Bring the Donuts Product Management Blog
Ken Norton’s blog, “Bring the Donuts,” is dedicated to exploring the world of product management. Launched in 2005, the blog features a wealth of insightful essays, interviews, and articles that offer guidance and inspiration for aspiring and seasoned product leaders alike. Norton's seminal essay, "How to Hire a Product Manager," has become a cornerstone for many, shaping the understanding of the role. The blog delves into various aspects of product management, covering topics like leadership, communication, and even the importance of embracing discomfort. Norton's writing aims to equip product managers with the tools and knowledge to succeed in a user-centric tech landscape, emphasizing the importance of vision, purpose, and a deep understanding of human needs.
Ken Norton’s Product Management Blog
I started blogging about product management in 2005 because I couldn’t find anything on the web about what it meant to be a product manager in an empowered, user-centric tech company. My classic essay How To Hire a Product Manager has since become the playbook for a generation of product managers.
Your role just got harder. Do you have what it takes to keep leading?
Executive coaching for product leaders
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Best Books for Product Managers [2024]
Essential product management reading
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The Drama Triangle – The Roles We Play in Conflict
What it is and how to use it
From Reactive to Creative Leadership
Evolving from fear-driven to purposeful leadership
Express your full magnificence by living in your Zone of Genius
Ken Norton on the Product Thinking Podcast
Leading with vision and purpose
Preparing to Have a Difficult Conversation
What to do when it’s time for some tough talk
Sharing guides to working with one another can lead to psychological safety
Making the shift from reactive to creative leadership
CEOs and Product Leaders: A Better Relationship
A relationship built on communication, candor, and trust
On Ego and Needing To Be Right
Our need to be right comes at a price: learning and curiosity
Why and How to Develop the Essential Human Skills
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New research into the benefits of the emotion behind wonder
Separating truth from story
Taming Your Inner Critic As A Product Leader
Learning to live with the saboteurs and inner critics inside us all
Reflecting on a Career in Product Management
What I wished I’d known back when I started
Behind the scenes with the team that launched Slack Huddles
Are You a Rabbit or a Kangaroo?
What dual ladders for product managers could look like in practice
It’s Time to Fight for a Dual Product Management Career Path
Companies should embrace multitrack job ladders for product managers who prefer product leadership to people management
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Go deep, move fast, and build multi-decade abstractions
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Product Management Was Born in 1931 (Maybe, Sort Of)
The McElroy Brand Management Memo is ninety years old
How to Hire a Product Manager: the Classic Essay
The classic essay that defined the product manager role
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Snow White, storytelling, and a relentless focus on experiences
Product Managers: The Tools Don't Matter
Why are product managers so obsessed with frameworks and tools?
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Stay Out of the Wind and Away From the Back
How should PMs pick projects at big tech companies?
From One to Infinity and Beyond: Avoiding Second Product Syndrome
Launching a second product is hard. Plus: the early days at Amazon, CNET, and Microsoft
What Makes A Strong Product Culture?
How a company's view of technology, product leadership, and empowerment contribute to product success
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How Product Managers Can Learn to Say No
How product managers can learn to gently push back
How Product Managers Can Predict the Future
Mother of all markets or a pipe dream driven by greed?
Lots of Good Stuff for Product Managers
Note-taking techniques, Women in Product and more
Becoming a Great Product Leader
Three outstanding new books
The Ideal Ratio of Engineers to Product Managers
What's the recommended number of software engineers for every PM?
Foreword to the book Product Leadership
My foreword to Product Leadership, by Banfield, Eriksson and Walkingshaw
I read 61 books last year and it was easier than I thought
Product Managers: Judgment Over Outcomes
Why judgment matters more then outcomes
The far future is upon us
Ants & Aliens: Long-Term Product Vision & Strategy
Why you need a thirty-year product vision (yes, thirty)
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Why ambiguity is the worst thing in product management
Dual-Track Product Manager Job Ladders
Product vs. managerial career paths
Product Manager Career: Impact vs. Seniority
Balancing product impact and seniority in a PM career
Machine Learning for Product Managers
How do you get started with machine learning?
How do you make the most of one-on-ones?
Is “being authentic” easier said than done?
Advice for Early Career Product Managers in 2021
How do you launch a product management career?
How fast does technology move?
Does authenticity matter in the workplace?
Can You Change Your Company’s Product Culture?
Can you change your company’s culture?
Please Make Yourself Uncomfortable: Jazz and PMs
What product managers can learn from jazz musicians
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How do you respond when things go wrong?
To Invent You Have to Experiment
On successful failure
Task Management for Product Managers
How do you accomplish the most important tasks?
How do you keep your email under control?
Product Managers: Don’t Ship the Org Chart, Part 2
How do you organize engineering around use cases?
How to Help a New Product Manager Succeed
How do you make sure your new PM is successful?
How to build and test an idea in 40 hours
Product Managers and CEOs: the Mind Meld
How do you keep the CEO and PM on the same page?
Product Managers: Don’t Ship the Org Chart, Part 1
How do you divide ownership between PMs?
The secret to moonshots, Disney’s vision, and reading more books
PM Zero: When to Hire the First Product Manager?
When should you hire your first PM?
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How Technical Do Product Managers Need to Be?
Should product managers have a computer science degree?
Empathy and Product Management
How important is empathy in product management?
10x Not 10%: Bold Product Strategy and Vision
Product management by orders of magnitude
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Break free from the tyranny of the conference room
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Product Managers: How to Work With Software Engineers
My ten-step plan for working with engineers
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Product Feature Prioritization & Babe Ruth
Why prioritized feature lists can be poisonous
Leading Cross-Functional Teams as Product Manager
Always bring the donuts
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Looking Back: 10 Years of How to Hire a PM
Looking back on ten years of How to Hire a Product Manager
Product Managers: What to Do in the First 30 Days
Tips for how product managers should approach their first month
Product Roadmaps: Climbing Mount Enterprise
Google's first enterprise PM can teach us about product roadmaps
Why our current patent system harms innovation
Product Managers: How to Listen to Customers
How do you hone in on what users really need?
The Time I Flew on the Enron Jet
I flew to Houston to meet Jeffrey Skilling and this is my story