1. Debunking Product
Platitudes
Scott Eblen - @wseblen
Director of Product Management, Twitter
6 June 2017

3. Always be Shipping

6. Always be Shipping
Learning

9. 8 x 5 x 6 x 4 x 2 x 1 x 3 x 7

10. 1 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 7 x 8 x 6 x 2

11. 8 x 5 x 6 x 4 x 2 x 1 x 3 x 7
1 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 7 x 8 x 6 x 2
Anchoring

12. Can you be learning faster
than you’re shipping?
● Understand the product
● Users Research & Concept
Testing
● Look to other fields (like
academia & popular science)

13. Innovation is Key

15. Execution is Key
Innovation is Key

18. Percent of trades that are copied
Adjustedreturnsoninvestment

19. Optimal ratio of copied vs. original ideas:
90%
Copy & paste
10%
Experimentation

22. Execution is Key
● Don’t over-emphasize Innovation
● Experiment with how you
execute (as well as what you
build)
● Learn from competitors

23. Ideas come from Everywhere

24. Ideas come from Everywhere
(Everywhere is Nowhere!)

33. Formalising Idea Capture
● Encourage associative thinking
● Look beyond your industry
● Watch what’s around you

34. Own the Roadmap

36. Own the roadmap
a story

43. Own the Story
● Make sure everyone from
individual to board can retell
● Make it concrete through
storytelling
● Rule of Three

44. Culture Counts

46. Tradeoffs
Culture Counts^

47. Team
vs
Family

49. Culture Trade-offs Count
● Discuss making actual trade-offs
that impact company culture
● Make sure culture conversations
are substantive (pass the ‘board
test’)

50. Be Data Driven

52. Be Data Driven
Savvy

55. Be Data Savvy
● Check you know underlying
trends
● ‘Bad’ outcomes can be good so
make predictions in advance

56. Think about scaling later

57. Think about scaling later

62. Scale Gradually
● Be hands on while it’s still
possible
● Understand before automating

64. Building software isn’t sexy

65. Thank You
@wseblen

66. Backup Slides

67. Execution is Key
Always be Learning
Formalize Idea Capture
Think about Scaling Later
Be Data Savvy
Culture Tradeoffs
Count
Own the Story