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🌎 <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/world-product-day/" style="color:#FFFFFF;text-decoration:underline;">Happy World Product Day!</a> Be sure to celebrate product, yourself, and your peers today! 🎉

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Product Management

Three product leaders to learn from at #mtpcon inside Pendomonium

Martin Eriksson has 25+ years experience building world-class online products in both corporate and start-up environments for global brands such as Monster, Financial Times, Huddle, and Covestor. He is the Founder of ProductTank, the Co-Founder and Curator of Mind the Product, and a Product Partner at leading venture capital fund EQT Ventures. He is also the author of the best-seller <em>Product Leadership, How Top Product Leaders Launch Great Products and Build Successful Teams</em> (O'Reilly, 2017).

Martin Eriksson

<p>With the holiday season fast approaching, and 2016 having been a somewhat&#8230; challenging&#8230; year, it&#8217;s high time we started showing our love with some gifts. So whether you&#8217;re looking for gift ideas for that special product person in your life, to reward your team, or just to spoil yourself &#8211; here are our top 10 gift ideas for product managers.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/muralsurfacehub.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9779" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/muralsurfacehub-300x197.jpg" alt="muralsurfacehub" width="300" height="197" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/muralsurfacehub-300x197.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/muralsurfacehub-768x505.jpg 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/muralsurfacehub-1024x673.jpg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/muralsurfacehub.jpg 2000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>1. Virtual Whiteboard</h2>
<p>We all love scribbling on a whiteboard, and using these giant blank spaces as structure for our ideas and how we communicate them. But what do you do if some of your team is remote? Or you don&#8217;t want to pull the whiteboard off the meeting room wall and lug it over to your desk? Get a virtual whiteboard like <a href="https://mural.co/" target="_blank">Mural</a>, plug in a 84&#8243; touchscreen like the <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-surface-hub/" target="_blank">Microsoft Surface Hub</a> &#8211; or wait till Google releases their <a href="https://gsuite.google.com/jamboard/" target="_blank">Jamboard</a>. Of course you can also just cover every wall in the office (or at home) with <a href="https://www.ideapaint.com/" target="_blank">Ideapaint</a>.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bose-headphones.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9746" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bose-headphones-300x200.jpg" alt="bose-headphones" width="300" height="200" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bose-headphones-300x200.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bose-headphones.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>2. Noise Cancelling Headphones</h2>
<p>As much as we love talking to our team and our customers sometimes we just need some peace and quiet to focus on a particularly thorny customer problem or a weird data point, and yet it can be hard to do in today&#8217;s open office environments. Enter the noise cancelling headphones &#8211; whether you want <a href="http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-noise-cancelling-in-ear-headphones/" target="_blank">in-ear</a> or <a href="http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-noise-cancelling-headphones/" target="_blank">over-the-ear</a> options!</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/coffee.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9747" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/coffee-300x225.jpg" alt="coffee" width="300" height="225" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/coffee-300x225.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/coffee.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>3. Great Coffee</h2>
<p>Most of us product people are fuelled by coffee, and the office Keurig or (shudder) instant coffee just don&#8217;t cut it. So find your hippest local coffee shop and get a gift card! And no, Starbucks doesn&#8217;t count. Failing that, upgrade the office coffee with an <a href="http://amzn.to/2gD3ftX" target="_blank">Aeropress</a> and some quality beans from that hipster coffee shop.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/djimavic.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9773" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/djimavic-300x169.jpg" alt="djimavic" width="300" height="169" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/djimavic-300x169.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/djimavic-768x432.jpg 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/djimavic-1024x576.jpg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/djimavic-285x160.jpg 285w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/djimavic-570x320.jpg 570w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/djimavic.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>4. A Drone</h2>
<p>Drones have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years, and who doesn&#8217;t want a personal drone following them and filming every cool move on their snowboard / skateboard / surfboard / kanban board? Even if you&#8217;re not a boarding enthusiast it&#8217;ll let you get some amazing photos or footage wherever you are (except anywhere near an airport, don&#8217;t be that guy). Our office favourite is the new compact but powerful <a href="http://www.dji.com/mavic" target="_blank">DJI Mavic</a>.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hololens.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9758" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hololens-300x200.jpg" alt="hololens" width="300" height="200" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hololens-300x200.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hololens-768x513.jpg 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hololens-1024x684.jpg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hololens.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>5. VR or AR Headset</h2>
<p>Virtual and Augmented Reality might just be poised to disrupt how we do everything &#8211; the only way to know for sure or to stay ahead of the game is to try it for yourself! Get the <a href="https://www.oculus.com/rift/" target="_blank">Oculus Rift</a> for the state of the art VR experience, or the <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/" target="_blank">Microsoft Hololens</a> for a trip through augmented reality.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/google-home.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9760" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/google-home-300x169.jpeg" alt="google-home" width="300" height="169" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/google-home-300x169.jpeg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/google-home-768x432.jpeg 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/google-home-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/google-home-285x160.jpeg 285w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/google-home-570x320.jpeg 570w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/google-home.jpeg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>6. Virtual Assistant</h2>
<p>We&#8217;re all busy people who need to manage our time well, and the bots are here to save us! To better plan your meetings sign up for virtual assistant <a href="https://x.ai/" target="_blank">Amy over at x.ai</a>, or get <a href="https://madeby.google.com/home/" target="_blank">Google Home</a> or <a href="http://amazon.com/echo" target="_blank">Amazon Echo</a> for a gadget at your constant beck and call, ready for everyone of your spoken whims.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/moleskin.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9765" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/moleskin-300x200.jpg" alt="moleskin" width="300" height="200" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/moleskin-300x200.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/moleskin.jpg 747w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>7. Smart Notes</h2>
<p>We all head to a lot of meetings and take copious notes. Often it&#8217;s nicer to use pen and paper to avoid being distracted by the latest animated gif in Slack, but then it can be a pain to transcribe your notes afterwards. Check out smart pens and notebooks like <a href="http://amzn.to/2gASfRu" target="_blank">Livescribe</a> and <a href="http://www.moleskine.com/en_GB/web/microsites/smartwritingset" target="_blank">Moleskine Smart Writing</a> for instantly digitised notes.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/studio.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9768" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/studio-300x169.jpg" alt="studio" width="300" height="169" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/studio-300x169.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/studio-285x160.jpg 285w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/studio-570x320.jpg 570w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/studio.jpg 750w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>8. Touchscreen</h2>
<p>For the designers out there nothing beats sketching and designing on a large canvas, and <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-studio/overview" target="_blank">Microsoft&#8217;s Surface Studio</a> provides a 28&#8243; canvas that can be set up as a drafting table for that ultimate I&#8217;m-an-architect feeling. Or for something smaller (and actually available to buy already) pick up an <a href="http://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/" target="_blank">iPad Pro + Pencil</a> or <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-gb/accessories/pen" target="_blank">Microsoft Surface Tablet + Pen</a>.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/cinema-light-box.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9756" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/cinema-light-box-300x300.jpg" alt="cinema-light-box" width="300" height="300" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/cinema-light-box-300x300.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/cinema-light-box-150x150.jpg 150w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/cinema-light-box.jpg 648w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>9. Communication Tools</h2>
<p>We all know communicating product priorities, progress, and stats is one of the most important &#8211; and most boring &#8211; parts of our jobs, so inject a little movie magic with a <a href="https://www.firebox.com/Cinema-Light-Box/p7460" target="_blank">light-up cinema sign box</a> the next time you need to communicate your latest OKRs.</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/12/terrascout.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/12/terrascout-300x192.jpg" alt="terrascout" width="300" height="192" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9823" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/terrascout-300x192.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/terrascout-768x492.jpg 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/terrascout.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>10. Nerf Gun</h2>
<p>When all else fails &#8211; whether you need to win an argument (most likely with engineering) or do some team bonding, nothing beats a good old fashioned nerf war. Our office favourite is the twin shot <a href="http://amzn.to/2fGMoWt" target="_blank">Rough Cut</a> &#8211; or why not get a <a href="http://amzn.to/2fNUPiM" target="_blank">remote controlled tank</a>?</p>
<h2><a href="//wp-content/uploads/2016/06/peter-merholz-at-mind-the-product.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8624" src="//wp-content/uploads/2016/06/peter-merholz-at-mind-the-product-300x200.jpg" alt="Peter Merholz at Mind the Product SF" width="300" height="200" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/peter-merholz-at-mind-the-product-300x200.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/06/peter-merholz-at-mind-the-product-768x512.jpg 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/06/peter-merholz-at-mind-the-product-1024x683.jpg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2016/06/peter-merholz-at-mind-the-product.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>11. #mtpcon Tickets</h2>
<p>As always at Mind the Product, we believe in turning it up to 11! Of course no celebration is complete without also gifting that special product person in your life with tickets to the world&#8217;s biggest and best product conferences in <a href="http://mtpcon.com/london" target="_blank">London</a> and <a href="http://mtpcon.com/sf" target="_blank">San Francisco</a> &#8211; tickets for San Francisco go on sale today!</p>
<p>Anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!</p>
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10 Gifts to Delight a Product Manager this Holiday Season

Martin Eriksson

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