How many of you know what a group product manager is?
About me: Background – my current role as PM, SD and its PM challenges, previous roles, coaching background
The NEW challenges of the PM – most presentations talk about challenges with the product, I will talk about challenges as PMs unrelated specifically to the product
Who identifies with it? Who doesn’t? not always a good sign…
CEOs work hard… anything which isn’t owned by someone else is our business
Global economy – most of the important countries are in very different time zones. We travel a lot
24/7 availability and connectivity – back in imperva days I could put the BB aside. Not any more. we have the option but it is hard to resist the temptation
Do other people’s work – we are all talented people. We can do other people’s work especially if did this before. Easier to start fresh as a PM
Because we can! The easiest thing is to decide we would work harder. We love our work and think about it 24/7 anyway (that part is not going to change after this lecture), we might as well work. No real constraint.
This is REALITY. You don’t have to love it, but it won’t change it.
Moreover, if you do it means you probably dealt with the wrong things
It means we need to manage it. Managing it is far more difficult than just letting it be. How do I know?
Because I am doing it
Because we are all doing it – this is why you need product managers. Think about your product backlog – if you didn’t need to prioritize it would have been a lot easier, right?
This is a simple tool I got from a time management lecture I attended almost 10 years ago. I really wanted to go there but didn’t think I have the time. see the absurd?
Have a list – always write it down. Everything.
Every week – Sunday morning or Saturday evening, pick 3 tasks:
Which are achievable, realistically
Which would make you satisfied if you knew you did only them
Everything else is OUT. Communicate it clearly to stake holders.
Plan:
Make sure you have enough time for these tasks
Clear other things, count in other things like company events, seminars, long meetings etc.
It is hard, it requires making tough choices. It requires being brutally honest with yourself about what is possible and what isn’t.
But you can do it. How do I know? Because you are already doing it! Backlog, prioritizing US for the sprint, sprint planning
BTW for those who don’t work in agile, just replace “sprint” with “milestone” or “release”
Manage your time in one-week sprints. The problematic part: you are playing both PM and PD. You have to be a tough PD.
Would you allow yourself to manage your backlog in your head? I use Trello, I use it for other things BTW. It helps reducing the mental load.
Would you finish planning with 130% plan and PD saying they think it would be fine? Probably not. Don’t do it with your time either.
How would you feel if when you finish planning and the team goes away, they are doing things other than what you agreed upon? Don’t do it to yourself either. Use the list as your compass whenever you have time.
Daily checkups are important to track your progress and make sure you will meet your week’s goals. It will also remind you of what they are so that you don’t drift away.
Unexpected things will come in. it’s like a critical production bug in the middle of the sprint. But, if something new comes in, something else has to go
Minimum interruption – as a PM you would let your team work. You don’t tell them 10 times a day “I also need this”, “just a quick question”, “when you have time do this”. You let them work. Apply the same to yourself… email management
My rule: you will never get to inbox zero. Now we need to manage it
You have to focus on what’s important. How? Conversation view and colors. Color by where you are located, not by who sends it (I use categories for that)
No notifications. That’s right – anywhere. Would you let your PD team work when every 5 minutes someone enters the room and shouts in: “I only have a question”, “I need you for a meeting next week”, “FYI – here are the results of the last quarter”, “I am just back from US – chocolates on my desk!”. Never. Don’t do this to yourself. Turn off all notifications.
But… how do I read the important stuff?
Use the phone to browse through the email. This way I know which discussions are happening, even if I don’t get to read them. I read the first few lines that the phone provides – in many cases it is enough to know if it is important or not.
Occasionally I find myself not able to follow any more. I take some quiet time (2 hours in the morning, once every few weeks) to sort through email. That’s more than enough.
FOMO – fear of missing out. Well, here is the news: you will miss out. People would have to nag you. People would tell you please read it, or have you heard about X. unpleasant but worth it.
Don’t know about you, for us planning is always a surprise. Sometimes rightfully so – company strategy changes and sometimes just because you don’t get to it until it is really the time
Just do it – my story on roadmap planning in imperva. There is always more analysis to do, more refinements to come. Sometimes you experience a writer’s block just because it’s too big. Start with something. It’s often good enough
BTW, not only for planning – my summit presentation (WFH)
Sometimes required – for tasks which can only be done quietly
Great for flexibility – adding hours which I couldn’t do because I had to pick up my kids. I even work from the car.
Everything else is like asking your developers to work over the weekend on something. Does it happen? Yes. Is it the rule? No. if it happens every week it means your planning is bad.
Taking a break is important for you. Not only for sustainability, not only for WL balance. It would help you do your job better – your brain needs it.
Manage your time. if you don’t, reality will
Write it down. Everything.
No email notification – read it when you need to (you will still read a lot)
Just do it – done is better than perfect