The Attributes of a Good Product Manager Nader Balata Product twitter.com/NaderBalata Naderbalata.tumblr.com

The Five pillars of a Good product Manager 1. Creator/Builder 1. Intellectually curious 1. Problem solver 1. Collaborator 1. Improver

Creator/Builder A good PM needs to have a creator’s instincts. Do any of these apply to you: You have a lot of worthwhile ideas You derive satisfaction from building something rather than implementing someone else’s plan or idea You strive to be original or standout You believe in yourself to take calculated risks You are entrepreneurial You are a divergent thinker You are inspired Influential Now discover a product that is useful, usable, and feasible!

Intellectually Curious Foundational to product management is resonating with these types of questions/statements: Hmm, I wonder why this [business process or product] isn’t attaining it’s desired effect? I am noticing that this type of customer is really happy with our [service or product]. What do you they have in common and how do we duplicate that? Wow, this is a huge deficiency/gap in the marketplace. Let’s plug it. With this [research] I know I can unite marketing, sales and technology on my vision. If we developed this product we’d be industry leaders. Money never starts an idea. It is always the idea that starts the money. ~Owen Laughlin

Problem Solver You have a knack for turning problems into solutions. Have you uncovered a quicker way to work by testing different routes? Have you realized a way to organize your closet to maximize space? Have you figured out a way to beat your buddy in tennis after a long losing streak? Are you one of those rare employees that identify inefficiencies at work and a way to solve them? Do you recognize patterns, see the whole picture and grasp solutions with only a few pieces? Are you good at puzzles? My guess? You are very analytical!

Collaborator If you are a collaborator then you’re energetic, an excellent communicator and team player. You can influence people of your ideas. You can unify internal stakeholders on your vision. You are a part-marketer, part-technologist, part-sales person You are a Master of Ceremonies in the boardroom; able to control and direct the dialogue on its intended course, while ensuring that all voices are heard. You know how to empower people - you can draw gems from even the shyest, least confident person in your meetings. Even though you are trying to convince others, you do this under the veil of ‘exchanging ideas’ rather than dictating. Your constituents leave meetings feeling like they are significant contributors and valuable to the process. Customers greatly appreciate that you are making an investment in them. How? Because you seek product feedback; you call them and see how your product is saving them money and performing it’s desired purpose; you implement their feedback in your product redevelopment. You understand that strategies are cross-functional initiatives. It is one piece of a bigger puzzle. Without the buy-in from each and every business function, your plans run the risk of not meeting their objective. ***Your developers like you because they are working on a satisfying projects; marketing is happy as your ideas are turning into leads for the company; you are the best friend of sales as they are making good $; management has their eye on you!

Improver A key ingredient to the product management lifecycle is improving and enhancing. It starts with customer feedback. You need to know why your customers chose you instead of your competitor How has this saved them money? How does this save them time? What would they have done instead? What aspects of the product would they change? This will be valuable for engineering to address ahead of next release. Drawing on feedback you can be effective at ‘partnering’ with engineering on timelines for bug fixes, UI improvements, release candidates and support. With good feedback, marketing understands how to position products, how to write brochures, where to acquire leads, what social channels to exploit. You can use your new learning to educate sales on the unique advantages of your products, why you are better than your competitor, and who your ideal audience is.

Imagine, Create, Inspire, Enhance Good Luck! I welcome all feedback and questions twitter.com/NaderBalata Naderbalata.tumblr.com