How I Work
Real life Product Management. Backed with theory, pragmatically applied to practice.
Because "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not." - Albert Einstein
Product is a craft that needs practice.
You can only grow by practicing,
not by reading.
In our profession, we see different methods and frameworks as tools in our toolbox. I believe, that only if we apply them to practice, we learn how to use them in real life situations as theory and practice are not the same most of the time. Sometimes, I decide to follow the theory. Sometimes, I prefer to adjust the theory to meet the requirements and needs of the real life situation. Important is to understand the goal, who's involved and the context.
One very important part of the context is data - qualitative and quantitative. To me, being user centric includes talking to users, customers and any other person who has stakes in the product, and combine this information with metrics. Without data, we can't know where we're heading to and if we've achieved our goal. Refined with instinct and experience, we can make good decisions for the present and the future of the product.
Lean and agile
What is "lean"? What is "agile"? Some people have always been thinking and working in a lean and agile mindset and don't feel comfortable if there's no place for that. Like me.
I believe that we need to think big to see the right way we want to take. And then, we need to start small and try the solution with the lowest effort to make sure to use our limited resources wisely. Many of the thoughts we assume to be true need to be validated. Only if we test our assumptions we'll get the answer that will show us the right way. I've seen opinions for the most weird ideas to be invalidated by test with real usage.
At the same time, I believe that a business can only be successful if it's able to react to the changing market requests quickly. As Sun Tzu says “Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows."
Be like water.
Remote or onsite
After having worked as an onsite as well as a remote Product Manager I've seen both worlds. Both have their advantages and challenges. Done well, remote work is very powerful to every business. I've worked in different remote and distributed setups, and I believe in remote as the future of how we work. Especially in our today's climate crisis we should try to reduce our carbon footprint. More than that, remote work gives companies the power to hire great talents from anywhere in the world. Therefore, I'm more than happy to work with you in a remote setup.
If your offices are not in Switzerland and you prefer to have me onsite, let's see how we can find a good balance.