Mind the Product’s James Mayes on Defining a Product Manifesto

Protect the Hustle | A SaaS Podcast

Today's guest, James Mayes co-founded Mind the Product in 2010. Much like the eponymous character in Jerry Maguire, James has a strict code of ethics that he sticks by when thinking of product management. Instead of thinking about how much we are making from our product, James emphasizes the why. But he didn't require a public mental breakdown and a loss of business like Jerry. Quite the contrary. At the beginning of 2020, Mind the Product was facing uncertain waters specifically with an in-person business model... but they managed to sell to Pendo a couple of years later. A large reason for this success is the principles James and co stuck to when building Mind the Product. Check out the episode or read below if you want to create your own product manifesto just like James.

High Level Overview

• Align incentives and OKRs to ensure success.
• Prioritize customer-first thinking to build trust and customer loyalty.
• In times of crisis, offer refunds and explore subscription-based models to stay afloat.
• Ask questions about how user behavior needs to change to unlock customer value.
• Understand the implications and risks of using new technologies like AI, machine learning, and Web 3.0.

Defining Your Product Manifesto

The practice of product management is becoming increasingly complex and nuanced. Within product, it is important to understand the ethical considerations that come with the role. James Mayes, founder of Mind the Product, has outlined some key principles that should go in your product manifesto.

• Put Your Customers First: Understand the customer’s needs and find ways to deliver value. It is important to understand the customer’s needs, as well as the long-term implications of any product decisions. Product decisions should always be made in the context of delivering value to the customer.
• Take Stock of Your Impact: As the famed Marc Andreessen article says: Software Is Eating The World. James’ addendum to that is “product managers are writing the menu”. Ask yourself what 4Chan would do. If you build a feature, how could it be used in nefarious ways in the darkest corners of the web?
• Embrace New Tech with Caution: Technologies such as AI, machine learning, and Web 3.0 can provide unique opportunities to solve customer problems. While they can be helpful, it is important to understand the implications and risks of using these technologies.
• Refunds: When faced with the financial challenges of the pandemic, James and Mind the Product offered refunds despite it depleting the company’s runway. With this customer-first thinking, they were able to engender trust which enabled them to thrive when they launched their membership model. But not all who cancel are lost… you can woo back 4 out of every 10 customers who cancel.

Further Learnings

Follow James Mayes on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Also, check out Den of Geek’s article summarizing the infamous Jeffery Katzenberg memo which served as inspiration for Cameron Crowe when writing Jerry Maguire.