Learn more about business with this collection
How to align stakeholders
Best practices in product management leadership
How to create value together
Cake vs. Frosting
If you are a business that makes or sells products, it is important to be able to tell the difference between the cake (the product's core features) and the frosting (the product's extra features). The cake is like the foundation of a building - it might not look very pretty, but it is what makes the product work.
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MORE IDEAS ON THIS
Demand the Cake, Not Frosting
The fancier the frosting, ask more about the quality of the cake.
- “What’s cake, and what’s frosting here?”
- “Let’s see the plumbing instead of the PowerPoint.”
- “I don’t care how great it looks. Tell me how it works.”
- “Forget the fro...
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98 reads
Using Tap as an Analogy
A tap is a household item that delivers water. It can be a simple, old tap, or a more elaborate tap with special features. The important thing is that it delivers water to your hands.
There are all sorts of different taps, like bronze, gold-plated, copper, marble, and tap w...
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100 reads
Product Management Using the Analogy of Cake
Building a product can be exciting and fun. Sometimes, people get excited about the frosting (or the features) instead of the cake (or the main goal of the product). This can be dangerous because the frosting might not be the most important thing.
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Frosting Sells
Some people focus too much on making frosting that looks good, instead of making a cake that tastes good. This is also true for investment pitches and sales pitches. People can be easily distracted by the beauty of a pitch deck or website, without realizing that the engineering might not be good....
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96 reads
CURATED FROM
IDEAS CURATED BY
A great comparison is drawn between cake and frosting in Priya Narasimhan's explanation of product management.
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Other curated ideas on this topic:
Be intentional about your pricing decisions
Pricing is one of the most important aspects of doing business. It is often the most difficult. Proper pricing is the difference between success and failure, between profit and loss. No matter what kind of company you’re trying to create, you will need to know how to price your product or service...
Set Clear Goals
- Set very clear goals for yourself and be realistic about what you would be able to accomplish. Do it on a daily basis.
- Create lists for the day and highlight your top priorities.
- Double-check any important memos, give yourself extra time to prepare assign...
You Don’t Need a Financial Advisor
- A financial advisor’s compensation is rarely if ever tied to your success. The majority of their income is based upon the amount they get you to invest.
- You will pay a fee to your chosen fund plus a fee to the financial advisor.
- You Might Not Get The B...
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