This morning my phone blew up with all sorts of notifications from various news outlets and tech websites that, at long last, Apple's HomePod would be available for pre-order this Friday.

I use the phrase "at long last" not because I have been eagerly awaiting to see Cupertino's latest but because, from a product marketing perspective, I am interested to see if Apple can effectively leverage its significant user base and substantial brand to shoehorn HomePod into an already-established...

It probably seems obvious, stating that companies should listen to their customers and that they need to be evidence-driven when executing their product strategy. But I've found that it's much easier to say than to execute in practice.

There are a number of reasons for this, but in my experience I've found that the largest barriers are organizational structure, budget constraints, and cultural inertia. It's difficult for any of us to admit we may not be right about something. But being...