Features of a great product manager

Why do some people fail, while others bring any matter to the end? What is the difference between good and outstanding professionals? Where is the line between despotism and belief in results? So what unites excellent product managers into a club of real professionals? Under the cut is a beautiful story by Lawrence Ripscher .

In his book “ The Hard Thing about Hard Things, ” Ben Horowitz refers to his document , which describes the criteria for a good product manager. Although written several years ago, the document is still very relevant and filled with great tips.



As I read it, I noticed that I was mentally checking how much the writing corresponded to the product managers I knew. Over the years, I have managed to manage a couple of hundreds of product / program managers, and just work with a myriad of them. I believe that many of them are the best in the industry, and some have become my closest friends. So I made my own list of traits and actions that I observed with the best product managers. It is these features and approaches that I value in such specialists, and I try to develop in others, comparing them with my own growth. But I do not claim that this is the ultimate truth.

I discarded obvious things like “being a worthy person”, “respectfully communicating with people”, “trusting others” and so on. I tried to write as if I were describing the ideal product manager to my friend or colleague. In reality, one person cannot possess all this set of features, and if you read it for yourself, then try to understand what exactly is in tune with your beliefs and fits your situation. Once you figure it out, start developing these features in yourself (see tip # 9). Although I use the established term “product manager” here, I really mean “product people”. Great creators of the product can be referred to as anything - product managers, program managers, designers, developers, marketers or sales people. In other words, skills are more important than titles.

I intentionally compiled this list without a visible order, since the value of each trait varies situationally and depends on the individual, team and context. So you can read in any order. However, my friend recalled that I should follow my own advice (No. 10 - Prioritize). So if I was asked to choose the three qualities of the creator of the product, I would choose:

No. 1 - Starts with "why."
No. 13 - Curious / appreciates curiosity.
No. 18 - Has a firm point of view / weakly adheres to it.
I consider these three to be fundamental qualities, and the rest can be learned.

List

1) Starts with “why . ” He always starts working with clients and has a clear understanding of why someone wants to use our product, what problems he will solve in the life of clients. Synek Simon ( Simon Sinek ) perfectly sums up their approach. She writes reviews that we would like to receive from our users. Having justified the mission of the product, the product manager rallies people around her and stubbornly insists on this vision, while remaining flexible in achieving this mission.

“Be persistent in vision, flexible in detail” (c) Jeff Bezos .

2) Creates products that solve his own problems. The product manager knows that great products are often made for themselves. This advice is often given to all kinds of CEOs, but it applies to everyone involved in the creation. Working on a product that he himself would use, the product manager feels the customers, intuitively understands what they need. He uses the product every day and is one of the best testers in the team, identifying more flaws than anyone else.

“If you are looking for the origins of successful startups, then some of them began in imitation of some other startups. Where did they get their ideas? Usually, their founders find some specific unresolved problems ” (c) Paul Graham.

3) Set goals clearly, measure progress and interact with the team. The product manager has a clear definition of success for any team and product he is working on. These goals are inspirational (so that people dream), realistic (so that people stay focused on achieving) and measurable (to help guide people). It should also be common goals - something that the team believes in and what it wants to achieve. The product manager tirelessly monitors progress towards goals, but knows that metrics are only evidence of success, not success itself.

4) Knows the market.He knows the market well and how the product fits into it. He understands competitors and constantly uses their products. He regularly shares with colleagues information about the market situation through links, presentations and product reviews. He uses this data for referral and information (not not for dictate) as part of his product lines.

5) Looking for mentors . Teaches others. The product manager knows that one of the best ways to learn is to learn from those who have already done what he wants to do. He builds relationships with mentors, takes charge of himself, and clearly explains what he wants to grow in. He passes on the experience gained, instructing other product managers, and in the process discovers that his point of view is constantly being strengthened and improved.

6)Builds trust . The product manager at the same time trusts and is trustworthy. He knows the difference between trust and blind faith, and builds a work environment in which people cover each other's backs. He sets an example with his behavior and works on the basis that other people have good intentions. He listens and always seeks to understand the context, someone else's point of view and perspective.

In part, this stems from the desire to simply live in a world where people trust each other. But the reason is that it is important for business:



7) Understands how. The product manager focuses the team on good ideas that can be implemented. His understanding of technical feasibility creates a short and effective feedback loop between generating ideas and implementation, which saves a lot of engineering cycles.

He does not use such things as experiments or machine learning as crutches (for example, “we just train the algorithm for user preferences”). He probably already painted a caricature similar to the one below. Being a pragmatist, he is not overly focused on implementation (see No. 1 - Starts with the “why”) and remains open to technical breakthroughs.



8) Uses restrictions to his advantage. Many of the world's most inventive solutions have grown out of the depths of limitations that have paralyzed many others. The product manager understands the paradox of choice and knows that unlimited statements like “we can do anything” are counterproductive. He can even intentionally apply artificial constraints during the formation of ideas to help generate feedback, stimulate non-linear thinking and test boundaries for strength.

“The enemy of art is the absence of restrictions” (c) Pablo Picasso .

9) Develops its strengths. He is not a jack of all trades, but he has strengths, and he develops them successively. He is interested in his strengths becoming as strong as possible; knows about their shortcomings and does not allow them to devour themselves. But the most important thing is that he is able to do so that his advantages complement each other, turning into unique skills. He respects other disciplines (development, design, and so on), but does not excessively identify with them, realizing that specific skills are more valuable than job titles.

10) Prioritizes. Product Manager is a natural list compiler. He found many complex problems that could be solved by simply compiling lists of actions and executing them in order of priority. He is a hardcore prioritizer, makes you make important compromises at the right time and intuitively feels the quality of the idea needed for the current situation / stage. The product manager is not afraid to discard ideas / properties if this leads to a simplification or improvement of the user experience, even if a lot of time and effort was spent on it.

“If you do everything, you will fail in the most important” (c) Ben Horowitz .

He also understands that for all the importance of discarding excess, the most difficult thing is to understand what exactly needs to be discarded. And intuitively thinks in terms of scenarios and whole experience, not product features. This skill is obvious thanks to his approach to creating MVP (minimum viable product, a product with minimal functionality).



11) Asks for forgiveness, not permission . This may not come to him naturally, but the product manager understands that a great work environment inspires risk and rewards him, and brings this understanding to the outside world. He sets an example by his actions and asks for forgiveness in case of errors, and does not wait for permission. He expects others to do the same.

12) Benefits from change and uncertainty. Some people like change and uncertainty, and the product manager perceives them as a natural consequence of the pursuit of innovation, and acts extremely effectively in such periods. At this time, he necessarily helps others, helps to gain clarity of understanding and confidence, when possible.

13) Curious, appreciates curiosity . The product manager is very curious and believes that he needs to study either his whole life, or to study everything. He is always more interested in getting the right answer, rather than being right. He appreciates the versatility of thinking and perceives opposing points of view as an opportunity to learn about new ideas (or at least to study a person better).

14) Data oriented. The product manager benefits from the collection and analysis of data, which helps him in forming an opinion. He does this informally, efficiently and whenever possible. Although he loves the data, he is not submissive to them and understands that this is “only one more contribution”, given that even the best studies, experiments and analyzes often describe only part of the situation. The product manager intuitively feels that the law of diminishing returns has come into force during data collection and is able to make decisions based on incomplete information.



15) Simplifies complex. He always tries to break down the problem into the most important issues and solutions. By sharing information, the product manager evaluates the audience according to the principle “what do they need to know?” Rather than “how much can I show?” He anticipates future problems, but remains focused on probable risks, rather than on a specific set of problems that may occur. He likes to summarize (to derive the main idea).

“I would write a letter shorter, but I did not have time” (c) Mark Twain

16) Appreciates attempts, not conversations; result, not activity; creation, not criticism. The product manager is the first to act, to avoid lengthy debate on a potential solution, the prototype of which takes only one day, or which can be chosen simply on the basis of the client’s response. The product manager chooses a good idea with excellent implementation, not a brilliant idea, but poorly implemented. He is not afraid to “get his hands dirty” and regularly watches who needs help from his team.



17) Is able to find the right point of view on the situation . The product manager is able to look at a specific situation on the correct “scale”, and act equally comfortable at different levels of “detail”. He does not “suggest taking a step back” when progress is needed, and does not go into small details when a wider view is more useful. This is called "systemic thinking."

18) Has a firm point of view, but weakly adheres to it . Faced with the need to push forward in the face of uncertainty, the product manager expresses a firm point of view, but "weakly adheres to it." This benefits everyone who is involved in the product creation process, as it provides an understandable course of action, while not allowing self-confidence to develop and stimulating debate. This approach manifests itself in the products that the product manager is working on; it can be described as stubbornness, not confusion. The product manager openly challenges his own assumptions during the dialectic process , and encourages others to do the same. Given sufficient evidence and data, he turns to new ideas and concepts, starting the cycle anew.

19) Creates material that can be actively used and always “appropriate to the task” . A product manager is a productive content creator, but not for the sake of simple documentation, but for conveying ideas, providing repeatable instructions and offering mentoring. He understands the importance of specifications, but knows that these are just tools, and always chooses the best tools for his work. He is not keen on scribbling a specification when one-line email is enough. He knows that sometimes inaccurate UX simulations are the best way to visually express ideas, and he will make prototypes if specifications, simulations, and writing do not help.

20) Gives feedback. Looking for feedback. He tries to give specific, useful feedback for a particular person, and he does it with the best of intentions. He always asks, “what will be useful?” Rather than “what do I want to say?” Gives and receives feedback on the product so that the focus is on the product, and not on the individual. He knows that being clear to someone does not mean being mutually kind, and the authenticity of feedback can be an act of kindness. Since the product manager understands the importance of feedback, he early and often shares the results of his work. He does not expect a “great discovery”, but tries to get input at the earliest possible stage when the cost of change is low.

That's all! Thanks to everyone who worked on great products - you practically wrote this list just by doing what you did.