What do you do if your product innovation skills and knowledge areas need a boost?

Here are some ways to assess where you are: 1. Self-assess. Consider your experiences and be as honest as possible on where you stand based on those experiences, academic learning, and career achievements. 2. Research. Competencies (incl. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities [KSA's]) required for your dream job leveraging multiple credible sources of information e.g., studies by PwC, Deloitte, Industry-specific bodies, etc. Remember to look at macro trends and their insights on future competencies as well. It's about today AND tomorrow's relevance. 3. Inquire. Engage mentors, advisors, former colleagues, teachers, etc. close to you who understand what you do and where you want to go. 4. Explore. Consider tests in areas you want to grow.

Assessing your current skill level and identifying areas for improvement is a crucial first step in enhancing your product innovation capabilities. Utilizing self-assessment tools, seeking feedback from peers and mentors, and engaging with online assessments can provide valuable insights into your strengths and areas needing development. Evaluating competencies in key areas like ideation, prototyping, validation, market analysis, customer development, and business model design can help pinpoint where you excel and where you may need to focus your efforts.

First, carry out a self-assessment comparing it with market analysis and the technical capacity that the market has demanded. A great way to do this is by mapping the main innovation events in the market, immersing yourself in the main themes covered at the event, thus evaluating how much the themes are within your domain, while interacting and networking with other professionals in the field. . Another way is to participate in courses and workshops, both of which will bring good analysis results compared to the skills needed to serve the market.

Setting clear learning goals and developing a structured path for skill enhancement is essential for continuous growth in product innovation. Utilizing the SMART framework— making goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—can help you formulate objectives that are both motivating and attainable. For instance, you may aim to learn a new product innovation tool, acquire a certification or complete a relevant course, or undertake a challenging personal or professional project to further refine your skills.

Embracing creativity techniques can significantly enhance your ability to generate innovative ideas and solutions. Here are some popular creativity techniques - Brainstorming - Mind mapping - Design thinking - lateral thinking - scamper technique - six thinking hats - provocation technique When applying creativity techniques, it's essential to create a supportive and non-judgmental environment where participants feel comfortable expressing ideas freely. Encourage experimentation, collaboration, and open-mindedness, and be willing to explore unconventional or seemingly outlandish ideas. Remember that creativity is a skill that can be cultivated through practice and perseverance

There is a vast array of resources and methods available for learning and honing your product innovation skills, catering to your unique learning style, preferences, and budget. Visual and Auditory Learning: Engage with videos, podcasts, webinars, and online courses focusing on product innovation tools and techniques for a different learning experience. Interactive Learning: Attend workshops, seminars, conferences, and events related to product innovation to gain practical insights and learn from industry experts' real-world experiences. Community Engagement: Join online or offline communities of product innovators and experts to network, share knowledge, and stay updated on the latest developments in the field

There are two sides of the book on progress-monitoring: 1) Internal - besides journaling or documenting, it's important to ask for feedback in a way that allows others to think/reflect first; sometimes asking upfront could spawn an immediate response that sounds sensible, but not necessarily the best. Additionally, using OKRs on yourself is also recommended - I personally have yearly objectives, and then break them down to monthly KRs for me to tackle. 2) Product success - While this is often a shared goal, as a product manager or leader, one must establish product success criteria/metrics first, before measuring or monitoring, teams have baselines to work against.