SERIES INTRODUCTION - PRODUCT MANAGEMENT + SUSTAINABILITY

The purpose of this series is to explore how the product management field, more specifically - how the product management mindset - can be applied to the field of sustainability. My curiosity on this topic is fueled by two things:

1) My recent consulting engagements within the product management space / recent Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) trainings

2) A background in Sustainable Business - MBA in Sustainability / 3 years trying to apply sustainability solutions to the golf industry

I do want to be clear on one thing - I’m not hubris enough to believe that I am trailblazing a new concept here or that the product management mindset is not currently being applied to sustainability challenges on a daily basis. Of course it is! However, when I reflect on my experience working within the sustainability field, I see disconnect in the approach that my peers and I often took towards solving problems. The primary goal of building solutions that meet the needs of customers often encountered interference. For example, the motivations of an ambitious sustainability professional trying to separate themselves in a very competitive field. In this series, I will highlight examples of this work where I see it taking place. I will call out my previous failings and apply product management tools such as the use of User Personas or Empathy Maps. I will explore how work may have been approached differently if we had been Organizing Around Value.

In a nutshell, I will be presenting real life examples about product management + sustainability to address the question Duea or Don’t We?

I’m excited to get started! Please reach out to me anytime through the High Tea form if you want to contribute thoughts from your experience.