One of the most crucial skills required of a PM is managing through influence. (Location 100)
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Managing through influence is one of the most important skills a product manager must develop and is also the most nuanced. (Location 104)
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As I had instructed my mentees so many times, a PM can't just issue orders. They have to develop the frameworks, gather the data, consider the risks, and motivate people to align along some vision, goal or task. (Location 136)
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I was expected to manage stakeholders and strategy—as well as my own career. (Location 149)
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The way you earn a promotion to the next level is by demonstrating autonomy and impact at your current scope and building trust that you can perform at a larger scope.2 (Location 256)
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A PM is the person on a product team who is responsible for choosing the right problems to go after, defining what success looks like, and guiding their team to achieve successful outcomes. (Location 319)
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This role is all about outcomes, not output. To be a great PM, you can't just follow the steps; you need to reliably build and ship successful products. (Location 322)
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Product managers are responsible for selecting and defining which problems the team is going to solve, then ensuring the team solves them. They'll define what success looks like, and plan how to get there. (Location 334)
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Early on, the key hypotheses focus on the problem, customer needs, business needs, and market sizing. Later, the hypotheses center on the solution, usability, feasibility, and launch plans. (Location 355)
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You're looking for a problem that's large enough to be worth solving, while feasible enough for your team to be successful. (Location 367)
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Common tasks during the product discovery phase include: Reading through feature requests Analyzing funnel metrics Interviewing customers Testing concept mocks Discussing long-term strategy Researching competitors Doing market analysis Holding brainstorming sessions Running design sprints3 (Location 374)
Common tasks during the define phase include: Prioritizing the problems identified in discovery Picking a target customer Mapping the customer journey Defining success metrics Creating a product vision Proposing a high-level roadmap Drafting an initial timeline (Location 397)
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The design phase is not just about putting your ideas into pictures; it also includes expansive thinking and validating your ideas with real people. This includes both the user experience (e.g., mock-ups and visual prototypes) and the technical solution (design docs and technical prototypes). (Location 411)
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Common tasks during the design phase include: Writing a spec Deciding what functionality is in or out Negotiating dependencies with other teams Whiteboarding with designers and engineers Giving feedback on design Running usability studies (Location 414)
Common tasks during the develop phase include: Writing stories or tickets for engineering Determining which metrics to instrument and track Triaging bugs Checking in with teammates regularly to unblock them (Location 426)
Trying out each feature as it's being built and giving feedback Keeping stakeholders and approvers up-to-date (Location 431)
Common tasks during the deliver phase include: Setting up validation phases such as internal dogfooding, beta testing, A/B tests, and stability tests Organizing the quality assurance (QA) process Working with launch partners to ensure everything is ready for launch (including gathering approvals) Partnering with marketing on the go-to-market plan Training salespeople and customer support Celebrating with the team. (Location 440)
Common tasks during the debrief phase include: Running a retrospective on what went well and what didn't Analyzing launch metrics Reading customer feedback on the launch Prioritizing "fast follow" work based on customer feedback Evaluating the launch success Sharing launch results with the company Planning for the next iteration (Location 452)
Learn about the company, your team, and cultural norms. Learn about your product and customers. Align on the expectations for your role. Align on your onboarding plans and timeline with your manager and teammates. Form strong relationships with coworkers. Earn credibility. Get in some quick wins. (Location 554)
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