This video for this talk from Business of Software Conference Europe 2018 will be published here soon: http://businessofsoftware.org/2016/07/all-talks-from-business-of-software-conferences-in-one-place-saas-software-talks/ What is it that Dollar Shave Club has that Gillette has lost? Serial Entrepreneur Bruce McCarthy will lead an interactive discussion on how successful product-focused organizations think and act differently every day in the networked age. Product culture is fundamentally different than execution culture. Product Culture is not a process or a tool. It is a shared mindset about why we are in business and how we go about things. Rather than focus on design thinking, agile methodologies, DevOps, or Lean, product-focused organizations focus on continuously developing, testing, and delivering products of value to customers using whatever tools work best for them. Competitors and employees alike are leaving companies without it behind. Bruce will tell some horror stories and also some hopeful ones that show change is possible. He’ll ask you for your stories, too. Let’s stop talking about process and tools and start talking about culture.

1. Eats Execution Culture

2. @prodculture
Why I Quit My Job
Bruce McCarthy, Founder, Product Culture

3. “You have to understand, we’re just
not trying to be entrepreneurial here.”
Executive to remain nameless

4. @d8a_driven
Bruce McCarthy
Founder, Product Culture
ORACLE
ATG
IMARKET
D&B
NETPROSPEX
NUANCE
LOCALYTICS
SKYHOOK WIRELESS
VISTAPRINT
ZIPCAR
HOBSONS
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
ENERNOC
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
ONCAM
EVARIANT
HUAWEI
INTRALINKS
IMOTIONS
ROUNDCORNER
HEALTHWISE
BPMA
PRODUCT MANAGER
DIRECTOR
VP
CHIEF PRODUCT PERSON
PRESIDENT
CEO
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
ENGINEERING MANAGER
UX DESIGNER
DATA ANALYST
MARKETING
SALES
SCRUM MASTER
ENTERPRISE COACH
STARTUP ADVISOR
TRAINER
AUTHOR
SPEAKER

5. @prodculture
www.productroadmapping.com

6. 1. What is a product
2. What is culture?

7. What is a Product?

8. @prodculture
Something that enhances human ability

9. @prodculture
Something you provide to others in exchange for value

10. @prodculture
Something you can make repeatedly

11. @prodculture
Build once, sell many times

12. Enterprise software may not be a
product

13. For Products, Focus on Markets,
Not Customers

14. "The word culture meant 'place tilled' in Middle English.”
- Latin colere, 'to inhabit, care for, till, worship’
- and cultus, ‘a cult, especially a religious one.'
Edward S. Casey, philosopher
What is Culture?

15. @prodculture

16. “How can we make people more
awesome?”

17. What is product culture?

18. @prodculture
Many Software
Companies Focus
on the Wrong
Things
Features rather than people
Management rather than leadership
Functions rather than teams
Efficiency rather than learning

19. @prodculture
4 Principles of Product Culture
Lead
with a vision of human awesomeness
Build
small diverse teams
Trust
people to manage their work
Learn
and improve continuously

20. @prodculture
Lead
with a vision of human awesomeness
Build
small diverse teams
Trust
people to manage their work
Learn
and improve continuously

23. @prodculture
US Porsche Unit Sales
0
15000
30000
45000
60000
1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016

28. @prodculture
Lead
with a vision of human awesomeness
Build
small diverse teams
Trust
people to manage their work
Learn
and improve continuously

31. @prodculture
Advice on Teams
• Be clear and consistent about the mission
• Hire for diverse skills and points of view
• Keep teams together; bring the work to them
• Split teams before they get too big

34. @prodculture
Lead
with a vision of human awesomeness
Build
small diverse teams
Trust
people to manage their work
Learn
and improve continuously

35. “Since I do not know how to do that, this meeting is
now adjourned, and you will return at ten o’clock
tomorrow morning and explain your intentions.”
Peter W. Schutz, CEO, Porsche AG 1981-1987

37. “Control leads to compliance;
autonomy leads to engagement.”
Daniel H. Pink, author Drive

38. @prodculture
Personal Accountability for Company
Reputation
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
High Low
12%
34%
Deloitte
Flexibility in Work Hours & Location

39. @prodculture

41. “Context Not Control”
Netflix

42. @prodculture
Lead
with a vision of human awesomeness
Build
small diverse teams
Trust
people to manage their work
Learn
and improve continuously

44. @prodculture
“We haven’t built it yet!”
Ferry Porsche, son of founder Ferdinand Porsche, 1909-1998

47. How we judge success must change from
“was it successful?” to “are we getting closer
to our vision?”

48. @prodculture
Lead
with a vision of human awesomeness
Build
small diverse teams
Trust
people to manage their work
Learn
and improve continuously

49. @prodculture

50. Product Culture is a growth medium. It is the
name we give to the necessary conditions
for sustained commercial innovation.

51. Is Change Possible?

54. @prodculture
To Grow a Product Culture
• Quit focusing on features or revenue (focus on making people awesome)
• Quit managing (start leading)
• Quit hiring resources (build teams)
• Quit focusing on success (focus on learning about the path to success)

55. “The competitive advantage of an organization lies not so
much in the solutions themselves — but in the ability of the
organization to understand conditions and create fitting, smart
solutions.”
Mike Rother, author, Toyota Kata

56. @prodculture
The hardest thing about technology
is people.

57. Lead with a vision of human awesomeness.
Build small diverse teams.
Trust people to manage their work.
Learn and improve continuously.

58. @prodculture
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