{"id":1145,"date":"2020-05-01T09:17:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T14:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/?p=1145"},"modified":"2020-05-04T09:18:59","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T14:18:59","slug":"product-managers-need-foresight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/product-managers-need-foresight\/","title":{"rendered":"Product Managers Need Foresight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Product managers in May 2020 live in a different world than they did a year ago. We all do. But we can still use logic in making decisions. It starts with hindsight, insight, and foresight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hindsight,\nInsight, Foresight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hindsight,\ninsight, and foresight are interrelated components of customer and product\nknowledge. Hindsight is the exploration of the past; it\u2019s the collection of\ndata about sales history, purchase behavior, and ecosystem changes. Hindsight\nanswers the question, what happene<\/em>d? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insight is\nlooking for patterns that help explain<\/em> what has happened (in the past)\nand what is currently happening (in the present). Insight answers the\nquestions, why are things happening the\nway they are, and why did things happen the way they did in the past<\/em>? Intuition\nplays a role here. Can the data be looked at in alternative ways that present\nnew patterns?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foresight\nfocuses on tomorrow. It tries to answer the question, \u201cwhat might<\/em> happen?\u201d Foresight does not predict\nthe future, but it should open your eyes so you can make better decisions. That\nmeans you should emphasize perspective<\/strong> rather than precision<\/strong>.\nIt\u2019s better to be approximately right than precisely wrong. Look for things\nthat are hidden in plain sight, things that are invisible to other people even\nthough they are right in front of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foresight is\nhard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The challenge\nwith foresight is that is doesn\u2019t exert the same pressure on decision-making as\nthe here-and-now. I reflected on that as I read about the current shortages of\nmedical supplies. The risk of a biomedical crisis had been discussed for years.\nExperts affirmed that it was a matter of when, not if, an event would occur. But\nday-to-day demands consumed all attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most\nproduct managers don\u2019t deal with issues this significant, they nevertheless are\npulled between the certainty of the short-term and the unknowingness of the\nlong-term. It\u2019s an explanation. Not an excuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foresight is\nimportant for several reasons. Growth rates in many mature industries have\nstagnated. Consequently, customer value propositions are less clear. New\nentrants are disrupting the status quo of incumbents. And society is questioning\nlong-held assumptions. So, in addition to mentally exploring the future, ask\nyourself \u2018so what<\/em>?\u201d before moving into\nproduct concepting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will become increasingly important as we move way from the pandemic and into a new future. Will new locations be required for manufacturing operations? Will there is a softening of the just-in-time philosophy toward a bit more acceptance of the \u201cold-fashioned\u201d just-in-case planning? It will vary by industry. Nevertheless, as you forecast opportunities into your product roadmaps, be sure to include more than one future to give you new perspectives. If you focus on a single direction, you might be caught precisely wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Product managers in May 2020 live in a different world than they did a year ago. We all do. But we can still use logic in making decisions. It starts with hindsight, insight, and foresight. Hindsight, Insight, Foresight Hindsight, insight,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-product-management"],"yoast_head":"\nProduct Managers Need Foresight - Linda Gorchels blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Product managers need hindsight, insight, and foresight in their strategies and roadmaps. 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