Features of a great product manager

Why do some people fail, while others bring any case to the end? What is the difference between good and outstanding professionals? Where is the line between despotism and faith in the result? Well, what unites great product managers in the club of real professionals? Under the cut is the wonderful story of 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 the document was written several years ago, it is still very relevant and filled with great tips.

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As I read it, I noticed that I mentally checked how the writing corresponds to the product managers I know. Over the years I have managed to manage a couple of hundreds of product / program managers, and just work with a myriad of. 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 with my own growth. But I do not claim that this is the ultimate truth.



I dropped the obvious things like “is a worthy person”, “respectfully communicates with people”, “trusts 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 are reading this for yourself, then try to understand what exactly is in tune with your beliefs and is appropriate for your situation. Once you figure it out, start developing these traits in yourself (see tip # 9). Although here I use the well-established term “product manager”, but in fact I mean “product people”. Great product creators can be called whatever you like — product managers, program managers, designers, developers, marketers, or sales people. In other words, skills are more important than titles.



I deliberately compiled this list in no apparent order, since the value of each feature varies situationally and depends on the individual, team and context. So you can read in any order. However, my friend reminded me that I should follow my own advice (No. 10 - Prioritizes). So if I were asked to choose three qualities of the product creator, I would choose:



№1 - Starts with "why."

# 13 - Curious / appreciates curiosity.

№18 - Has a firm point of view / weakly adheres to it.

These three, I think, are 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 will want to use our product, what problems he will solve in his clients life. Simon Sinek perfectly summarizes his approach. She writes reviews that we would like to receive from our users. Having justified the product's mission, the product manager rallifies people around her and stubbornly insists on this vision, while remaining flexible in achieving this mission.



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



2) Creates products that solve his own problems . The product manager knows that great products are often created for themselves. This advice is often given to all sorts of CEOs, but it applies to everyone who participates in the creation. Working on a product that he himself would have used, the product manager feels the customers, intuitively understands what they need. He uses the product daily and is one of the best testers on 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 from? Usually, their founders find some specific unsolved problems ” (c) Paul Graham.



3) Clearly sets goals, measures progress, and interacts 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 (to make people dream), realistic (to keep people focused on achievement) and measurable (to help guide people). It should also be common goals - something that the team believes in and wants to achieve. The product manager tirelessly tracks progress toward 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 the colleagues information about the situation on the market through links, presentations and analysis of products. This data is used to guide and inform (not for dictate) within its product lines.



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



6) Builds trust . The product manager both trusts and is trustworthy. He knows the difference between trust and blind faith, and builds a working environment in which people cover each other’s backs. He sets an example by his behavior and works on the assumption that other people have good intentions. He listens and always seeks to understand the context, another's point of view and perspective.



This is partly due to 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 the generation of 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 will just teach the algorithm user preferences”). He probably already painted a caricature of the similarity given below. Being a pragmatist, he is not focused too much on implementation (see # 1 — Starts with “why”) and remains open to technical breakthroughs.







8) Use restrictions to your advantage . Many of the most inventive solutions in the world have grown out of the depth of the restrictions 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 may even intentionally apply artificial constraints during the formation of an idea 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) Develop your strengths . He is not a jack of all trades, but he has strengths and he consistently develops them. He is interested in his strengths becoming as strong as possible; knows about his shortcomings and does not allow them to devour themselves. But the most important thing is that he is capable of doing so that his virtues complement each other, turning into unique skills. He respects other disciplines (development, design, and so on), but does not overly identify himself with them, realizing that specific skills are more valuable than job titles.



10) Prioritize . The product manager is a born compiler. He found many complex problems that can be solved by simply compiling lists of actions and their execution in order of priority. He is a hardcore prioritizer, makes important compromises at the right time and intuitively feels the quality of the idea necessary for the current situation / stage. The product manager is not afraid to discard ideas / features if this leads to 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 at the most important” (c) Ben Horowitz .



He also understands that, for all the importance of throwing away too much, the most difficult thing is to understand exactly what needs to be dropped. And he intuitively thinks in terms of scenarios and whole experience, and not product features. This skill is evident due to his approach to creating an MVP (minimum viable product, a product with minimal functionality).







11) Asks for forgiveness, not permission . Perhaps it will not come to him in a natural way, but the product manager understands that a beautiful working environment inspires risk and rewards for it, and carries this understanding to the outside world. He sets an example by his actions and asks for forgiveness in case of errors, but does not wait for permission. He expects others to do the same.



12) Benefit from change and uncertainty . Some like change and uncertainty, and the product manager sees them as a natural consequence of pursuing innovation, and acts extremely efficiently in such periods. At this time, he necessarily helps others, helps to gain clarity of understanding and confidence, whenever possible.



13) Curious, appreciates curiosity . The product manager is very curious and believes that he needs to learn either all his 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 data collection and analysis, which helps him form opinion. He does it informally, efficiently and at every opportunity. Although he loves data, he is not obedient to them and understands that this is “only one more contribution”, considering that even the best research, experiments and analyzes often describe only part of the situation. The product manager intuitively feels that in the course of data collection, the law of diminishing returns has come into force, and is able to make a decision based on incomplete information.







15) Simplifies the complex . He always tries to break down the problem into the most important issues and solutions. Sharing information, the product manager assesses the audience on the basis of “what do they need to know?”, And not “how much can I show?”. It anticipates future problems, but remains focused on the likely risks, rather than on a specific set of problems that may occur. He likes to sum up (display the main idea).



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



16) Appreciates trying, not talking; the result, not the activity; creation, not criticism . The product manager is first to take action, avoids lengthy debates on a potential solution, which requires only one day to create a prototype, or which can be selected simply on the basis of the client’s response. The product manager chooses a good idea with a great realization, not a brilliant idea, but poorly implemented. He is not afraid to "get his hands dirty" and regularly watches who the team needs his help.







17) Able to find the right point of view on the situation . The product manager is able to look at a specific situation in the correct “scale”, and it is equally comfortable to act at different levels of “details”. He does not “propose to take a step back,” when progress is needed, and does not delve into small details, when a broader view is more useful. This is called "systems thinking."



18) Has a firm point of view, but weakly adheres to it . Faced with the need to make headway in the face of uncertainty, the product manager expresses a firm point of view, but “poorly adheres to it”. This benefits all who are involved in the process of creating a product, because it provides a clear line of action, while not allowing self-confidence to develop and stimulating debate. This approach is manifested in the products that the product manager is working on; it can be described as stubbornness, not entanglement. The product manager openly challenges his own assumptions during the dialectic process , and encourages others to do the same. With enough evidence and data, he turns to new ideas and concepts by re-starting the cycle.



19) Creates a material that can be actively used and always "relevant to the task . " The product manager is a productive content creator, but not for the sake of simple documentation, but to convey ideas, provide repeatable instructions, and offer mentoring. He understands the importance of specifications, but he knows that these are only tools, and always selects the best toolkit for his work. He is not keen on writing a specification when a single line email is enough. He knows that sometimes inaccurate UX imitations are the best way to visually express ideas, and will make prototypes if specifications, imitations and writing do not help.



20) Gives feedback . Looking for feedback. He tries to give concrete, useful for a particular person feedback, and does so with the best of intentions. He always asks, “what will be useful?”, And not “what do I want to say?”. Gives and receives feedback on the product so that the focus is on the product, not the person. He knows that to be understandable to someone does not mean to be mutually good, and the act of kindness can be precisely the reliability of feedback. Since the product manager understands the importance of feedback, he shares the results of his work early and often. He does not expect a “great discovery”, but tries to get input data at the earliest stage possible, when the cost of changes is low.



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