Are you ready to attend Mind the Product Chicago on October 7th, but not sure how to make the case to your manager? You're not alone. Convincing your employer to back your professional development requires a bit of preparation, but we've done the heavy lifting for you.
Start early, be specific, and make it relevant to the challenges your team is facing right now. The good news is that the value packed into a Mind the Product Chicago makes the case pretty easy to make.
Top four benefits of attending
1. Learn from speakers you won't get access to anywhere else
The lineup at Mind the Product Chicago is highly focused on the current product builder landscape. Your team will hear from:
- Kathy Pham, Faculty and Senior Fellow at Harvard University, who will be speaking about building products responsibly and the impact it has on users
- Eric Simons, CEO and co-founder of Bolt.new, who will deliver a candid talk on the fast-moving world of product from someone who is actively building in it (FYI, within five months of launch, Bolt hit $40M ARR in case you were curious about his credentials)
- Martin Eriksson, co-founder of Mind the Product and author of The Decision Stack, returns to the keynote stage to tackle strategy, vision, and how to get both right.
- April Dunford, author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch, who will be tackling one of product's trickiest challenges right now: how to position your product when the competitive landscape won't sit still.
These are not names you can book for an internal all-hands. This is direct access to the people shaping how product gets built right now.
2. Practical skills you can use immediately
The optional workshop day on October 6th at the Swissôtel Chicago goes deep on three of the most pressing challenges in product right now. You can choose from:
- How to 10x Your Product Workflows with AI with Dan Olsen, author of The Lean Product Playbook. For anyone who wants to ship faster and do more with less, covering design, prototyping and automation using AI tools.
- Metrics for Product Managers with Steven Benario. For anyone who needs to better demonstrate the value of being product led, building confidence that you're measuring the right things and making data-backed decisions.
- The Decision Stack with Martin Eriksson. For anyone facing a strategy problem rather than an execution one, building the strategic clarity your team is waiting for.
Pro tip: Tell your manager that you will create a 1-pager detailing key things you learned and plan to implement from your workshop.
3. Stay ahead of the fastest moving market
AI is reshaping how product teams work, and Mind the Product Chicago is designed to help product people cut through the noise with confidence. Attendees will leave with a clearer perspective on what's actually worth adopting, and how to integrate it into their day-to-day work.
4. Network with the product community
Mind the Product Chicago brings together product leaders, builders and innovators from across industries and career stages. Beyond the sessions, there are curated networking experiences designed to help attendees build connections that genuinely last with potential collaborators, mentors and peers facing the same challenges.
Resources to help you make the case
Email template
We've written a ready-to-use email you can copy, personalize and send to your manager today. Use the template here.
Quick tips for the conversation
- Make it relevant to the business. Are you looking to sharpen your product function, bring in fresh perspectives, or tackle a specific challenge? Frame attending Mind the Product Chicago around the goals your team is already working towards.
- Understand what your manager actually needs. Are they looking for training, community connections, or a way to upskill the team? Work out what makes their life easier and show them how the conference helps achieve that.
- Answer the "why you?" question. If your boss is going to send anyone, why should it be you? Or better yet, why should it be the whole team? Sending multiple team members multiplies the value, and the team discount makes that easier to justify.
- Articulate what you're bringing back. This is the easy win people most often forget. What skills, ideas and frameworks will you take back to the team? The talks, the workshops and the conversations will all give you something concrete to share.
Already convinced your boss? Get your tickets to Mind the Product Chicago here.
