» Every decision is a trade-off — deciding what not to do is just as important as deciding what to do
» A good product vision captures customer, user, value proposition and links to organisational objectives
» Interrogate your goals: “For this to happen, what must be true?”, then mark which are facts or assumptions
» Avoid jumping on the first idea — check what problem we think it solves, then ask, “How else could we do this?”
» Take a systematic approach to evaluating multiple solutions to the same opportunity
» ‘Assumption’ is just another word for ‘things we believe’
» When there are many opportunities in contention, assess whether it’s worth solving the problem
» We tend to come up with solutions before defining the problem they solve
» Decisions should be the result of rational and deliberate reasoning, but not all are perfectly rational
» Almost every decision has associated downsides or compromises
» Avoid trying to please people or to allow individuals to dominate the decision-making process
» It’s easy to conflate transparency on the decision-making process, with transparency on the actual decisions
» Don’t specify rigid requirements to your delivery team, have a collaborative conversation instead
» Try out lots of different solutions to the same problem
» Don’t be pressured to rush through discovery and prototyping
» Share knowledge around your team
» Avoid misunderstandings through constant communication with stakeholders
» Humility and authenticity go a long way in building trust
» It is hard both to share data when expected, and to do so in a way that is trustworthy and acceptable to the public
» “Nobody ever read a simple sentence and thought ‘well, that was too easy to understand.’”
» With care it is possible to create valuable products with user data while maintaining trustworthiness
When your stakeholders each have their own interpretations of the product strategy, this lack of stakeholder alignment will cause you no end of problems. Here’s what you can do about it.
» Use empathy to appreciate the context, needs and pain points of your stakeholders
» Understanding people’s social style helps you influence stakeholders more effectively
» You can use different modes of persuasion to craft a more compelling argument
» Picking the right time to make your point can amplify your persuasiveness
» Saying no to a good idea requires confidence in your product strategy
» Even if saying no to an opportunity, take the time to understand its value and context
» Keep ideas and suggestions separate from your product backlog
» Clear company goals and strategy make it easier to say no to unaligned requests
» Saying yes habitually to one-off custom features will usually kill your product business
» Identify the key stakeholders whom you need to trust you and collaborate with you regularly
» Understand the real reason for anger – whether in others or ourselves
» Remember where stakeholders’ help starts and ends
» To be trusted, you need to demonstrate your competence
Starting a new product manager job can be daunting, particularly if you don’t change jobs very often. I work freelance, so I find myself in a new organisation roughly every 3-6 months. Let me share with you my tips for your first few months in a new role.
