Do you follow brainmates?
Are you a Product Manager? Do you follow the brainmates community? Then they need to hear from you! As a member of the brainmates Product Management community, brainmates are inviting you to help improve the quality of their offerings via the brainmates Customer Satisfaction Survey. It is their aim to create a brainmates experience that really works for you- from training through to consulting, content and eMuse, events and more- based on your feedback.... Read More
Leap, leap?!…Ah Why not Leap?
Today is the day after the Leap year day. The time when I remember my sister’s friend Kris who only gets an “actual” birthday every four years and takes it in her stride by following the ‘less is more’ motto, the time where traditional marketers push people towards making a change in life (“leap into my sale otherwise my boss will beat me, please!” ) and where I think of frogs doing extraordinary feats, whether they be cartoon or carbonated... Read More
A Fab Feb eMuse from brainmates!
Welcome to the Fabulous February edition of eMuse! We’ve got exciting news about a new partnership, we look at the minimum viable product with Adrienne, Nick dons his spacesuit for some sci-fi inspired innovation, Nat implores us not to forget the buyer and the brainmates get set to get conversational in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne with Product Talks. Read on to find out more!In this issue: brainmates and Ryma: Delivering Product Management... Read More
A Game Plan for 2012
Tucking into another busy year? Here are a couple of tips to help you start with a level playing field through planning out your game plan for the year. Start the Game Right Imagine the new year ahead like a chess board and get ready to start the game. Think of the white pieces are the things you can control and the black pieces are the competitors and things that crop up outside your planning and control. To identify your white pieces: List out... Read More
Retail and the Multi-Channel, Mobile Australian Consumer
By far the biggest impact on retail seen in the last twelve months has been the maturation and genuine arrival of mobile commerce in Australia. And of course when you get a room of 100 clever, on the ball Product Managers in one room together, brainmates Product Bash 2011 was dominated by the influence of mobile commerce on the retail experience. Our panel of Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style Tread, Andrew Rechtman, Product Director... Read More
How to Stay Afloat in a Competitive Retail World
As brainmates continue our exploration of the discussion coming from Product Bash 2011, our panel of Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style Tread, Andrew Rechtman, Product Director of PayPal Australia and Daniel Roberts, Head of Online for the Woolworths non-food businesses Dan Murphy’s, Big W and Dick Smith, shared their thoughts on “The Internet Super Mall and the Future of Retail” in relation to how to stay afloat in... Read More
December eMuse
Welcome to the December eMuse for 2011! This edition we wrap up our remainder of Product Bash 2011 articles, uncover the results of a retail survey in our latest whitepaper, check out the Agile Conference, think about the year that was 2011 and push forward to training in 2012. Hold onto your pencils Product Managers, it’s a big one! In this issue: Product Bash 2011 – Continued Retail Survey: A fresh perspective from brainmates Agile... Read More
Product Bash 2011: The Future of Retail and Burning Audience Questions
At Product Bash 2011, brainmates asked their panel of Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style Tread, Andrew Rechtman, Product Director of PayPal Australia and Daniel Roberts, Head of Online for the Woolworths non-food businesses Dan Murphy’s, Big W and Dick Smith, to put on their best gypsy garb and take a deep longing gaze into the retail product manager’s crystal ball to give their perspective on the future of retail in relation... Read More
Why Do Australians Pay High Prices in Retail?
There is no secret that even as Australia experiences a strong dollar against the US currency, our prices seem extremely high, especially when compared to what we can choose to pay if we shop online from overseas. So why is this the case and how can local retailers manage to compete? The Product Bash panel of Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style Tread, Andrew Rechtman, Product Director of PayPal Australia and Daniel Roberts, Head... Read More
Make the customer the centre of your retail experiences
brainmates saw 100 passionate and hungry Product Managers join us at the beautiful Gaffa Gallery in Sydney on the 10th of November, 2011 for the end of year wrap up, Product Bash. This year we tackled the affect of the growth of mobile and online commerce on more traditional forms of retail under the topic heading “The Internet Super Mall and the Future of Retail.” We were very pleased to have join us Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style... Read More
brainmates October eMuse
Welcome to October in Product Management! This month, we get ready to take on our second annual Product Bash, get up close and personal with our own Natalie Yan-Chatonsky, and revisit the brainmates contribution to the 42 Rules of Product Management. We ask you to go past product differentiation, find problems worth solving, carve out some think time and get all creative! Are you ready passionate Product Managers? Product Bash #11 – The Internet... Read More
Ten minutes with brainmates Natalie Yan Chatonsky
What lead you to first get into Product Management? My first exposure to launching new products was when I was in business development at Yahoo. When I first started working at Yahoo in the late 90’s (prior to the dot com boom), it was my job to recruit offline big brand retailers to build their first online store through an Yahoo! Australia & New Zealand’s shopping mall. My role was to go out there and talk to retailers about how e-tailing... Read More
brainmates August eMuse!
brainmates – product management people After 7 years of brainmates, we’ve celebrated with a new look eMuse! Let us know what you think via brainmates on Twitter. This month sees brainmates Natalie add a splash and a dash to the Product Management cocktail shaker, we examine Turning Ideas into Business Cases in depth and Adrienne reminds us there is a little bit of Product Manager in us all. Cocktail Recipe for Happy Product Professionals After... Read More
Be careful, you could plan yourself out of the game
A Saturday morning breakfast meeting in North Sydney saw me swapping stories with a friend who, like me has done their fair share of working for other people as well as working as a consultant, and who ambles through the creative world as well. We both work hard, he being the far more successful (and far more likely to say “I can see you for 45 minutes at the taxi rank for a lemonade” as a catch up due to his busy timetable) and know our way around... Read More
brainmates- 7th anniversary eMuse!
Oh how we’ve grown! In this edition of brainmates’ eMuse we celebrate our 7th birthday as product managment consulting and training organisation. That’s right, brainmates has been providing Product Management solutions to outstanding clients from media, financial services, bio-medical, education, government and retailer for 7 fantastic years. During that time we’ve been collaborating with the Australian and global Product Management community... Read More
7 Years of brainmates with Nick Coster
What led you to first get into Product Management? I didn’t initially think of it as Product Management at the time. This first Product Manager role was for a dial up Internet Service Provider and the objective was to try and remove any barriers for customers to engage with the product in an attempt to reduce call centre costs. It began as a cost rationalisation role but then evolved into a Product Development role. I was tasked with looking at... Read More
7 Years of brainmates with Adrienne Tan
What led you to first get into Product Management? My first role after University was at On Australia. On Australia was a joint venture between Microsoft and Telstra, one of the first Internet Service Providers in Australia. On Australia was essentially in start up mode and I was fortunate to be able to help define the (now BigPond) product. It seemed natural to move into Product Management. After my role at On Australia as the Billing and Credit... Read More
Welcome to the June edition of brainmates eMuse!
In this edition we want to share the highlights of ProductCamp Sydney 2011 that the brainmates team and other volunteers helped organise earlier this month. Here we saw over 50 passionate Product Manager’s shoulder to shoulder at the third product ‘unconference‘ of its kind in Australia. Many well designed and helpful explorations of key Product Management topics were tabled and considering the inspiring nature of the event, this... Read More
ProductCamp Sydney 2011 Wrap-Up!
What a shift in conversation between Product Camp Sydney 2011 and 2010! It’s great to see changes in our professional domain, a domain that is largely misunderstood by companies both large and small. Product Managers are starting to speak the same language. The impact of which will be the creation and growth of a baseline of understanding for the Product Management industry. This is exciting news as we can use this foundation as a spring board... Read More
How to… build a Product Roadmap
“How to build a Product Roadmap” Firstly, thank you to everyone who voted for my topic, “How to build a Product Roadmap” as the No. 1 topic of ProductCamp Sydney 2011. Following Nathan Moyes’ keynote speech touching on the difference between the “slate”, a shorter-term delivery plan, and the product Roadmap, a more fluid longer vision, we kicked-off the unconference with a Q & A about Product Roadmaps. Encompassing the 50 or more... Read More
We’re going to ProductCamp!
In this special edition of brainmates eMuse, we take a look at ProductCamp Sydney – the annual unconference for Product Managers next Saturday the 4th June 2011! Jam packed with input from Product Managers just like you, this unconference caters to all Product Management professionals and invites discussion, debate, presentation and shared learning as part of the unconference format. The Details What: ProductCamp Sydney Where:News limited,... Read More
All you can ever be is yourself
I recently had an incredibly delightful client of mine during a persona discussion lay something on me that a lot of us here in marketing land forget- all you can ever be is yourself and if you are trying to be something else, people can spot it. So what do we risk when we are caught up in our own concepts and perceptions? A lot… and here’s why. My firm belief is every single product ever created has a market, an audience. The reason it exists... Read More
Welcome to the late April edition of brainmates eMuse!
Welcome to the late April edition of brainmates eMuse! This month we further extend the journey started at our most recent Product Talks with Prototyping. Check out just how social our Product Managers are in the second edition of our Social Media White Paper, updated with 2011 survey results. brainmates own Adrienne Tan tackles what really lies at the heart of Product Management and we put on our boots and head off to camp- Product Camp that is! If... Read More
March eMuse from brainmates!
upcoming events Product Talk #9 – “Prototype this…” Monday, March 28, 2011 at 8:00 AM Sydney, AustraliaSOLD OUT: JOIN WAITING LIST Social Media for Product Managers Thursday, April 07, 2011 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Sydney, Australia REGISTER HERE! Courses and Classes for 2011 now online! Check them out here! hot topics Hot Job: Search Capability Manager @ Sensis What... Read More
How to…use product management
Do you have a great idea for a business or product and simply don’t know where to start? Do you find your wish list for your business is longer than the hours you have in the day? Are great ideas for your business not working out to their full potential or not being launched at all? Are you finding you are reacting to the question of marketing and rushing into things simply to get something out there? If the answer to any of these questions using... Read More
The January edition of brainmates eMuse!
Welcome to a brand new year and a January eMuse jam packed with perfect Product Manager paraphernalia! brainmates have started the year with a strong response to our training courses, brand new articles by the team and exciting careers for anyone who’s looking to sink their teeth into their next big challenge! How To….Excel At Day-To-Day Product Management What Will 2011 Hold For Product Management? Deductive Logic. A Market Segmentation... Read More
From the desk of brainmates
From the desk of brainmates This December, brainmates look back at the events and top product management discussions of 2010, and look forward to another fantastic year of training and events in 2011 designed to satiate the curious mind and hone the skills of our product management community. brainmates 2010 achievements More of the top ten brainmates blog posts 2011: Training and events Featured Book – “42 rules of product management” brainmates... Read More
Customers are a part of the mix
As a Product Manager according to the Product Bash Panel you are the person who “defines a problem and then how to solve it” before “choosing who to present the results to”. An area where many marketers, communicators and sales people find difficult or at the very least precarious is that of the customer, so how do you get the customer right? Let’s explore this age old conundrum the way a good Product Manager would. It should come as no... Read More
Thanks Partying Product Managers!
Thanks for joining us for Product Bash 2010Dear Partying Product Managers! It was fantastic to see such a great turnout for our first Product Bash and our 8th Product Talk to date. The Topic of Product Excellence proved to be a fertile ground for discussion. The feedback we had during the drinks, post-talk was that the panellists were entertaining and informative with Jane Huxley regularly stealing the show with her wry sense of humour. We... Read More
Calling all Product Managers!
Join us 11th of November for this year’s Product Bash! If you are a product manager, this invaluable evening will give you panel discussions, networking opportunities, debates and of course fun and festivity as the year wraps up in product management. To attend, head to http://bmproductbash2010.eventbrite.com/ For a sneaky peek at the sexy venue, check out the photos below. See you there! Like my style? Enjoy the content? Contact me if you... Read More
brainmates present Product Bash 2010!
After a successful year of coaching, training, networking and working closely with the product management community, brainmates have decided to launch Product Bash, an end of year celebration and summary of the year that was 2010 in true product management style. Not just any old Christmas Party or end of year booze-up, Product Bash will feature a tailored programme designed to generate discussion, thought and conversation about product management... Read More
Discovering you were a product manager but you just didn’t know it.
Back in the good old days of Lavalife, where I spent some seven and a half years of my working career, I thought I had invented a role that was unique and special. As more arse than class as this sounds, I went to the head of operations for Lavalife Australia with the idea of a “product design coordinator” role, a job description which I in the most truthful sense made up to match my particular skill set and a role I had not heard of in the actual... Read More
