Whilst on the one hand you don't want to say no to any idea or suggestion for your product, taking on new work at the wrong time can really slow you down.

So, what's the best way to say no? Here's 10 approaches:

• Ignorance is bliss. Turn-off email and put your headphones on. Yep, pretty extreme but sometimes it is the only way.
• Simply, listen. Because sometimes it's enough just to listen to what someone has to say.
• Short, sharp, NO. If it is something you can never see being done, say so.
• Phase it in. An old favourite. Can't do it right now but perhaps in a later version.
• More information required. Many ideas just are not full ideas or opportunities. Ask for more detail on these ones, you owe this to yourself before you even consider it.
• Strategic fit. It could be an amazing idea, but apples are apples. Sometimes it's just the wrong time for a banana.
• Already doing it. The chances are high you are already doing (or have thought of doing) what is being suggested. Nobody really likes to hear this, but you should definitely not be shy if this comes up.
• But that means we can't wash your car. Moot the reality that one big idea at a time is how it works, the new idea may well be important but something else will inevitably have to slip.
• Be bullet proof. Nail your product feature road map to the wall. If people see you are on top of things they may well feel comfortable enough to at least hold back on knee-jerk ideas.
• Have you spoken to Tom about this? Lots of people have pet projects, divert them. Chances are, it may be appropriate for them to talk to someone else before they come to you.

Saying no successfully is an art. In truth, the best product managers do all of the above, all of the time.

The ultimate benchmark is the product. If it happens you are getting features that are consistently controversial the chances are you are saying YES too often.

Would be really interested to hear others thoughts on this?

Every now and then it makes sense to think about 'super' products. Whether or not you ever get the chance to work with a 'super' product there's plenty to be gleaned from reflecting on how these products came to be.

'Super' products from my generation would include audio/visual products like Sky's early Digital TV product or the early gaming products like the first Atari console. They are 'super' because they define and remind us of the dawn of new eras for particular product groups.

The main product I always come back to though, is the iPod. I think it's a mixture of having enjoyed the product and having been inspired by its history. To me it epitomises and demonstrates perfectly some of the really inspiring and aspirational elements of successful product management:

• Championing your product - Most people know that Tony Fadell came up for the concept and despite his initial pitches to other companies being turned down, finally got his idea through the doors at Apple.
  The moral: if you believe in your product then the chances are that eventually, others will too.
• Recognising and seizing opportunity - Though Steve Jobs didn't originate the concept, you'd have to say that he was equally astute in recognising that Fadell's concept was right for his brand.
  The moral: Opportunities present themselves all the time, the product manager's focus should always be to recognise those that have the most potential.
• Looking at things in new ways - Hats off to Fadell. We already had MP3 players and Napster as separate entities. His genius was spotting the connection between the material and the virtual (a player with an online store.)
  The moral: Sometimes it's a fusion of established ideas that creates the killer product, take time to think about how you can do what you do more effectively by taking a slightly altered approach.
• Sticking with and developing your vision - The iPod has iterated several times each time to pretty impressive acclaim.
  The moral: We should always be thinking about what comes next, you can guarantee that your customers will be. Look after your best products, they will look after you.

In summary I think that in some small way product stories like the iPod can and should inspire all product managers create better products.

Andrew Mills has written an interesting post on Innovation. He's asking product managers for views on the importance of innovation in their role.
I'd say for product managers in a web company, its right up there.
A few thoughts on innovating:

• Competition in most mainstream markets is fierce. Positioning and differentiating products is therefore increasingly important. When conducting competitive analysis you really need to ask how you can create an inventive solution to a problem that has probably been posed before. One of the best ways to achieve value therefore has to be to approach old problems in innovative and creative ways.
• With so much choice, there's also the basic and increasing pressure to "delight" people either with what your product does, or how it looks/what the user experience is. So you have less and less choice but to focus on “delighting” as well as procuring commercial advantage from your product.
• Innovation is hard. Probably, it is more an ever-present goal than anything else. There are no guarantees with innovation, but I think the pursuit of attainment must make it more likely that you will succeed.
• Finally, how do we judge real innovation? Sure you can pluck example from the air like the i-phone, for example, but there are lots of levels. I find masses of innovation in the way web companies develop sites that present information in new ways (alltop and cork'd spring to mind as executions that do old jobs in new ways). So, in many ways, even now after more than a decade, there's evidence all over the web that innovation ranks very high with pm's.

Would love to hear what others think about innovation and how they mould it in to their development processes....?