Dave Oventhal
When Poor Planning Meets Reality

In the March/April 2024 issue of Car & Driver magazine, Jamie Kitman points out the gains and pains within the current four-wheel EV landscape. Kitman’s Upfront article, Alternating Current provides the painful reality of “piss poor planning” (my words, not his) within the hallowed walls of auto OEs, again. As history seems to always repeat itself, once again the lack of reality has bit auto manufacturers in the ass. When global governments started mandating zero-emissions by 2035, the OEs’ jealousy of Tesla gained unprecedented momentum.

When Poor Planning Meets Reality

product management

Launch and Beyond

Launch and Beyond

Too often firms lack a structured product introduction process. Lack of process results in poor communication and lack of a unified message to the market. Worst-case, the wrong consumers are targeted resulting in wasted resources and failure to meet goals.

Typically the lack of a formal launch process also uncovers lack of metrics and a formalized post-launch review process. Remember, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Sure, this is a cliché, but it is extremely important. You must have clear key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with overall goals and objectives for the new product.

Leadership and Product Management

Leadership and Product Management

Leadership is a critical skill that Product Managers must learn and develop throughout their careers. These skills can be cultivated through a hunger for knowledge, ongoing learning and the exponential effect of increasing business experience. Product Managers are able to transform ideas, facilitate debate, and process market signals into actionable vision for a product or segment. The following is a high-level overview of things all Product Managers need to focus on to gain trust and commitment from team members.

Product Managers as Business Interpreters

Product Managers as Business Interpreters

Product managers need to interact with multiple departments and work with cross-functional teams. We are required to understand a multitude of skills, tools, and techniques to successfully perform day-to-day job requirements. Our skill-set balances marketing, engineering, information technology (IT), and manufacturing. We move from understanding nuances of customer insights to ensuring products are equipped with features that deliver high-valued benefits. Then, our winning features and benefits need to be clearly communicated to customers.

Five Critical Product Management Skills

Five Critical Product Management Skills

Product managers need many different skills to succeed. However, five key skills all product managers need to excel at are writing, market research, creative thinking, storytelling, and critical thinking. This blog discusses these five skills and provides some great resources to help build your skills. When you become a lifelong learner, you will have a great time changing yourself, your organization and community.

Inbound Marketing and the Product Manager - Part II

Inbound Marketing and the Product Manager - Part II

The market is getting increasingly competitive and dynamic. Consumers are inundated with a constant flow of information. It is becoming harder to get people’s attention and turn them into qualified sales leads. Worse, marketing departments are operating with smaller budgets and bare-bone teams. So, how do you get through all the noise to reach and engage with customers? Inbound marketing.

Communicating to the Heartland

Communicating to the Heartland

Most marketers on the “coasts” do not truly understand the mid-west consumer. If you are marketing products or services towards the mid-western consumer, you need to get out of the office and spend some time with this massive demographic. Put aside your assumptions and learn first-hand what makes this massive segment tick and how you can better align with their needs.

Paul Jankowski wrote an excellent book titled, Speak American Too: Your Guide to Building Powerful Brands in the New Heartland. For marketers targeting the “Heartland” or rural America, this should be a required reading. It is a great read that presents a real and actionable overview of a target segment that most brands stereotype incorrectly or just avoid.