The Productologist

This is my first off-topic post (NOTE: there’s still some Product Management stuff at the end…I just couldn’t help myself), but I just had to rave about this: SoBotanical Shave Gel. I was reluctant to try it at first, but I decided that I was being ridiculously stubborn about not trying it so I ordered it. Plus it was recommended by a friend who said, “It’s the bomb! You won’t be disappointed, man.” And he was right, although he may be slightly biased, since SoBotanical is run by his wife.

The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley with Jonathan Littman

I spotted this book at my local library while perusing the business book section and was drawn to it by the fact that it was written by someone involved with IDEO.

For those of you who don’t know what IDEO is, they are a world renowned product design firm based out of the San Francisco Bay area. They are responsible for many product designs you are probably familiar with, such as the Palm V and HandSpring PDAs, the Swiffer sweeper, the interior of the Amtrak Acela commuter train and others. You can check out more about what they have done and what they do on their website.

I recently decided that it was time to get a replacement to my dead USB mouse, which I used when I moved my laptop to conference rooms, prospect and customer sites and while traveling. I had put off replacing it, since the laptop provided by my employer has both a track pad and keyboard nub pointing device and I figured that I could get by using one of those when I had to undock from my desk. However, I have come to the conclusion that pointing devices that are built into the laptop are fine for general UI navigation (starting apps, opening files and the like), but not so much for hard-core navigation inside an app or through a document. Enter the Logitech VXNano.

I mentioned late last year that I was planning to add some new features to The Productologist. Book Reviews is one of those new features.

My motivation is somewhat self-serving (isn’t it always that way?) in that I wanted to spend more time reading about topics that appeal to me professionally and this is the carrot/stick that I am using to accomplish that goal.

I do a good bit of reading already, online and off line, but most of it falls into two categories:

• Escapist fiction (primarily science fiction, but I’m also prone to political or societal farce, too)

I usually only travel once or twice a quarter (which my BW really appreciates while not-so-secretly wishing that it was less), but whether its a short hop to LA or a cross-country jaunt to somewhere in the Eastern timezone, it used to be an ordeal to figure out what I needed to bring. Not clothes or sundry items, but what technology to lug along. Some things are easy; laptop, power supply, mouse, phone/pda, but there’s a whole host of supporting items that can make or break a business trip (trust me, I’ve experienced first hand what happens when you don’t have something you need).