3. Four types of “new” Product Managers
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Your relationship to the organization
New Tenured
New
New product,
new organization
New product,
same organization
Existing
Existing product,
new organization
Existing product,
same organization
Typeofproduct
4. Ten Tips
1. Spend time with customers
2. Ask “dumb” questions
3. Let go of your past
4. Surround yourself with experts
5. Gather data
6. Focus
7. Concentrate on what, not how
8. Communicate, communicate, communicate
9. Sell your product internally
10. Do whatever it takes
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5. Spend time with customers
The single most
important thing a
product manager can
do is to understand
the market
The best way to
understand the
market is to spend
time with customers
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6. Spend time with customers: To Do
Spend more time with customers
than with colleagues
Set goals for customer visits
Establish a regular schedule
for customer interactions
Bring colleagues along with you
Bring back information to share
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7. Ask “dumb” questions
“Dumb” questions are really
more about when they get
asked than about what you
are asking
New product managers have
the luxury of asking naïve
questions
Ask as many questions as
possible as soon as possible
Who to ask? Customers,
colleagues, stakeholders,
superiors, partners,
competitors…
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8. Ask “dumb” questions: To Do
Develop a list of initial questions
Generate additional questions each time
one is answered
Make note of interesting answers
for future reference
Ask the same question to different people
and compare answers
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9. Let go of your past
What were you in your “past” life? Whatever it was,
you’re a product manager now
There is a natural instinct for product managers to
gravitate towards the function of the business from
which they came – resist it
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10. Let go of your past: To Do
Audit the time you are spending on each
area
of the product
Have an open conversation with colleagues
in your former role
- Discuss experiences and establish boundaries
Think hard before overruling decisions
Review regularly to discuss progress
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11. Surround yourself with experts
Product managers can not and should not
do it all alone
Your success depends on others
Do not try to be an expert in everything
Leverage the expertise of others in certain areas
Look for “formal” and “informal” advisors
Experts do not just have to be within your
organization
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12. Surround yourself with experts: To
Do
Identify areas important to product’s
success
Identify internal experts in targeted
areas
Enlist experts as Trusted Advisors
Utilize advisors for decision-making,
planning, support and overcoming
obstacles
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13. Gather data
“In a truly consumer-driven company,
decisions are based on data… so the
person with the best data wins.” – Scott
Cook; Founder, Intuit
Lots of different
types of data…
◦ Internal data
◦ External data
◦ Market data
◦ Product data
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14. Gather data: To Do
Gather existing market research and industry
data – primary and secondary
Identify information gaps and develop plans to
fill them
Gather existing product performance data
Identify missing and desired information and
leverage colleagues to obtain
◦ If desired data is not available, quantify the value of it
in order to obtain support for projects to gather it
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15. Ten Tips
1. Spend time with customers
2. Ask “dumb” questions
3. Let go of your past
4. Surround yourself with experts
5. Gather data
6. Focus
7. Concentrate on what, not how
8. Communicate, communicate, communicate
9. Sell your product internally
10. Do whatever it takes
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16. Focus
It will be overwhelming
You will not know where
to start
It is better to do one
thing well than to do a
lot of things poorly
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17. Focus: To Do
Make a list of all of the “internal” and “external”
priorities
Determine timelines, relative levels of effort, and
resources required
Pick a few quick wins and focus initial effort
During that time, develop longer-term focus
Get agreement on focus, communicate, and reiterate it
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18. Concentrate on what, not how
It will be tempting to control “how” things
get done with your product
Resist the temptation
Product managers should define “what”
needs to happen…
… and others should define “how” those
things happen
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19. Concentrate on what, not how: To Do
Clarify roles and responsibilities with team
members
Engineering
Design
Marketing
Get regular feedback on whether you and
others are keeping with the agreed-upon
responsibilities
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20. Communicate, communicate…
Do not underestimate
the importance of
communication in all
forms
◦ Informal, formal, written,
verbal, unspoken, method,
timeliness, frequency,
tone
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21. Communication
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Source: Seven Traits of Successful Product Managers; Michael Shrivathsan
michael.hightechproductmanagement.com/2006/12/seven_traits_of_successful_pro.html
25. Communicate, communicate: To Do
Audit current communications (if any)
Get feedback from stakeholders on preferred
communications channels and frequency
Develop communications plan; type and
frequency
◦ Email newsletter
◦ Intranet site
◦ “State of the Product” presentations
Set reminders about communications and stick
to schedule!
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26. Sell your product internally
Be the champion for your product
“Sell” your product to executives, team
members, other departments
Will help gain resources, funding, support
for issues and new initiatives
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27. Sell your product internally: To Do
Regularly communicate good news
◦ Don’t go overboard
◦ Don’t ignore or try to dismiss bad news
Make sure your communication plans
include
all the necessary audiences
Get others to help sell your product
◦ Explicit “enlistment”
◦ Find good supporters and keep them happy
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28. Do whatever it takes
“Be willing to do whatever it takes.
…
I know of many cases where the
product manager needed to help
out with deliverables for customer
support, sales training, technical
writing, QA, engineering, and
marketing. You may need to just do
it.”
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29. Do whatever it takes: To Do
Learn about as many areas of your product
as possible
◦ The more you know, the more you can help
Help out at the right time
◦ Don’t start too early, but don’t wait too long
Don’t complain about having to help out
◦ But make sure to discuss it later if there are skill or
resource issues that need to be addressed
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30. Bonus tip #11
Learn from other product managers
There are plenty of great (and often
free!) resources available
Books, blogs, newsletters, webinars,
conferences, training, professional
associations, local groups, mailing
lists, social networking sites…
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