My 8 years of
product learnings
in one post
#ProductManagement
#1
There are only two criterias
for product success:
Whether it solves a user
problem well?
Whether it helps business
move forward?
#2
Users will only use the product if
It solves problems in their lives.
Addresses an important desire.
Do this better than the
alternatives.
#3
The business will move forward
if your product helps in
Increasing market share,
Increasing revenue, or
Building a competitive
advantage.
#4
User Empathy is the no.1 skill
you need as a product
manager.
Its built through care, proactiveness and communication.
#5
Your team is the most important
factor in your success.
Fortunately, there are ways to
learn to motivate and align
people.
#6
Almost no product can satisfy all
kinds of customers.
Learn to separate noise from
signals during user research
and analysis.
#7
A product manager who doesn't
talk to their users frequently,
ends up becoming just
a feature manager.
#8
On Stakeholder management:
Involve leaders early.
Get people to work on their
ideas.
Stand up for your team.
Create a culture of meritocracy
and quick feedback.
#9
Always decide on metrics before
you start working on the
feature.
It's easy to fall for
fundamental attributer error
later.
#10
Quality of your mental health
will reflect in the quality of your
product & work.
Working long hours all the time
isn't sustainable.
#11
Always
prioritize and filter before
execution.
#12
Execution is an important skill,
but shouldn't be the only skill
that you have.
Combine
execution with strategy
and see yourself grow.
#13
Asking
the right questions
is 90% of product discovery,
the rest 10% is
structuring and analyzing
your findings.
#14
Cracking a PM interview &
doing a PM job well
are two different things.
That's a sad reality.
#15
It's possible to move from
ANY DOMAIN
to product management,
but it's not easy.
#16
Do not be a slave of tools.
Tools change,
your expertise improves.
#17
Reflect often:
The feature is only failed if it
fails to achieve the metrics
and you didn't learn anything
from it.
#18
It's difficult to explain your job,
Sometimes, even to your own
team.
#19
All roadmaps change.
But the act of planning is more
important
than the plan itself.
#20
Build relationships,
and solid proof of work.
This is probably not your last
job or company.
Fellow PMs, 👋🏽
What have been your major
learnings in the product
management career?