Ken Norton
628 FOLLOWERS
Ken Norton is renowned in the product management world as one of the most inspiring thought leaders. He’s a partner at GV so he has a wealth of high grade experience in the product management world. Ken writes prolifically about the expertise needed to be a successful product manager. If you need somewhere to start go straight to his infamous ‘How To Hire A Product Manager’ essay and get..
Ken Norton
11M ago
Evolving from fear-driven to purposeful leadership - One of the most powerful frameworks I’ve come to deeply understand over the past few years is the distinction between Reactive and Creative leadership. It’s become foundational to my coaching work, and I’ve been able to apply it to every dimension of my life. Of course, the underlying concept isn’t ..read more
Ken Norton
11M ago
Express your full magnificence by living in your Zone of Genius - Iremember countless evenings as a teenager in the 1980s when I’d retire to my family’s Apple ][+ computer after dinner. I’d excitedly jump back into a BASIC program, feverishly coding away at some problem. Then, what seemed like only moments later, mom or dad would be tapping me on the ..read more
Ken Norton
11M ago
Leading with vision and purpose - I joined Melissa Perri’s Product Thinking Podcast to talk about the evolution of product management, the stark difference between empowered and unempowered product teams,and why ultimately, product is all about people. I have lightly edited the transcript for accuracy. Melissa Perri: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Product ..read more
Ken Norton
11M ago
Sharing guides to working with one other can lead to psychological safety - I learned a lot over the years from Urs Hölzle, Google’s eighth employee and the company’s first real engineering leader. Many of you have heard me refer to his legendary “Escalation Manifesto.” But he was also known to Googlers for his “Guide to Urs,” a document describing his leadership philosophy ..read more
Ken Norton
11M ago
Making the shift from reactive to creative leadership - I joined Lenny’s Podcast to talk about coaching, product leadership, and the transition from reactive to creative. Listen to the audio or watch the video at the bottom of this page. I have lightly edited the transcript for accuracy. Lenny Rachitsky (00:00:22): Over his 14-year career at Google. Ken Norton ..read more
Ken Norton
11M ago
Our need to be right comes at a price: learning and curiosity - Our egos desperately want to be right. Or, more accurately, the fear of being wrong causes our egos to want to be right. As leaders, few things feel better than being proven right about something. Even more so when it’s against vehement opposition and your naysayers are forced to swallow ..read more
Ken Norton
1y ago
The McElroy Brand Management Memo is ninety years old - Neil McElroy On May 13, 1931, an up-and-coming 26-year-old Procter & Gamble employee named Neil H. McElroy issued his famous “Brand Men”1 memo [pdf]. McElroy had an ulterior motive: he wanted approval to hire more people (don’t we all). So the three-page letter was effectively a request for more headcount ..read more
Ken Norton
3y ago
The classic essay that defined the product manager role - What is product management? What does a product manager do? What makes a great product manager, and how do you become one? Updated in 2021, this is the classic essay by Ken Norton that defined the role of product management and launched thousands of PM careers. It’s been a while ..read more
Ken Norton
3y ago
Essential product management reading - I’m regularly asked for product manager book recommendations. There are lots of excellent books about product management, but these are the ones I'd consider essential to any PM’s bookshelf. TOP PICK Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams By Richard Banfield, Martin Eriksson and ..read more
Ken Norton
3y ago
Mother of all markets or a pipe dream driven by greed? - In an essay entitled Ants & Aliens, I encouraged product managers to develop a thirty-year plan. Although it can seem preposterous, that time horizon can be liberating. It’s so far out it forces us to detach our vision from practicality. As I wrote, “Something appealing happens when you contemplate that ..read more