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This Week on Product Talk
Product Managers, Level Up Your Problem-Solving Skills
I’ve never met a product manager who doesn’t want to get better at what they do.
The challenge is not in the desire, but in putting that desire into action.
Product management isn’t a well-defined function. It’s changed rapidly over the past two decades.
Most of us have had to learn on the fly, doing the best we can. We’ve learned by doing.
There is no better way to learn. But we can accelerate our learning by looking to those who have come before us.
Read More to Level Up
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Map the Challenge Opens Tomorrow
Be sure to check your inboxes first thing tomorrow morning.
I'm opening up my Map the Challenge course—a six week virtual experience where you, alongside talented classmates, explore a real-world challenge.
You'll learn how to explore the problem space—challenging your own perspective, exploring the perspectives of your teammates, immersing yourself in the customer's perspective, and synthesizing it into one compelling visual that builds shared understanding across your team.
You'll get real-world experience with this process in a low-risk environment where it’s safe to learn from your mistakes.
Applications open tomorrow. Watch your inbox.
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What I'm Reading This Week
  Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer
As part of my research to augment the material in my Map the Challenge course, I'm reading every book I can get my hands on about the role maps have played in the development of civilization. In this book, the author argues that writers are cartographers—mapping out virtual worlds as they write. It's a good read.
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Worthy Reads From Around the Web
You Can't Trust What You Read About Nutrition
This might not seem like a product-related article. But I recommend you read it to understand the research mistakes people make. These same mistakes are rampant in the world or product.
Creativity Is Not an Accident
Last week, the NYTimes published, How to Cultivate the Art of Serendipity, yet another portrayal of creativity as a random act of inspiration. Scott Berkun writes a great rebuttal exposing the hard work that's always behind those not-so-random acts of inspiration.
Design Thinking for Innovation
Join Christina Wodtke and Laura Klein for a one day workshop in San Francisco on design thinking. It's hard to go wrong with these two.
Rosenfeld Media's Product & UX One-Day Virtual Conference
This event has a great lineup: Marty Cagan, Jeff Patton, Laura Klein, Christina Wodtke, and more. You can bet I'll be listening in.
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 Did you know this newsletter was written by a real person? Hi, I'm Teresa.
Do you have a question? Disagree with something? Just want to share your thoughts? Hit reply. I read every email.
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From the Product Talk Archives
With all this talk of maps, you might be thinking, I don't have the visual skills to do this. It's not about being an artist—I still can't draw anything that represents reality. It's about using visuals to communicate.
Build Your Visual Communication Skills
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Just For Fun
All politics aside, President Obama might be the coolest president the United States has had. Need evidence? Watch this video: President Obama and Jerry Seinfeld roll around the White House.
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