» Be involved and interested, but not on the critical path
» Talk about the ideas you threw away, in commercial language
» Founders are rejecting the generic advice to delegate everything — this evolves the product manager role
» Even seemingly successful companies fail because of “one thing”
» Amazon is winning because it’s playing the game differently
» 6 ways to defend your business from systemic stresses
» Practical ways to build your mental resilience to setbacks
If you recognise the symptoms such as not being allowed to talk to customers, and my personal favourite, “screw research, let’s build!”, then you may be in product management hell.
What does it mean to be a good product manager in 2018? It’s not just about being agile and creating products users need – we need to be more human.
One of the easiest traps for a product manager to fall into is unquestioning routine or habit. I learned about this most through my time at university training to fly with the Royal Air Force. Let me explain how it applies.
Sometimes when I’m stuck doing the same thing at work I joke that the repetition is causing my brain to harden. Turns out this isn’t so far from the truth. Here’s why it’s important to keep challenging yourself and learning new things.
So much of being a product manager depends on successfully persuading and influencing others. Whether you’re presenting your product strategy, presenting a business case to the Board or talking with your customers, you need to know your subject matter: to demonstrate a good knowledge of your products and market to ensure that you come over as authoritative and credible.
What should product managers keep an eye on in 2011?
