Main Takeaways: -How attaching to ideas can lead to disaster! -How to remain unattached to outcomes -How everything starts with a great hypothesis

1. www.productschool.com
The Product Ego: How to Stay Objective by
BBC Sr PM

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5. The Product Ego: How To Stay Objective
Clare Appleton, Snr Product Manager

6. Clare Appleton
S P E A K E R
www.linkedin.com/in/clare-appleton-a7a16833/
Clareappleton1@gmail.com

7. A G E N D A
2.
1. What is the Product Ego?
3. Tips to avoid letting your ego get in the way
Stay objective! - A personal story
4. Why a good hypothesis and a willingness to fail can help overcome the product ego

8. What is ego?
The Product Ego: How
Oxford dictionary: a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance.
Cambridge dictionary: your idea or opinion of yourself, especially your feeling of your own importance
and ability
In philosophy: a conscious thinking subject.
In psychoanalysis: the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and
is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.
The Product Ego: a person’s sense of self-esteem, which is validated by the Product they have
created.

9. Product Lifecycle Management
Communicate, Manage, Collaborate
Customer Need
Technical
Parameters
Initial Design
Detailed Design
Prototype Testing
Process Creation
Process
Implementation
Manufacturing
Product Testing
Sales
Service
Disposal
Conceive Design Manufacture Deliver

10. The Product Ego - A Personal Story

11. Defining the customer need
Me: Hey Sarah, where do you keep your wine?
Sarah): Erm, in the fridge?
Me: No I don’t mean wine you are in the middle of drinking! Imagine this, a wooden pallet with holes
cut out, where you could put bottles of wine, you’d buy that wouldn’t you?
Sarah: Oh yeah why not! That sounds rustic, and anything recycled is good for the environment!
Me to my husband: See, Sarah would buy one!

12. Confirmation bias
“The tendency to interpret new evidence as
confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or
theories” - Oxford dictionary

13. Combat confirmation bias
- Look for alternative views
- Understand that your ego doesn’t want to expand your mind
- Ask good questions
- Try to see both sides

14. Detailed Design
Prototype Testing
Process Creation
Design

15. Process
Implementation
Manufacturing
Product Testing
Manufacture

16. Why do we get so emotionally attached to our ideas?

17. We are human!
Desire for validation
Ego!
“Attachment is the source of all suffering” - Buddha

18. The Finished Product...

20. “More the knowledge, lesser the
Ego. More the Ego, lesser the
knowledge” - Albert Einstein
Sales
Service
Disposal
Deliver

21. Don’t just take my word for it...

22. How do we stop our Egos getting in the way?
- Self reflection
- Be Open
- Keep your team involved
- Don’t take anything personally
- Fail happily
...and a good Hypothesis
‘We believe that [building this feature]
[for these people] will achieve [this benefit].
We will know we are successful when [outcome from the market].’

23. Some great books...
The 4 Agreements - Don Miguel Rodriguez
(Be impeccable with your word, Don’t take anything personally, don’t make
assumptions, always do your best)
Ego is the enemy - Ryan Holiday
Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell
The Chimp Paradox - Steve Peters

24. Thank You!
WWW.PRODUCTSCHOOL.COM

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and
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