Hey, happy Monday! How are you?
I have something to show you ↓
It’s official!!! MAKE PROGRESS with the OKRs is on presale.
Little curiosity that everyone appreciated: the second part of the book is not divided into chapters… but into weeks! Read, apply, make progress!
If you want:
- Take advantage of the 20% discount (from €35 to €28)
- Have your First and Last Name on the thank you page.
- do not pay delivery charges
then you simply need to preorder your copy here.
If, on the other hand, you want access to the launch list, tools and exclusive content, including live and workshops, go through this link and complete both steps.
This week in STRTGY
June 20-25, 2022
At the WMF in Rimini, it was so powerful to meet many of you, talk about progress, goals, and strategies!
If you didn’t make it, fear not.
In a few days there will be another occasion: the Product Management Day, in Rome, June 25.
If you have not yet purchased a ticket you can take advantage of this price reduction on both the in-person and online event. Use this link to get -15%.
Continuing reading this Note you will find the exclusive interview with Isabella Bertoli, product manager for Eni. We talked about product management and Artificial Intelligence, which, it seems, will be of strategic importance for the multinational energy company.
When you’re in Rome, between talks, don’t forget to stop by our booth to:
- browse the book’s table of contents and the first chapters of MAKE PROGRESS
- look at the tools we have developed
- get tips on how to improve your OKRs
- See how our OKR programs are organized (at home and abroad)
- get to know friends at Gtmhub, the world’s most advanced OKR management software
- and the folks at Get Connected Atlassian, agile experts, to discover connecting every bit of Jira with with your team’s OKRs (and beyond)
Isn’t that crazy?
I’m going to get the last things ready, see you in Rome!
ALWAYS MAKE PROGRESS ⤴
-Antonio
● PMDAY22 / Product Management + AI
Adopt a product mentality
A: Hi Isabella, introduce yourself to the community.
Isabella: Hi, I am Isabella Bertoli, former nuclear engineer, today I am the product manager for Eni.
My various professional experiences have made me realize that a very important part of a digital strategy is to have a product-focused mindset, characterized by understanding the value of what you produce, listening to users and their needs, and an innovative mindset. So I moved from a researcher role to product manager.
A: What skills have you acquired to make this transition?
Isabella: There are three, but first let’s start with one fact: a product is an object that is used by a user to solve a problem.
One of the biggest challenges of product management is to make the right products that solve user problems and meet business needs, focusing on quality, not quantity.
The main skills needed to do this work are:
- The ability to listen to interpret the needs of users and colleagues;
- the innovative and strategic mindset to focus on the value generated by the product;
- Empathy toward the customer to understand exactly what the customer needs.
A: How is your product team organized?
Isabella: We are cross functional: each team has specific design, data science, and agile skills, which they bring to work on Eni’s digital, tech, and business areas.
We have a structure organized by individual product. I am a Hub Manager within Eni’s Digital Factory. With my team, we are in charge of advancing the company’s Digital Agenda initiatives in the support functions and business area.
There are several digital products designed for internal colleagues and potentially for external users, and on each team are architects, developers, business and process experts focused on the customers we serve.
A: Why is it important for Italian companies to adopt a product mentality?
Isabella: Because it brings value in different areas, although the final results depend on the contexts.
Having a product mindset means being able to handle market uncertainty and change, focusing on actions that will bring added value, focusing not so much on the specific milestone but on the outcome. It means generating impactful innovation.
It is necessary to develop a multidisciplinary approach and create a team of several people, each with specific skills, to achieve common goals.
A change of perspective
A: Many companies today are facing the change in approach you speak of. What are the first steps to take to bring about innovation, the ones that have been successful for you?
Isabella: Undoubtedly the first step is the change of perspective. You have to transform the mindset by moving from a milestone logic to an outcome logic.
A second step involves theacquisition of typical product development skills-design-and soft skills such as agile.
The third step is measuring the effectiveness of the actions: the product manager’s work does not end when he releases the milestone, but continues to measure the value he has created.
The person responsible for this shift in perspective is the person responsible for bringing innovation into the company and creating the product: the product manager is key, but change only happens when all teams actively participate.
A: You specialize in products that use artificial intelligence-what new challenges have you faced?
Isabella: There are technical complexities of using the data and the model: the user has to interact with something they don’t always understand.
I have had the opportunity to work on products that use AI methodologies, which is a new and extremely interesting topic. When I build a product, I always wonder if someone will use it, if I am creating value, if I am doing something important. Can I trust nonhuman intelligence today?
You have to build this trust over time by explaining the product and the centrality of the user in using it to everyone.
A: What tools does the product manager have at his disposal to build trust?
Isabella: He has two great levers at his disposal to generate confidence.
The first is the team that builds the product. You have to have a team made up of people working together who are able to contaminate each other.
Each product is made by a data science team and a business team: they speak different languages and must come together to build “trust.”
The second lever is product management skills: interactivity, collaboration, value checking, feedback gathering.
In any case, trust in the product arises when there is trust between people.
A: In a company like Eni, where do you see the application of AI most? What are the most important impacts for the future?
Isabella: We apply AI to four strategic areas for Eni.
Our mission focuses on “smartify the industrial asset,” “accelerate the future of energy transition,” “put the customer at the heart,” and “build a smart & lean workplace.”
We work on understanding the customer to become customer centric, support internal teams, enhance data skills and knowledge, and develop security and efficiency in industry.
We see great potential in AI for the future.
Lessons from the field
A: Your talk will talk about experience in building digital products, from discovery to building. What professionals is it dedicated to and what will people who listen to you learn?
Isabella: I will target both product managers with some experience and professionals who want to implement data science technologies and methodologies to develop innovative projects that increasingly use AI.
I will tell my experience, explaining what we learned by using a method in a particular and new field. AI is becoming, in several companies, a useful technology for solving problems or using data to support decision making.
My goal is to share an approach and donate value. I do not presume to have invented a method, but I can pass on so-called lessons from the field, showing what worked and what challenges we faced.
A: What can the community read to get the most out of your talk?
Isabella: There are fundamental books on Product Management that are must-haves.
Such as the classic Inspired : How to Create Tech Products Customers Love, a text that inspired me, a reference point for learning the methodology of product management.
I also recommend reading our blog articles: we recently opened our own medium channel, Eni digiTALKS, in which we tell about our experience and tools, products and projects.
