Nicole Helmer

Cool Vendors in User Experience Returns for 2024! Join myself, Jim Scheibmeir, Ph.D. and Brent Stewart as we proudly present vendors that Gartner identifies as innovative, unique, or particularly interesting. Featured Vendors Include: Automated Testing for Extended Reality (XR): Adopt automated testing solutions that integrate with popular real-time 3D engines to streamline testing processes and enhance test coverage. AI-Powered Design-to-Code Tool: Utilize AI-powered tools that convert Figma designs into clean, semantic code, reducing manual coding efforts and minimizing defects. Open-Source Design Platform: Explore open-source design platforms to increase flexibility, enable real-time collaboration, and enhance interactive prototyping capabilities, all while lowering license costs. Gartner clients can access the full research now. Link in the comments. #UX #UXDesign #XR #XRTesting #DesignToCode #DigitalDesignPlatform #AR

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😕 Forget the (confusing) chasm between community and advocacy for a moment. ⚾ Focus on Kevin Costner (easy) and the million dollar question: If you build it, WILL they come? ⁉ What are the biggest challenges with user adoption after building an incredible program? Why aren't we guaranteed support and/or participation after building the thing? ❗ How do you ensure that if you build it, they DO come? Discuss! #customermarketing #customeradvocacy #community #peoplebeforeprofessionals #fieldofdreams https://lnkd.in/gma4ZeSy

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Teams that collaborate well do three things: 1. They share a vision 2. They include everyone 3. They trust each other You don’t own the product’s experience. That ownership is shared by everyone who contributes to getting the product out the door. If you want to build really great products, you have to help your team work better together. Better collaboration isn’t a secret or a set of rituals. It’s easy behaviors you can put into practice starting today. Share things, include everyone, and trust everyone. https://lnkd.in/gUB3PWSX #collaboration

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"In product, we're bombarded by high-level concepts like empowerment, data-driven, product-led, customer-focused, accountability, getting into the details, and high agency. But teams have trouble putting these ideas into practice. Why? And what can you do about it? When I ask people to describe the behaviors these things might entail—what I would observe (see and hear) if these things were happening—I often get blank stares." https://lnkd.in/gFCpYZ7A

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Just wrapped up an amazing class with Dan Corbin on AI Training for Product Professionals! 🎓✨A huge thank you to Dan for his incredible insights, engaging teaching style, and for making complex concepts so accessible. The knowledge and skills I've gained from this course are invaluable. If you're looking to deepen your understanding of AI and its application in product management, I highly recommend this class. Thank you, Dan, for a transformative learning experience! 🚀#AI #ProductManagement #LearningJourney #ThankYou#iampragmatic

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🚨 Attention Product Leaders and Aspiring Product Leaders! 🚨 Are you leading a team of product managers?  Or do you know someone who is? If AI isn't being actively used for: ✅ Market analysis and trend forecasting ✅ Roadmapping and prioritization ✅ Individualized team member up-leveling plans ✅ Improving leadership and coaching skills ...then it's time to level up. The AI revolution in product management is here, and falling behind isn't an option. Join my FREE 30-minute lightning lesson: "PROD 501: AI-Driven Product Leadership PREVIEW" 📅 Date: Thursday, October 17 (Just 1 week away!) 🕐 Time: 10am PDT 💻 Format: Online 💰 Cost: FREE In this fast-paced session, you'll discover: • How AI is transforming the product leadership landscape • Practical ways to integrate AI into your daily product leadership • A framework for identifying AI opportunities in your product lifecycle BONUS: Attendees get $50 OFF the full course! Don't let your product leadership skills become obsolete in the AI era. Tag a product leader who needs this 👇 Then, secure your spot: https://lnkd.in/gZghBnaA #AIProductLeadership #ProductManagement #LeadershipDevelopment

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Many of the most coveted executive roles never see the light of day on public job boards. As one product leader with 10 years of experience noted: “By my guess, anywhere from 10-30% of Director+ product roles are never posted. And as you reach the C-Suite, it goes to 70-100%.” Companies often kick off these searches before they have a finalized job description, and they may be hesitant to post the role publicly for a variety of reasons: 🤫 They don't want to alert competitors to their strategic moves 🤫 They don't want to create internal uncertainty or tension 🤫 They want to avoid being inundated with unqualified applicants This means that as an executive job seeker, you can't rely on passive tactics like applying to public job listings. You need to be proactive in tapping into the hidden job market. And executive recruiting firms aren’t the same as the third party recruiters you get inundated with early in your IC career. 1. They are retained exclusively to work with that company on that one role 2. They have a deep network and understanding of the role, function, and space 3. They are very consultative and rely on long term relationships in their network on both the company and candidate side They also don’t work on commission and are not only paid by the volume of searches they do like early contingent recruiters. Read the full Tech Executive Job Search: https://lnkd.in/gDcJfGpB

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For those interested, I have 3 classes coming up this Fall: — Modeling Business Impact begins Sept 3 — Product Leadership in Practice begins Sept 10 — Financial Fluency for Product Leaders begins Oct 15 Links: https://lnkd.in/entsWWah https://lnkd.in/e4RSXX2p https://lnkd.in/eqPJfeHd

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Listen to me ramble about the things I often ramble about: product, business, outcomes, consulting. Solution Design Group

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Leaders, much of your role involves leading or implementing change, and that can be challenging. People will react, and it's important to remember that this doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them or with how you presented the change. Stress isn't necessarily bad. What matters is how we take care of our people through the change. Providing the necessary support ensures that stress becomes a growth opportunity rather than a path to burnout. Take a listen to this episode of Wendy Hanson's podcast with Dr. G on turning stress into resilience. It's full of valuable insights for navigating change and supporting your team effectively ❤️ #Leadership #ChangeManagement #Resilience #StressManagement #EmployeeWellbeing #LeadershipDevelopment

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🎉 Join our Product & Innovation leadership team! I’m hiring an Executive Director of Innovation Product Management, also responsible for functional leadership of Product Owners. This creative and collaborative individual will: 🔭 Develop visionary strategies for 0-1 innovation by working collaboratively with cross-functional teams to identify opportunity, size markets, and bring potential business opportunities to senior leadership. 🤖 Establish and manage frameworks for successful 0-1 innovation including bringing novel AI capabilities together with learning science and delivering delightful experiences. 🏃‍♀️ Drive an entrepreneurial mindset that includes a bias toward action, rapid decision making, failing fast, and customer obsession. 💛 Lead all Product Owners and Scrum Coordinators as they support ongoing product optimization, new product development, and 0-1 innovation. If solving important problems in a rapidly moving environment for a mission driven non-profit is for you, send me your info at the link in the comments or shoot me a DM!👇 EdTech experience preferred, but remember no one checks all the boxes - so let's talk. 👋 #Innovation #AIForGood #Hiring

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Sharing for visibility - if you might be thinking anout what that next thing is, Christine Perfetti can help you figure out what it is and how to get there 🚀

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Coining ‘enshittification’ is a good first step towards righting the ship. Now we can accurately describe the issue

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The relationship between a leader and their executive is rarely straightforward. Supporting executive vision while offering clarity where blind spots exist requires a delicate balance—one that becomes even more nuanced when the company’s mission and immediate business outcomes seem at odds. How do you keep conversations focused on the larger purpose without losing sight of the practicalities that sustain it? The answer isn’t always obvious, but it lies somewhere in the tension between mission and results. This tension isn’t a flaw in the system; it’s part of what makes leadership dynamic. The mission often pulls toward long-term impact, demanding patience, innovation, and sometimes calculated risks. Meanwhile, business outcomes require urgency and deliverables that keep the organization stable. The challenge is to approach these moments not as conflicts but as opportunities to align—where the mission and the outcomes inform each other, rather than compete. In these conversations, framing is everything. Insights are most effective when presented as opportunities for alignment, not as challenges to decisions already made. It’s less about resisting and more about guiding—finding ways to keep the mission central while respecting the pressures of the immediate moment. This often means focusing not just on what needs to be done, but why it matters, and what ripple effects it could create for the broader vision. Trust plays a critical role here. Building trust isn’t just about competence; it’s about knowing when to step forward with a thoughtful perspective and when to let the conversation move ahead without your input. It’s also about understanding the weight of their responsibility—recognizing that your role is to inform and clarify, not to dictate. At its core, engaging with an executive in this way requires both confidence and humility. It’s about ensuring the mission and outcomes remain in dialogue, even when they feel contradictory. And it’s about creating a relationship where tough truths can be surfaced, not as barriers but as pathways to progress. When done well, it’s less about finding a perfect balance and more about ensuring the organization continues to move forward with both purpose and pragmatism.

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Have you gotten deep into the development cycle and uncovered stories that you probably should've discovered earlier? Do you struggle with getting your team to have a shared understanding of the product? There's a simple solution to these (and many other) problems; Story Maps. Every Agile team needs to know how to read, create, and use a Story Map. Story Maps can help teams, and their product owners, uncover user needs, find alternative ways of achieving user goals, help order the product backlog, communicate how features fit together, and prioritize what the developers will work on next. Here's a step-by-step guide to creating, reading, and using Story Maps: https://lnkd.in/gg8fKAjh

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I received my Product Management Certificate, y'all! 🤠 Finding it overwhelming to take action toward your goal? Break down the big picture into small actionable steps and prioritize taking at least one step. With enough effort those small steps will get you to where you need to be. Now, not all actions will be glamorous or easy and sometimes the steps you take may not be in the direction you anticipated. Nevertheless each step is to be respected as an opportunity to grow and learn. Remember that all is possible through perseverance. The trick is you just have to keep going.

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Ethics and product management - perhaps one of the tougher questions we face today. Christian Idiodi and I discuss the issues in the latest podcast…

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An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Proactive leaders can make things happen before they need to be dealt with. Wisdom from Benjamin Franklin #leadership #designleadership #coaching

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The north star metric isn't just a compass guiding us; it's a window into the soul of our product, reflecting the core value we deliver and the profound impact we aspire to have on our users. #NorthStarMetric #ProductManagement #ProductValue #Impact #UserFocus #StrategicDirection #ProductVision #ProductStrategy #MetricsThatMatter #CustomerCentric #ProductGrowth

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