on established patterns can sometimes limit creativity and lead to stagnation in product innovation. This is the dark side of established design systems. On the other hand, designing new flows and experiences allows us to break boundaries and chart new paths. This is where creativity shines, where we sharpen our skills and apply design principles in novel ways to solve evolving user needs. Yet, this comes with its own challenges—higher risk, potential user friction, and the need for extensive validation and iteration. As a design leader, the key is balance: 1. Master the fundamentals – Deep knowledge of design principles and established patterns is critical. These are the foundation upon which we innovate. 2. Push new horizons with intention – When we step into uncharted territory, it’s essential to root our explorations in a strong understanding of user goals, behaviors, and context. 3. Foster collaboration and experimentation – Building something truly innovative often requires stepping outside our comfort zone and collaborating across disciplines. 4. Measure and adapt – Whether we’re refining a pattern or creating a new one, data and user feedback are our guideposts to ensuring success. For me, the joy of designing the Akaio platforms lies in mastering this balance: ensuring products are intuitive and accessible while also delivering delightful, groundbreaking experiences. It’s a constant interplay of discipline and curiosity, structure and exploration. #designleader #innovation #exploration #flow #creativity #leaderrship #balance Check out a live use case of my latest product build here:

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Personalization@Scale is so hard, almost impossible with past methods and paradigms of experimentation engines, CDPs, and slow websites. This is more brilliant and a simple UX...Let the customer tell you want they want or are thinking about and let the AI consider everything in your catalogue relevant to the request.

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Consider that Starbucks is a market leader in consumer technology and loyalty and is armed with data and insights to make strategic decisions that can mitigate the macro-economic impacts driving customer frequency down and they still can't hold the line. Restaurants that don't have those resources are absolutely suffering far worse, unable to understand why, and making guesses about what they can do to turn it around. Restaurant loyalty and top-notch apps in 2024 are a must-have to navigate such treacherous waters.

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Last-minute product changes and rework can be costly and slow down development. Accelerated Product Development (APD) offers a solution by engaging design and engineering teams in user research from the beginning. Through quick sprints and direct user feedback, APD helps teams gather insights early and wait to make key decisions until they have all the information, reducing costly delays. Discover how APD can drive faster, smarter innovation in the QRCA VIEWS magazine, page 48. https://lnkd.in/gbDEjEsp  #QRCAVIEWS #qualitativeresearch #UXresearch

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Take it from me, there’s no better way to learn excellent and practical ways to overhaul your experimentation efficacy! Erin makes critical thinking fun and highly accessible in this workshop, June 11:

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🔥Hot Take for PMs: Please don't hand me a solution to a problem. Instead, focus on detailing the problem and help me understand the why. We will ideate and find a solution together. Next week, in our first episode of ⚫️Bounce, Claire and I continue to unpack the PD + PM working relationship. Buckle up. Subscribe today - links in comments 👇

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Something I've learned over the years: your impact as a PM grows most when you deeply understand what you can't control, not what you can. Many product managers naturally gravitate toward refining processes and perfecting frameworks—the tools directly within their control. While these help, the greatest leverage comes from understanding the things outside your control: the market dynamics, technology shifts, and industry forces that shape the playing field. The internal processes are the game plan, but the external forces dictate the rules of the game itself. Master the rules first, then optimize how you play. The best PMs I've worked with tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on these three areas. 🌎 The market. Dive deep into how your market dynamics actually works. Study your customers' businesses—their earnings calls, regulatory challenges, competitive landscape, and strategic initiatives. Know the latest trends shaping decisions. Understand the differences by segment. You'll spot opportunities others miss. 🔬 The domain. Learn your customers' craft. If you're building developer tools, study system architecture. Marketing software? Learn campaign analytics. Financial products? Understand accounting standards. You don't need to become an expert, but you should speak their language fluently. Innovation comes when you truly understand the challenges of their craft. 📊 The business. Know your company P&L. Understand GTM motions and where the gaps are. Build strong opinions by studying pricing strategies, go-to-market trends, corporate finance, and diving deep with your customer-facing teams. These fields help you think about product problems in a more tangible way, and you'll more naturally align with company strategy.

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"We were literally set up for success. But still, transforming an entire organization and all of their ways of working into a more product-led setup is a challenging thing." - Stephanie Leue 🎯 Discover how Stephanie Leue led Doodle's transformation from a feature factory to a product-led organization! 🚀 This article and video explores: - The challenges of implementing continuous discovery 🧩 - The importance of defining problems and hypotheses correctly 📝 - Balancing discovery with delivery pressures ⚖️ - Using flight levels to organize product work 🛫 Key insights: - Mapping the problem space is crucial for effective discovery 🗺️ - Transparency between PMs and designers improves collaboration 🤝 - Empowering teams to do their own research, guided by a UX researcher 🔍 - The interconnectedness of vision, strategy, and day-to-day work 🔄 out the full interview: https://buff.ly/3Wvdeae 📚 ❓ What challenges have you faced in shifting from a feature factory to a more product-led approach? Share your experiences in the comments below.

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Are you stuck on product outcomes or user personas? I've been there, and I'd guess that most people working closely with products have been there at some point too. My latest post on Discover CRISP reveals how I'm confronting this issue and getting great results in 30 minutes or less. It's all about using AI prompts to spark creative ideas using the CRISP framework. This process creates a map that guides you in validating and refining your ideas while keeping the business and customer at heart. Curious? Read further to learn about these transformative techniques and get actionable steps to streamline your product development process. I'm always happy to discuss how AI and CRISP can improve product outcomes - reach out! https://lnkd.in/eEK8mbUB #Innovation #ProductDevelopment #GenerativeAI

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⤴️ Leveling Up as a Product Manager ⤴️ Alright, Product Managers, let's talk about standing out from the crowd. You know that feeling when Q4 rolls around and everyone's scrambling to show their impact? Yeah, we're going to avoid that this year with a little something I call the Year-End Push. What's a Year-End Push, you ask? It's a strategic document that savvy PMs create in August or early September. Think of it as your roadmap for Q4 success. While everyone else is still in summer mode and dreaming they were back on vacation, you're mapping out your game plan for the last four months of the year. Here's the deal: in your Year-End Push, you'll outline the key initiatives that will move the needle for your product. You'll identify which stakeholders need to be in the loop and what metrics will make your boss's eyes light up. Get crystal clear on these now, and you'll be light-years ahead of the pack. But here's the real magic 🪄: share this plan with your manager and key stakeholders. Not only does this show you're a strategic thinker, but it also aligns everyone towards common goals. When December hits and it's time for your Year in Review, you'll have a roadmap of wins to showcase. Creating a Year-End Push isn't about working longer hours or sacrificing your work-life balance. It's about being proactive, strategic, and focused on what really matters. It's these kinds of behaviors that catch the eye of leadership and open doors to bigger opportunities. Ready to take your product management skills to the next level? Join me for "Product Leadership 101: Foundations of Strategic Product Leadership." Let's turn that Year-End Push into a career catapult! https://lnkd.in/gNTKJZf8 #ProductManagement #CareerGrowth #Q4Planning #ProductLeadership #Product #ProductCoach

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