Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products

2020·3.61 MB·english

by  Marty Cagan and Chris Jones

(cid:2)
TrimSize:6inx9in Cagan ffirs.tex V1-10/15/2020 9:48pm Pagei
Praise for EMPOWERED
“IrecommendINSPIREDtoeveryentrepreneurandburgeoning
productpersonItalktoasthemustread.Thatmust-readlistjust
doubledwithEMPOWERED.It’sdestinedtobecomeaclassic.”
ShawnBoyer,Founder,GoHappyandSnagajob
“EMPOWEREDdivesdeepintothetoughorganizationalandcul-
tural issues that get in the way of most companies I work with
today. This is the experience and advice I’ve been waiting for in
onebook.”
JeffPatton,ProductProcessandDesignCoach
(cid:2) (cid:2)
“I’ve known Chris for well over a decade. He is one of the finest
product leaders I know. The product managers who worked for
himwentontobecomegreatproductleadersthemselves,insome
ofthebesttechcompaniesaround.Ifyouwanttolearnfromthe
best,thisbookcapturesthoselessons.”
DougCamplejohn,EVPandGM,SalesCloud,Salesforce
“Onceagain,Marty’swisdomanduniqueperspectivehavesynthe-
sized best-in-class companies, cultures, and leaders into a thesis
and set of principles that are transformational. Easy to consume
andapply,EMPOWEREDisamustreadforproductleadersand
allleaderswhoareconvincedtheremustbeabetterway.”
ChuckGeiger,formerCTOChegg,IAC,PayPal,eBay,Wine.com,
Travelocity
(cid:2)
(cid:2)
TrimSize:6inx9in Cagan ffirs.tex V1-10/15/2020 9:48pm Pageii
"If you’re leading product people or even the whole product
organization of your company, this book is for you. It’s the first
booktooutlinetheunderlyingphilosophybehindstellarproduct
organizations from a leader’s perspective, and its many examples
make it easy to understand these concepts and apply them in
yourcompany’senvironment."
PetraWille,ProductLeadershipCoach
“Asoneofthemostrespectedleadersonproductglobally,Marty
takes us for a fascinating ride that will help you become a better
productleadersoyoucandowhatyoudobest—createsatisfying,
engagingexperiencesforyourusersandcustomers.”
SimonZhang,CEO,GrowingIO
“To thrive in this age of constant disruption, companies must
accelerate innovation and continuously deliver products cus-
(cid:2) (cid:2)
tomerslove.Ahigherlevelofconsistentinnovationcanonlycome
fromtrulyempoweredteams.Overthepastseveralyears,Marty’s
insights, practical advice, and wisdom have been immensely
valuable during our transformation to a highly empowered
product organization. In this book, Marty provides an essential
blueprint for building empowered teams. If you are serious
about achieving extraordinary business results and developing a
product innovation culture you can be truly proud of, this is a
must-read!”
ShamimMohammad,SVP,ChiefInformationandTechnologyOfficer,
CarMax
"I’vehadthegoodfortunetoworkwithMartyformanyyears,and
yet,everytimehecomesoutwithanewbookorarticle,I’mfilled
withbothexcitementandfear.Whatnewproducttechniquesare
our competitors using that we are missing? EMPOWERED hits
the mark dead on, and provides a recipe for creating great prod-
ucts. Marty has a knack for making difficult product techniques
(cid:2)
(cid:2)
TrimSize:6inx9in Cagan ffirs.tex V1-10/15/2020 9:48pm Pageiii
seem both necessaryand tangible. Read the book and rejuvenate
yourcompany!”
JeffTrom,CTO,Workiva
“The core challenge of all tech companies today is to be a truly
product-led organization, with continuous product innovation
resulting in sustainable competitive advantage. EMPOWERED
givesexecutivesandleadersthekeytounderstandhowtheyneed
tochangetheircompaniesinordertosurviveandthrive.”
Frerk-MalteFeller,COO,Afterpay
“Ifyouarewonderingwhatwillensureyourcompanysurvives,or
whyyourproductsarefailing,readthisbook.Thisisthe‘howto’
manualforbuildinggreatproductcompaniesthatlast."
AmandaRichardson,CEO,CoderPad
(cid:2) (cid:2)
"I included INSPIRED as mandatory reading for anyone joining
my product development teams. Now I’ll add EMPOWERED to
thelistofmandatoryreading."
JocaTorres,CPO,Gympass
"INSPIREDhasbeenamanualforourteamtobuildbetterprod-
ucts. EMPOWERED is now a manual to build a stronger team.
EverythingI’vereadfromSVPGisspoton,andoftenfeelslikeI
canuseitthesameday."
IanCairns,HeadofProductforTwitterDeveloperPlatform
"EMPOWERED is first and foremost about permission. Com-
panies have to give themselves the permission to orient around
acultureofproductcentricity.Everythingfromorgstructure,to
technology,tocultureandcoachingderivesfromthis.Andnoth-
ingembodiesthisideamorethanMarty’swritings."
PunitSoni,founder,CEO,Suki
(cid:2)
(cid:2)
TrimSize:6inx9in Cagan ffirs.tex V1-10/15/2020 9:48pm Pageiv
(cid:2) (cid:2)
(cid:2)
(cid:2)
TrimSize:6inx9in Cagan ffirs.tex V1-10/15/2020 9:48pm Pagev
EMPOWERED
(cid:2) (cid:2)
(cid:2)
(cid:2)
TrimSize:6inx9in Cagan ffirs.tex V1-10/15/2020 9:48pm Pagevi
The Silicon Valley Product Group Series
INSPIRED:HowtoCreateTechProductsCustomersLove,2ndEdition
(MartyCagan,2017)
EMPOWERED:OrdinaryPeople,ExtraordinaryProducts
(MartyCaganwithChrisJones,2021)
TRANSFORMED:BecomingaProduct-DrivenCompany
(LeaHickman,2021)
LOVED:HowtoMarketTechProductsCustomersAdore
(MartinaLauchengco,2021)
(cid:2) (cid:2)
(cid:2)
(cid:2)
TrimSize:6inx9in Cagan ffirs.tex V1-10/15/2020 9:48pm Pagevii
MARTY CAGAN CHRIS JONES
WITH
Silicon Valley Product Group
EMPOWERED
(cid:2) (cid:2)
ORDINARY
PEOPLE,
EXTRAORDINARY
PRODUCTS
(cid:2)
(cid:2)
TrimSize:6inx9in Cagan ffirs.tex V1-10/15/2020 9:48pm Pageviii
Copyright©2021byJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
PublishedbyJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.,Hoboken,NewJersey.
PublishedsimultaneouslyinCanada.
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedin
anyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,scanning,or
otherwise,exceptaspermittedunderSection107or108ofthe1976UnitedStatesCopyright
Act,withouteitherthepriorwrittenpermissionofthePublisher,orauthorizationthrough
paymentoftheappropriateper-copyfeetotheCopyrightClearanceCenter,Inc.,222
RosewoodDrive,Danvers,MA01923,[phone],fax[phone],orontheWebat
www.copyright.com.RequeststothePublisherforpermissionshouldbeaddressedtothe
PermissionsDepartment,JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.,111RiverStreet,Hoboken,NJ07030,(201)
748-6011,fax[phone],oronlineathttp://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
(cid:2) LimitofLiability/DisclaimerofWarranty:Whilethepublisherandauthorhaveusedtheirbest (cid:2)
effortsinpreparingthisbook,theymakenorepresentationsorwarrantieswithrespecttothe
accuracyorcompletenessofthecontentsofthisbookandspecificallydisclaimanyimplied
warrantiesofmerchantabilityorfitnessforaparticularpurpose.Nowarrantymaybecreatedor
extendedbysalesrepresentativesorwrittensalesmaterials.Theadviceandstrategiescontained
hereinmaynotbesuitableforyoursituation.Youshouldconsultwithaprofessionalwhere
appropriate.Neitherthepublishernorauthorshallbeliableforanylossofprofitoranyother
commercialdamages,includingbutnotlimitedtospecial,incidental,consequential,orother
damages.
Forgeneralinformationonourotherproductsandservicesorfortechnicalsupport,please
contactourCustomerCareDepartmentwithintheUnitedStatesat(800)762-2974,outsidethe
UnitedStatesat(317)572-3993orfax(317)572-4002.
Wileypublishesinavarietyofprintandelectronicformatsandbyprint-on-demand.Some
materialincludedwithstandardprintversionsofthisbookmaynotbeincludedine-booksorin
print-on-demand.IfthisbookreferstomediasuchasaCDorDVDthatisnotincludedinthe
versionyoupurchased,youmaydownloadthismaterialathttp://booksupport.wiley.com.For
moreinformationaboutWileyproducts,visitwww.wiley.com.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataisAvailable.
ISBN9781119691297(Hardcover)
ISBN9781119691259(ePDF)
ISBN9781119691327(ePub)
COVERDESIGN:PAULMCCARTHY
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
(cid:2)