Decoding the Product Manager (Part 1)

Lessons Learned from a seasoned product guy

Taking a break from my role as Senior Product Director a few months ago gave me valuable time for reflection. What truly defines an effective product manager (PM)? What makes them tick?

Before we dive into that, let's start with the basics: What is a PM? A PM is responsible for understanding market needs and customer demands, evaluating opportunities, and determining what to build and deliver. They conduct user research and testing, collaborate with designers and engineers throughout the design and development process, and partner with marketing, sales, and support to launch and manage the product's lifecycle.

So, what makes a great PM? To answer that, let's think about our internal customers – your employer and your business unit. What are their needs and expectations? Why did they hire you? There are many answers, I would group them into four key areas:

Deep Empathy: Feeling What Users Feel

A PM is the voice of external customers. You need to understand their issues, pain points, feelings, thoughts, work styles, and buying habits. These insights shape your product stories, feature prioritization, UX/UI design, and roadmap planning. The right daily decisions separate a winning product from the rest.

Business Smarts: Making Your Case and Numbers

A PM owns their product's profit and loss (P&L). You need to understand market size, competition, industry trends, your product's unique value proposition, marketing positioning and messaging, and pricing and monetization strategies. A strong business narrative helps secure budget approval and resources allocation.

Tech Talk Made Simple: Bridging the Gap

PMs work with engineers and talk to clients. You need to have a basic understanding of technical concepts like internet infrastructure, database, data types, SQL, programming languages, APIs, cloud computing, and AI/ML/deep learning. This knowledge helps you guide product development and communicate creditably with customers how use it.

Collaborative Spirit: Leading Without a Title

PMs lead cross-functional teams. You need to influence team members effectively even though they report to others in the organizational chart. Executives, engineers, and sales representatives often have different priorities, and you need to balance customer needs, resource constraints, and the company's revenue goals. Be resilient, adaptable, and comfortable with pressure and unknowns. There will be bumps in the road, moments of self-doubt, and times when things don't go as planned.

Honestly, being a PM isn't for the faint of heart. It's not a 9-to-5 job and can be stressful at times. But the rewards are worth it. Seeing your product make a difference, solving real problems, and leading a team that creates something customers love – these experiences fuel our passion and define our journeys.

So, join me on this exploration. Share your thoughts, questions, and experiences. Next week, we'll talk about The Power of Emotional Intelligence, an often-overlooked skill essential for navigating the complex world of product management.

Reference

INSPIRED - how to create tech products consumer love, Marty Cagan

Author

Sherman Jiang, a product leader with a proven track record of success at Fortune 500 companies like Visa, HSBC, and Synchrony and honed expertise in Silicon Valley’s fast-paced tech scene. My passion lies in empowering payment and fintech companies through the power of Agile and AI augment. I specialize in engagement of team transformations, product strategy, product discovery, product development, and product delivery. I’m also enthusiastic about how generative AI can make product managers better.

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