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by
Matt Lemay
“The skill of actually figuring out what you need is probably as important as what you do after you figure it out.”
The best product managers I’ve met are those whose teams use phrases like “I would trust that person with my life” and, “That person makes me feel excited to show up for work in the morning.”
The CORE Skills of Product Management: Communication, Organization, Research, and Execution
The guiding principle for communication is “clarity over comfort.”
The guiding principle for organization is “change the rules, don’t break the rules.”
The guiding principle for research is, “live in your user’s reality.”
The guiding principle for execution is “no work beneath, no work above.”
The idea that technical folks can respect only somebody who shares their skill set is, frankly, insulting to technical folks.
many overachievers find success not by growing their skills in areas where they struggle, but rather by avoiding these areas altogether.
“I’m too busy right now” is a very dangerous sentence for product managers.
Focusing on best practices leads to an incurious mindset
To be blunt, most published case studies and articles about best practices are largely recruiting propaganda.
The best product managers always take time to learn about what makes an organization unique before they start implementing — or even suggesting — specific best practices. And when they do start implementing those best practices, they start small and build incrementally.
It’s always a process to get to your process.
If you need something, ask for it, and be absolutely clear about why you’re asking for it.
Remember, CEOs or departmental leaders are going to win one way or another, and you are much better off if they win by the rules that you created together.
nothing that you are telling a senior stakeholder in a “big” meeting should ever be a surprise, ever.
Ask about specific instances, not generalizations
don’t use the word data. If you’re discussing a particular set of information, describe that specific set of information.
Agile is not a matter of working more or of working faster, but rather of working differently. In fact, following the core values of Agile often means slowing down, at least momentarily, to reflect on how we currently work and how we could work better.
Product management is not an easy job — but the practice of product management can make everybody’s job easier.
Show up, be present, and model for your team that, even in the midst of major organizational challenges, it is of the utmost importance that you find time to step back, communicate, and connect.
You will be humbled by the generosity and forgiveness shown by your colleagues. And over time, you might even become more forgiving toward yourself.
No matter how smart you are, product management demands that you learn how to be wrong.
