The Secret to Better Performing Products (and Teams) with FYI's Marie Prokopets

My FYI Co-founder Marie joined Maggie Crowley for an episode of the Build podcast. Marie talks about what post-mortems are, and how to run them effectively. What she shares in this episode has become a critical part of our business process—and we think you'll get great value out of it, too. Give it a listen; it ends with tangible takeaways that anyone can implement regardless of their role. 

Learnings and Observations From Engineering to Product

Igor Afonov shares his most important learnings and observations after three years of product management experience (and 10 years of being a software developer). Here are a handful of the ones that resonated most with me:

• Focus on growing your team and delegate everything
• Stay on the "maker" schedule
• Get great at cross-team communication
• Remember that you are a people manager first

Marking Required Fields in Forms

I've noticed this question come up a lot in the UX world: Should you mark the required fields in a form? Many designers feel like having a marker for every required field is a redundant eyesore and takes up too much space. Still, it's critically important to avoid confusing the user and boosting completion rates. Here's why. 

B2B SaaS Marketing Strategies That Actually Work

The basics of successful customer acquisition have always been the same: understand the customer, know their pain points, and make your value proposition incredibly clear. But, what has changed is that it's getting harder to capture the attention of (and impress) the B2B market. If you want to make a splash and genuinely stand out, here are the three things you need to get right.

• Announcing important milestones exclusively on the company blog
• Sharing "inside" details about how to company and its people operate
• Using it to explain controversial decisions in an effort to create an even more loyal user base

The Power of Compound Growth

Leo Polovets gave us a simple reminder this week that compound growth is a beautiful thing. Let this serve as a little bit of encouragement for all of the early-stage startups out there that are wondering about the value of not just growth but retention over time. 

How to Onboard a New Hire

What does it take to make sure a new hire is onboarded in a way that makes them feel welcomed, encouraged, and ready to contribute to the team? Know Your Team Founder Claire Lew shares her company's onboarding process—from what the Day 1 "Welcome Note" included, to the 23 questions she asked a recent hire. This is a fantastic article that I encourage anyone who plays a role in hiring to read. 

Engineering Management: An Overview

Omar Bahareth has spent most of his career as an engineer, and then moved into an engineering management role. This is an honest look at what the transition was like when he made the switch a few years ago. He shares what you should expect—from a lot more writing and scheduling, to an increased exposure to conflict. If you're in an engineering management role, you're going to want to soak up as much of this advice as possible.