Becoming an Effective Product Manager

[source: productcoalition.com]

A Product Manager (PM) is an effective PM if he does these three things really really well — Problem Identification, Solution Definition, and Getting Sh*t Done. And, the only way to do this well is to Keep Learning: Learn — Apply — Identify — Iterate …

Let’s get the Status-Quo out

Before we answer “How can one become an effective product manager”, I think it’s important to understand why are some or many PMs not that effective. Thoughts?

What I think I do [Source: Pinterest]

Product Management is one of the most chaotic disciplines within and across organisation, industries, continents. The expectation from a PM changes depending upon the:

• type of product — revenue or non-revenue,
• type of industry — technical, i.e., hardware vs software, non-technical et. al.
• size of the organisation — 0–10 people, 10–50 people, 50–150 people, 150–500 people and it keeps going
• structure and processes of the organisation — where does a PM sit in the org. chart, what’s the process of understanding the customer
• where in the globe the role is based out of — Valley with mature PM ecosystem vs. Berlin where PM ecosystem is pretty nascent

Young PMs get confused as to what really does the role expect from them, esp. when they switch organisations. Or, if they tap into their network to understand how it’s done in their networks organisation.

So, I believe it’s because we do not understand what Product Management is.

What’s the way out?

Objective Standard [source: Dilbert / Scot Adams]

So, the only way to become an effective PM is to have a crystal clear understanding of the expectation that the role in your organisation have from you.

But, as one of the tactical skills of an effective PM, abstraction, would apply here — you should be able to apply first principles to the PM role definition and abstract it well enough to know what is expected from you, and hence prioritise right, build right tactical skills and become an effective PM.

So what’s the point?

Fundamentally, an effective PM just does three things — and does them very very well.

1. Define the Vision & Strategy (Problem Identification)
2. Evangelise and Plan/Prioritise the execution (Solution Definition / Problem Solving)
3. Execute for success (Getting Sh*t done)

A great PM is probably two-parts of 1 and eight-parts of 2 & 3.

That’s it. That’s what is expected from a PM. And, an effective PM does all of these. And, does them really really well to ensure the success of the product.

But, it’s still very broad. How do I get to the next level?

While the above defines the expectation from a PM, one will need a bunch of tactical general management skills to be effective — starting with Skill-1 of Problem Identification.

If you are great at problem identification, you should be able to identify problems that are blocking or stopping you from delivering a good outcome for 1, 2 or 3 above.

1. Vision/Strategy — Do you need more insights into P&L or Org. Strategy to build your vision/strategy?

• How can you evangelize and drive relationships to get those informations? (Skill-2 of Stakeholder Management)
• How can you evangelize and drive relationships to get those informations? (Skill-2 of Stakeholder Management)

2. Evangelise — Are you finding it difficult to get investment buy-in for your vision from a leader who holds the purse string?

• Can you influence some other P&L owner? (Skill-2 of Stakeholder Management as before, Skill-3 of Storytelling)
• Can you build a strong and convincing business-case? (Skill-4 of Business & Finance)

3. Planning — Are you unable to get dedicated set of resources, or your tiger team, for developing you vision?

• Can you define the structure of the team that you believe should be able to drive successful results? Skills needed? (Skill-5 of Team Building)
• Can your storytelling motivate and inspire people to make them want to work on this next big thing rather than let the org. decide if you should have people and who should they be? (Skill-3 of storytelling and Skill-5 of Team Building)

4. Execution — Are your timelines consistently delayed? Why is that so?

• Is it because you expect something and what comes out is something else? Are you able to transfer the right context to the product builders? Can you modify the overall process such that context transfer becomes easier and better? (Skill-6 of Talking the same language, e.g., technical understanding, and Skill-7 of Organisation Building, e.g., process definition and setup)
• Or, do you feel team is not driving with ownership? Can you inspire people such that they believe in your vision, and are motivated and feel accountable to drive ownership? (Skill-8 of Being a Leader, e.g., listening well, motivating through accountability)

So, if you can see where we are headed with this is — the list is absolutely endless. There is no dearth of skills that a PM shouldn’t have to be an effective PM.

So, how do I become an effective PM?

Well, since there is so much that a PM needs to know to be effective, the only thing that you can do ensure that you are an effective PM is this: keep learning.

Yup. That’s the only rule to becoming an effective PM.

KEEP LEARNING — The only rule to becoming an effective PM.

[ product-to-product @ medium ]

Since, a PMs role is narrow enough, i.e., focus on success of product (..and business), it’s also broad enough, i.e., focus on success of product (..and business). And, you need to do everything and anything to help you achieve that.

Keep Learning.

• Dig into learning resources — books, articles, expert blogs, podcasts, videos.
• Tap into network of other PMs in similar or other companies. Look inside (be self-aware), and identify the gaps. Ask your network if they have faced something similar and how did they solve this. Ask them if they recommend a book or a podcast or a youtube video or an influencer that you can follow.
• See if you can find a seasoned product leader to mentor you and guide you (Happy to help!)
• Work with your manager to identify areas of development, and ensure you spend atleast some portion of your time doing stuffs that can help you develop yourself in those areas.

And, keep applying what you learn. Learn from the outcome. Iterate.

That’s how you become an effective PM. Happy Learning!