The assorted notes and observations of Janna Bastow. Canadian living in London. Everything product, and then some.

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Product Manager Portfolio: A Secret Weapon To Progress Your Career

Dec 17th, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 26 min read

When hiring for Product Manager positions, one of the most important things hiring managers and founders like me are looking for is proof that you’ve handled similar situations that the…

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Founder Mode: Protecting Yourself From this New Form of Micromanagement

Dec 10th, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 23 min read

Founder mode. The phrase on the tip of everyone’s tongue in Product Management. Bring it up in conversation, and you’ll get a similar reaction to declaring that you love pineapple…

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The Product Manager Career Path is Not a Straight Line

Nov 26th, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 28 min read

Spoiler alert: the Product Manager career path is not linear. It’s not a ladder you climb rung by rung, nor is it a neatly paved golden road leading straight to…

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Product Benchmarking: How to Do It Right to Improve Your Product Performance

Nov 21st, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 22 min read

They say comparison is the thief of joy. Well, if you do your product benchmarking wrong, that’s definitely true. Now, there’s nothing wrong with seeing how you measure up against…

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Hiring Product Managers: How to Get the Best Talent

Oct 17th, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 27 min read

 So you want to get a new PM? Firstly, congratulations, you’ve made a great decision – Product Managers can be seriously effective people to have in your organization. However,  Hiring…

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Customer Feedback Strategy: How to Gather, Analyze, and Use Feedback to Make Your Product Better

Jun 20th, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 15 min read

Building a successful product isn’t just about having a brilliant idea or an efficient development team. It’s about making sure your product fits the market and meets your customers’ needs.…

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Feature Adoption: How to Make Your New One Stick

May 21st, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 19 min read

New features? Exciting! Getting users to adopt them? Terrifying! We’ve all seen features launched with fanfare, only to fizzle out faster than a candle in a hurricane. That’s why we’ll…

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Feedback Analysis: How to Extract Insights to Fuel Your Product Strategy

Apr 30th, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 23 min read

You’ve built a product you’re proud of, but then crickets… no downloads, no buzz.  What went wrong? Maybe you didn’t listen closely enough to the people who matter most: your users!…

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How to Nail Your Roadmap Presentation

Apr 23rd, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 33 min read

Ever felt a bit nervous before a big roadmap presentation? You’re not alone! It’s one of those nail-bitingly important moments in Product Management – you get to share your vision,…

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How to Write a Product Proposal

Apr 16th, 2024 Product Janna Bastow 31 min read

A well-written product proposal can be the one thing that turns a red light green. It helps you clarify your concept, secures necessary buy-in from your stakeholders, and lays the…

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