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Ten Traits of Good Product Managers Jeff Lash [email protected] How To Be A Good Product Manager – www.goodproductmanager.com Ask A Good Product Manager -- ask.goodproductmanager.com

Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

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Effective product management is more than just visiting customers and writing requirements. Good product managers posses certain traits that allow them to excel in their roles. While it may seem that some people are just born with these abilities, most have them in some degree and just need to learn how to express them effectively. This presentation covers ten important traits that good product managers possess and offer specific suggestions on how to emphasize your natural traits while addressing those that do not come as naturally. From Jeff Lash of www.goodproductmanager.com

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Page 1: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Ten Traits of Good Product Managers

Jeff [email protected]

How To Be A Good Product Manager – www.goodproductmanager.com

Ask A Good Product Manager -- ask.goodproductmanager.com

Page 2: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

What is a trait?

Why do we need a dictionary when we have wireless?: Uploaded to flickr by ElektraCuteflickr.com/photos/88903556@N00/119058236/

Page 3: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

What is a trait?► Often called “soft skills”

► Something you have (and everyone has)

► Not binary

► Malleable, to some extent

► “Just enough” is good; too much is bad

► Good product managers have certain traits

► Learn to exploit yours for fun and profit!

Page 4: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Why should we care about traits?

► Traits make people who they are

► Traits make people good or bad at certain things

► Traits can put the “good” in “good product manager”

between the tangible and intangible: Uploaded to flickr by lil’bearflickr.com/photos/lilbear/253860293/

Page 5: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Learning about traits from the Wii

Page 6: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

You need “just enough” of traits

A little A lot

“Amount” of trait

Eff

ect

iven

ess

Pointy-haired

boss

Superstar

Page 7: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Ten Traits1. Passion

2. Empathy

3. Humility

4. Self-awareness

5. Tenacity

6. Decisiveness

7. Innovativeness

8. Confidence

9. Focus

10.Persuasiveness

Page 8: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Passion► Bad product managers have indifference

► Good product managers have passion

► You need passion to build great products

► You need passion to inspire others to build great products Sparkly heart: Uploaded to flickr by

*saxon*flickr.com/photos/88903556@N00/119058236/

Page 9: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Passionate about vacuums

Source: www.innovation-creative.com/z4171_james_dyson.jpg

Page 10: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Does Passion Matter?

“I think ‘inspiring passion’ matters a lot … There’s an art to creating a shared vision that people can adopt as their own, a vision that will motivate them even when you’re not around to keep the fires hot.”-- Bob Corrigan

www.productbeautiful.com/2008/04/02/does-passion-matter/

Page 11: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Empathy► Bad product managers have disdain

► Good product managers have empathy

► Empathize with customers in order fulfill their needs

► Empathize with colleagues to create effective and high-performing teams

thinkgeek.com/tshirts/itdepartment/595d/zoom/

Page 12: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Source: www.spurgeon.org/~phil/posters.htm

Page 13: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Humility► Bad product managers have arrogance

► Good product managers have humility

“Credibility is the capital you trade with, start with humility. … Humility and honesty gain respect, as does asking for help and being reciprocal about sharing thanks for getting it.”– Source: “Surviving Product Management” by Louis Columbus

pragmaticmarketing.com/publications/magazine/4/2/survivingPM

Page 14: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Self-awareness► Bad product managers have ignorance of

their strengths and weaknesses

► Good product managers have self-awareness

“Self-awareness is being conscious of what you’re good at while acknowledging what you still have yet to learn. This includes admitting when you don’t have the answer and owning up to mistakes.”– Source: “Self Awareness and the Effective Leader” by Chris Musselwhite

www.inc.com/resources/leadership/articles/20071001/musselwhite.html

Page 15: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Humility vs. self-awareness► You can have humility and not self-awareness

You give credit to others for a successful project…

… yet you do not acknowledge that your incompetence nearly caused the project to fail

► You can have self-awareness and not humilityYou acknowledge that your incompetence nearly

caused the project to fail

… yet you do not give credit to others for saving it and making it a success

Page 16: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Tenacity► Bad product managers have low

tolerances for overcoming challenges

► Good product managers have tenacity

“have a wellspring of spiritual energy to call on to surmount any obstacle.”-- Stewart Butterfield (flickr)– Source: “The Unexpurgated Stewart Butterfield” by Chris Musselwhite

nextnet.typepad.com/the_next_net/2006/12/the-unexpurgate.html

Words to live by: Uploaded to flickr by Erik Charltonflickr.com/photos/erikcharlton/2039569768/

Page 17: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Decisiveness► Bad product managers have difficulty

making decisions

► Good product managers have decisiveness

Cold stone: Uploaded to flickr by tyger_lyllieflickr.com/photos/tyger_lyllie/202389797/

Page 18: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Decisiveness + decision-making

► “The best, most succinct definition I ever heard as to what my job as a product manager entailed was: ‘Your job is to make decisions.’”– Source: “The Exceptional Product Manager: What is the Right Stuff?” By Mark J.

Tiedman pragmaticmarketing.com/publications/magazine/3/2/0503mjt

► “The choice to not make a decision — to do more research, run the numbers again, talk with more customers — is actually a decision!”– Source: “The importance of decision-making” By Jeff Lash

www.goodproductmanager.com/2006/12/21/the-importance-of-decision-making/

Page 19: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Innovativeness► Bad product managers have limited

success approaching problems in new ways

► Good product managers have innovativeness

► Product management is inherently an innovation activity

Post Office Innovation: Uploaded to flickr by Kris Cohenflickr.com/photos/kcohen/509497624/

Page 20: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Confidence► Bad product managers have doubt and

fear

► Good product managers have confidence

► Confidence in– Ideas

– Abilities

– Effectiveness

– Decisions

– Themselves buff canoer: Uploaded to flickr by mahalieflickr.com/photos/mahalie/189147420/

Page 21: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Homer Simpson, Product Manager?► “The Homer”

► For only $82,000…– A bubble dome for the

driver, and another for passengers.

– An “extremely large beverage holder”

– Car horns that play “La Cucaracha”

– Shag carpeting

– Chrome air scoop and spoiler

– Tail fins

– Straps and muzzles for small children

Thanks to Tom Grant for the reminder about this episode: blogs.forrester.com/product_management/2008/03/homer-simpson-p.html

Page 22: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Focus► Bad product managers have too many

“agendas” to be effective

► Good product managers have focus

► It is better to do one thing well than to do a lot of things poorly

irony; Uploaded to flickr by mrpattersonsir flickr.com/photos/mrpattersonsir/30325860/

Page 23: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Persuasiveness► Bad product managers have an inability

to influence others

► Good product managers have persuasiveness

► If you can not persuade,everything elseis irrelevant

3D Team Leadership Arrow Concept: Uploaded to flickr by lumaxartflickr.com/photos/lumaxart/2137729430/More at thegoldguys.blogspot.com/

Page 24: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Using traits to your advantage► What traits do you not have enough of?

► What traits do you have too much of?

► Improving your effectiveness comes from awareness and understanding of your traits

► When hiring, seek to understand traits of prospective product managers– Ask questions which will provide examples of

how traits are (or are not) used on the job

Page 25: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

What was not included here► Industry experience

► Technical skills

► Ability to write MRDs/PRDs

► MBA

► Knowledge of Agile

► Etc…

► “Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill”– fastcompany.com/magazine/04/hiring.html

Page 26: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Other resources on the topic► Seven Traits of Successful Product

Managers– michael.hightechproductmanagement.com/2006/12/

seven_traits_of_successful_pro.html

► The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Product Managers– community.featureplan.com/community/2007/03/

past_webinar_the_7_habits_of_h.php

► How to be a Great Product Manager– onproductmanagement.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/how-to-be-a-great-product-

manager-boxed-set-with-bonus-features/

Page 27: Ten Traits Of Good Product Managers

Thanks for listening!

Questions / comments / feedback encouraged

[email protected]

Visit me at www.goodproductmanager.com