critical thinking product manager

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Strategies for developing critical thinking skills

We all remember that genius classmate in our undergrad years who seemed to consume knowledge and give out ideas and insights like they were Neil Degrasse Tyson. Or maybe you have a mysterious coworker who habitually poses questions in meetings that change the entire premise of the discussion.

Most of us think of this ability as a genetic gift we may or may not have, but what if that’s not entirely true?

The reality is, this all comes down to a must-have skill: critical thinking. And as with any skill, with enough time and dedication, you too can be the person that people remember.

In this article, you’ll learn what critical thinking is, what goes into it, and how you can practice it within your role as a product manager.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is a disciplined way of understanding, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information from various sources to make informed judgments. It optimizes problem-solving and crushes confusion.

At its core, critical thinking is more about understanding the reality of the question than reaching for the solutions. This requires extensive use of analytical thinking like inference and deduction to form well-founded judgments based on evidence-backed information.

Critical thinking requires you to be mindful of irrational emotions and cognitive biases that can get in the way of your judgment.

2 key components of critical thinking

When you first hear about the concept of critical thinking, your gut response might be to think, where can I even begin? Although it can seem daunting, you can break it down into two key components: asking the right questions and interrogating what presents itself as the truth.

Asking the right questions

When it comes to critical thinking, it’s important that you first listen to what other people are saying so that you understand the problem at hand. While doing this, you want to avoid biases as much as possible and try to identify patterns that you notice in the discussion. The goal is to be as impartial as possible.

For instance, say that a number of team members are using a term that they seem to assume everyone already knows. By asking them to define it, you can provide clarity for members who might not have had a firm understanding, as well as confirm that those using it are doing so properly.

Questions force individuals to confront what they might otherwise take for granted. Many times the solution lies within a problem itself, so when you identify a potential hole, try to follow-up until you examine every possible angle. At the very least, this can lead to an action plan of things to pursue in the near future.

Interrogating what presents itself as the truth

Critical thinking also requires you to adopt some degree of skepticism. Sometimes something might be true in the moment, but then the later effects turn into a drastically different outcome.

For instance, you might want to vote for the new candidate running for president, who promised to lower gas prices. They might actually lower gas prices, but a lower gas price means more cars on the road than ever. This would then lead to a drastic increase in the emission of greenhouse gasses.

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While lowering gas prices seems like a good thing, you have to be cognizant of the ripple effects that such a decision would cause and then make an informed decision on what makes the most sense for you. It’s rare that a solution comes with no potential downsides, so it’s important to weigh the pros and cons.

Besides developing a critical thinking mindset, there are also behaviors that you can practice to help you better analyze situations. These will complement the components of the prior section and help you work towards implementing critical thinking in your daily role.

Thinking in retrospect

Reflective thinking involves honestly interpreting your experiences and understanding the implications of your actions. This doesn’t mean you need to resent your past, but you should work towards seeing the big picture of how your past informs your present.

This will help you differentiate between your wants and needs, which often results in better expenditure, a healthier lifestyle, and stronger relationships.

Adopting curiosity

The easiest way to gain new knowledge is to be curious about the world around you. Try to push yourself out of your comfort zone by trying to learn about things you know nothing about. In time, this will change the way that you approach problems by enabling you to see more possibilities.

Chess and logic puzzles

On the more tangible front, chess is one of the best ways to enhance your strategic planning skills, fluid intelligence, and pattern recognition, which are the exact elements of critical thinking. It tests your wits to their limits, which increases your appetite for intellectual challenges.

Logic puzzles like the ones on TED Ed’s channel directly test your critical thinking. Since there are no open-ended questions and only one or two precise solutions, working on logic puzzles or riddles teaches you the value of determination to overcome intellectual challenges.

Writing things down

Writing forces you to bring ideas in your head into tangible concepts, and unlike a regular discussion, it gives you time to choose the right words. It’s the best tool for self-reflection and letting go of wrong beliefs and assumptions.

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Keeping a journal and a to-do list can put you ahead of 90 percent of the competition out there.

Considering multiple viewpoints

Being narrow-minded can make you less intelligent. However, active listening can broaden your perspective. By listening to others and considering alternating viewpoints, you will get to have key insights that you could never have had on your own.

Being broad-minded also enables you to integrate healthy aspects of others’ mental models into your own.

Reverse engineering the narratives

When presented with a complex problem or idea, ask yourself questions like, what are we trying to achieve here?

This approach lets you redefine the problem statement in your mind and serves as a perfect starting point. Try to identify independent or partially dependent parts of the problem and observe how they contribute to the big picture.

Barriers to critical thinking

Now that we’ve covered the key concepts and strategies for developing critical thinking, let’s take a look at some of the things that can get in the way. The biggest hurdle one faces when it comes to critical thinking is biases, however there are a few different types. Knowing what they are will help you avoid them within your product team.

Cognitive biases

Cognitive biases occur when you use mental shortcuts and let irrational and impulsive emotions get in the way of critical thinking. They keep you from critically thinking through your problems.

Confirmation bias

You might have a relative or friend who just can’t seem to let go of their childhood favorite political figure. You’ll notice that such people happily accept evidence that aligns with their beliefs and discard the rest.

This is quite natural because our core beliefs and convictions are highly valuable to us and they’re something we live by.

Availability bias

One of the most dangerous mind traps is getting used to the same type of information. People tend to give more weightage to the information that they always hear.

For instance, overly exaggerated and frequently reported events are perceived to be more common than they actually are.

Negative bias

Lies travel faster than the truth, and in today’s age of information, there are a lot of opinions and data available to us. We have evolved to pay more attention to negativity, whether it be in the news, on social media, or in the workplace.

Real life is not a logic puzzle and it’s important to acquire the ability to think in shades of gray rather than black and white.

Final thoughts

Critical thinking is a difficult task, but that doesn’t mean that you should avoid it. The good news is that you don’t need to accomplish it overnight. It’ll be much easier to adopt critical thinking if you make small, tangible changes to the way you perform your daily tasks. For instance, think about aspects of your routine that you perform without question. Are there ways to improve any of them?

You can lean on the concepts and strategies in this article to work towards improving your critical thinking. Just remember to consider the role of biases and actively work towards removing them so that your decision-making doesn’t become clouded. Good luck!

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What Skills Does a Product Manager Need?

Product managers are in high demand—and for good reason. These multi-talented professionals are critical to business success, driving the development, launch, and maintenance of profitable products. They’re also rather unique, bringing a coveted blend of business know-how, technical expertise, and interpersonal skills to the table.

If you’re considering a career as a product manager, you’re probably wondering: what are the exact skills you’ll need to be successful in the role?

Look no further. In this post, we set out the 12 most important skills that employers look for when hiring a product manager .

Start honing the skills on our list and you’ll be well on your way to a successful career in the field. First, though, let’s briefly recap what product management is, and what a product manager actually does.

If you’d like to skip ahead to a certain section, just use the clickable menu:

• What is product management, and what does a product manager do?
• Technical expertise
• An understanding of UX
• Business savvy
• Critical thinking
• The ability to analyze and interpret data
• Research skills
• Problem-solving
• The ability to prioritize
• How to use AI tools
• Strategic thinking
• Communication skills
• A knack for storytelling

Product manager soft skills

Technical product manager skills.

• Final thoughts
• Product manager skills FAQ

1. What is product management, and what does a product manager do?

Product management is the function within an organization that’s responsible for the overall success of a product. It sits at the intersection of business, UX, and technology, with the goal of driving innovation and growth—while also keeping the end user happy.

The product manager takes on a strategic role, developing an overall vision for the product—as well as a plan for how that vision will be realized. They work cross-functionally to ensure that everybody’s aligned and working towards a common goal. This requires them to wear many hats, and to be in tune with the needs and perspectives of both the end user and of multiple stakeholders within the organization.

You can learn more about what product management is in our complete introductory guide . Now, though, let’s consider those all-important skills you’ll need to demonstrate if you want to become a product manager. 

2. The top 12 most important product manager skills

1. technical expertise.

Product managers don’t need to be able to code, but they do need a good handle on the technical side of the product development process.

As a product manager, you’ll work closely with web developers to ensure the product is built and tested according to the specifications you’ve set out for them. It’s therefore necessary to have an understanding of the web development process, and of the technology behind your product.

Learn how to speak the developers’ language and you’ll be well-positioned to collaborate with engineering teams—a crucial aspect of the product manager role. 

2. An understanding of UX

It’s the product manager’s job to bring products to market that generate value for the business and serve the end user/customer. They advocate for the user at every stage of the product life cycle, collaborating closely with UX designers and researchers along the way.

Again, as a product manager, you don’t need to be an expert UX designer yourself—but you do need a thorough understanding of user experience principles, best practices, and processes.

This will help you to communicate product requirements more effectively, to understand the time-intensity and complexity of different design-related tasks, and to generally foster better collaboration with the design team. Not only that: having a good understanding of UX will enable you to bring a user-first approach to your own work. 

Want to learn more about UX? Start with this introductory guide to user experience design . 

3. Business savvy

Product managers occupy a strategic role, developing a vision for the product that aligns with business goals. To do this, they need a good dose of business acumen.

It’s important to understand how all the different areas of business work together to drive success, to have a grip on things like budgeting, cash flow, and profit margin, and to be well-versed in company metrics and KPIs (key performance indicators). Having a good head for business also means being able to see the “big picture” and relate smaller, on-the-ground actions back to the overarching strategy.

Acquiring this business acumen takes time, but you can do it in almost any role, at any stage of your career. If you’re currently working in an organization of any kind, make an effort to understand what factors are driving the success of the company, how success is being measured, and the role that each department plays. This will set you in good stead for a career in product management. 

4. Critical thinking 

In their day-to-day work, product managers must constantly make decisions about the product, the strategy, and the allocation of time and resources—all while weighing up what’s best for the business and the user at once. This requires excellent critical thinking skills. 

Critical thinking can be described as the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgment. Most of us apply critical thinking everyday without even realizing —which means you probably already possess this crucial product management skill.

Want to hone this skill further and become a better product manager? Try these seven techniques to improve your critical thinking .

5. The ability to analyze and interpret data

As with virtually any role in business nowadays, product management is highly data-driven. The best product managers are able to analyze different types of data and use their findings to make smart decisions.

Product managers use data and analytics to understand the market they’re competing in,to see how users behave, to test different versions of a product or feature, to uncover issues with the product, and to measure performance and progress against relevant KPIs.

Bear in mind that you don’t need to be an expert data scientist or data analyst . As long as you have a foundational understanding of data and know how to glean useful insights from it, you’ll be well set up for a role in product management.

6. Research skills

To lead the development of successful products, product managers must know their market inside-out. A key part of the job involves conducting research: research into market and industry trends, research into competing products, and research into the target user base.

This enables product managers to identify opportunities for growth and to anticipate potential threats to the product’s success. To succeed in the role, you’ll need to remain curious and continuously run your own research to stay ahead of the curve. This is particularly important for PMs who are involved in product discovery .

7. Problem-solving

Product managers are excellent problem-solvers. It’s the very foundation of what they do: create products that solve real user problems. 

This doesn’t only apply to coming up with new product and feature ideas. You’ll also need to problem-solve internally, coming up with solutions to improve processes and finding workarounds for various challenges (such as a lack of time or resources). 

A problem-solving mindset is crucial throughout the product life cycle, and for juggling internal product operations . Fortunately, this is a highly transferable skill that you’ve no doubt already developed in one context or another. 

Want to tap into your problem-solving potential? Here are six ways to enhance your problem-solving skills in everyday life .

8. The ability to prioritize

How do product managers make sure that everybody’s working on the right things at the right time, and that goals and deadlines are met? Through robust prioritization. 

As a product manager, you’ll soon notice that ideas, requests, and suggestions come at you from all angles. You can’t implement everything, so it’s your job to determine what’s a high priority and what belongs on the backburner. Often, this will require you to put your foot down and deliver unwelcome decisions—decisions that might be met with disappointment or frustration. 

So: not only do you need to be able to prioritize; you need to be ready to explain your reasons for doing so. 

Learn all about how successful PMs do this in our complete guide to prioritization .

9. How to use AI tools

In 2024, not every PM will magically become an AI product manager , with all of the machine learning knowledge that that role requires.

However, after a year of generative AI and LLMs being integrated into all kinds of tools, including project and product management ones. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re applying for a junior product manager role or something more senior, it’s expected that you should be able to harness the power of AI to work smarter.

You can check out some of the best of these in our guide to AI product management tools , or if you’re in more of a hurry and just want to work with ChatGPT or Google’s Bard, we’ve created a cheatsheet of 22 product management prompts to use .

Remember, knowing how to use AI as a product manager this year isn’t just about knowing how to use the tools functionally, it’s also about being able to employ them responsibly and ethically, as well.

10. Strategic thinking

Everything the product manager does must be done with the overall strategy in mind. Strategic thinking informs how you make decisions and set priorities, how you define the vision for the product, and how you set goals to make that vision a reality. 

But what exactly does it mean to “think strategically”? Ultimately, it’s about keeping your eye on the bigger picture. If you’re a strategic thinker, you don’t make decisions just to benefit the here and now; you think ahead to the end goal. You consider how your work impacts the company as a whole, and you seek to drive the entire organization to success. 

Strategic thinking underpins the entire product management process, so you can’t get by without it.

11. Communication skills

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of communication skills for product managers. 

Building and launching a successful product requires input from all kinds of departments and experts—from designers and developers to sales, marketing, and customer service teams. And guess who’s the star player when it comes to aligning all these different teams? That’s right: the product manager. 

Not a day will go by when you’re not answering questions, facilitating a meeting, having catch-ups, or presenting to stakeholders. Excellent communication skills are a must, and it’s essential that you’re able to use this skill with confidence and empathy. This includes being an active and engaged listener—communication should always be a two-way street. 

12. A knack for storytelling

Last but not least, the most successful product managers are excellent storytellers. 

As a product manager, you need to ensure that everybody’s aligned and working towards the same goal. Sure, you can simply  share the product roadmap and have everybody play their part. But, to get true buy-in, you need people to actually understand and believe in the product vision as much as you do.  

If you can convincingly tell the story of your product—why you’re building it, who you’re building it for, and the problems it’ll solve—you’ll help people to see why it matters. From there, you’ll get their passion, enthusiasm, and their best work. 

Further down the line, you’ll also need product storytelling to successfully launch the product and get buy-in from customers, too. You can learn more about why product managers need to be great storytellers in this post , and pick up some product storytelling techniques of your own .

3. How to learn the most important product management skills

There you have it: the most important skills and traits of a successful product manager. So what’s the best way to go about learning these skills?

Many of the skills on our list are what we call soft skills. Soft skills are extremely important, but they aren’t unique to a specific job or field. This includes things like communication, strategic thinking, and problem-solving.

You can actually develop these skills in almost any role, and then transfer them to a new discipline. Look for opportunities in your current job to develop these soft skills (you’ve probably got many of them down already!) and consider how you’ll apply them in the context of product management.

As for the hard skills—those more technical, role-specific competencies—you’ll need a more focused learning path. The most effective way to learn core product management skills and get qualified for a job in the field is through a professional product management course or certification .

As well as a set of skills, it’s important to note that this has evolved into an important role itself. You can learn more about it in our guide to the technical product manager role .

4. Final thoughts

So there you have it, the must-have skills product managers will need in 2023. Check how many of them are in your skillset, and then plan how you can go about adding the other strings to your bow through courses or tutorials.

Still not 100% sure if this is the path for you? Try it out first with a free introductory product management short course . You’ll get a hands-on introduction to the profession, learning about everything from strategy and design to Agile methodology. In a nutshell, the course will give you the tools and understanding you need to start your career in this field.

And, if you’re intent on making a career change and landing a job in the field, it’s worth checking out the full CareerFoundry Product Management Program . This fully mentored course will guide you through a structured learning path, equip you with the hands-on skills employers are looking for, and leave you with a professional-quality portfolio to demonstrate your expertise.

You can continue learning about product management with these articles:

• How much does a product manager earn? Our complete salary guide
• What’s the difference between a product manager and a product owner?
• 13 of the best product management tools for your stack

5. Product manager skills FAQ

Is product management a soft skill.

Product management is a field, not a skill. It’s a dynamic field that requires a blend of soft skills (communication, problem-solving, empathy) and hard skills (technical understanding, analytical prowess) to effectively manage the product lifecycle from ideation to launch and beyond.

Do you need tech skills to be a product manager?

Although technical skills aren’t a prerequisite for product management, having a basic understanding of technology allows product managers to collaborate seamlessly with software developers and engineers, understand product requirements , and make informed decisions regarding features and design.

What is the core skill of a product manager?

The core skill of a product manager lies in balancing business objectives with user needs. This necessitates the ability to grasp market trends, analyze user behavior, and incorporate customer feedback to ensure that products align with both business goals and user expectations.

What skills do you need to be a full-stack product manager?

Full-stack product managers bridge the gap between the technical and business aspects of product development. They possess the technical expertise to understand and articulate product requirements, as well as the business acumen to assess market opportunities, prioritize features, and strategize product launches.

What is the critical skill of product management?

A critical skill for product management is the ability to make data-driven decisions . This involves gathering and analyzing user data, identifying patterns and insights, and using these findings to optimize products, enhance user experiences, and drive business success.

Talent Cove

How to Think Like a Product Manager: Unlock Success in Your Career

Product management is a crucial field in today’s fast-paced business world, requiring a unique set of skills and a strategic mindset. To succeed in this field, it’s important to understand how to think like a product manager. By adopting a product management mindset, you can enhance your decision-making abilities, build stronger relationships with stakeholders, and navigate challenges more effectively.

In this article, we’ll explore the key skills and strategies needed to think like a product manager, including cultivating leadership skills, embracing innovation and creativity, and staying updated on industry insights and trends. Whether you’re a seasoned product manager or just starting in the field, these insights will help you unlock success in your career.

Key Takeaways:

• Develop a product management mindset to enhance your decision-making abilities.
• Cultivate leadership skills, embrace innovation and creativity, and stay updated on industry insights and trends.
• Collaborate effectively with stakeholders and navigate challenges with resilience.
• Continuously learn and develop your skills to stay ahead in the field of product management.

Understanding the Role of a Product Manager

A product manager is responsible for overseeing the development and launch of a product, from initial ideation to final delivery. They work collaboratively with cross-functional teams, including engineers, designers, marketers, and executives, to ensure a product’s success.

The product manager’s role requires strategic thinking and decision-making, as they must evaluate market demands, competition, and user feedback to inform product development. They must also manage timelines, budgets, and product iterations, ensuring that the product meets business goals and customer needs.

One of the key skills a product manager must possess is the ability to prioritize and manage resources effectively. They must balance the needs of various stakeholders, make difficult decisions, and communicate clearly with team members and executives.

Product Manager Thinking Strategies

To be successful as a product manager, one must adopt a strategic mindset that focuses on long-term goals and outcomes. They must be able to anticipate challenges and navigate them effectively, while constantly iterating and refining their product to stay ahead of the competition.

It is also important for product managers to be customer-focused, using data and feedback to inform product decisions and iterations. This requires a deep understanding of user needs, behavior, and preferences, as well as a willingness to incorporate user feedback into product development.

Ultimately, a product manager’s success depends on their ability to think critically, strategically, and collaboratively to drive product success. By adopting a product management mindset and cultivating essential skills, they can unlock their full potential and make a meaningful impact in their role.

Key Skills for Product Managers

As a product manager, there are several key skills that you need to possess to be successful . These skills include problem-solving, analysis, communication, and leadership. By developing these skills, you can enhance your product management mindset and become a more effective product manager.

Problem-Solving

Product managers are constantly faced with challenges to solve. Whether it’s a technical issue or a customer problem, being able to think critically and find solutions quickly is crucial. Effective problem-solving involves breaking down an issue, identifying the root cause, and developing a plan to address it.

Analyzing data is a fundamental part of product management. Analyzing metrics such as customer feedback, market trends, and sales data can help you identify opportunities and make informed decisions. Being able to interpret and draw insights from data is an essential skill for any product manager.

Communication

Effective communication is key to success in product management. As a product manager, you must be able to communicate with a variety of stakeholders – from customers to engineers to executives. Clear, concise communication ensures that everyone is on the same page and can work towards common goals.

Product managers are often responsible for leading cross-functional teams. Being an effective leader involves setting clear goals, providing direction, and motivating team members to reach their full potential. Strong leadership skills are essential to successfully managing a product throughout its lifecycle.

By understanding the importance of these key skills and actively developing them, you can enhance your product management mindset and become a more successful product manager.

Adopting a Product Manager Mindset

Becoming a successful product manager requires more than just mastering a set of skills. It’s also about adopting the right mindset and approach to problem-solving. Here are some key elements of a product manager mindset:

Customer Focus

A good product manager always puts the customer first. This means understanding the customer’s needs and preferences, and using that insight to inform product decisions.

Outcome-Oriented

Product managers need to be focused on outcomes, not just outputs. Instead of just building features, they need to think about the impact those features will have on the customer and the business.

Adaptability

Product management is an ever-changing field, and product managers need to be adaptable to new technologies, market trends, and customer demands. This means being open to change and willing to pivot when necessary.

By embracing these elements of a product manager mindset, you can better position yourself for success in your career.

Strategic Thinking in Product Management

Strategic thinking is a critical component of a product manager’s thought process. It involves analyzing data, identifying trends, and making decisions that align with long-term goals. Here are some tips for enhancing your strategic thinking abilities:

• Conduct market research: Staying abreast of industry trends and consumer preferences is crucial for informed decision-making.
• Analyze the competition: Understanding your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses can help you identify opportunities and mitigate risks.
• Plan for the long-term: Effective product managers think beyond short-term wins and consider the impact of their decisions on the organization’s goals.

By honing your strategic thinking skills, you can make more informed decisions that benefit your organization and move your product forward.

Cultivating Leadership Skills

Leadership is essential to success in product management. Good product managers must be able to influence, motivate, and manage teams effectively.

One important aspect of leadership is the ability to communicate effectively. A good product manager should be able to clearly articulate their vision and goals, and inspire their team to work towards them. This requires strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

Another key skill for product managers is the ability to motivate and empower their team. This means giving team members the resources and authority they need to succeed, and providing regular feedback and recognition for good work. It also means fostering a positive team culture that encourages creativity, innovation, and continuous learning.

Building Trust and Relationships

Building strong relationships with stakeholders is another critical aspect of leadership in product management. This includes working closely with development teams, designers, marketers, and other stakeholders to ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.

Building trust with stakeholders means being transparent and honest about the product roadmap, progress, and challenges. It also means listening to feedback and incorporating it into decision-making whenever possible.

Managing Conflict and Risk

Conflict and risk are inevitable in product management. Good product managers must be able to manage both effectively to ensure the success of their products and teams.

Managing conflict effectively means identifying and addressing issues early on, and doing so in a constructive and collaborative manner. This requires strong mediation and negotiation skills, as well as the ability to remain calm and level-headed under pressure.

Managing risk means identifying potential issues and developing plans to mitigate them. It also means being adaptable and able to pivot quickly if necessary. This requires a forward-thinking mindset and the ability to see the big picture.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Management

Product management is a collaborative process that involves working with cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and customers to deliver successful products. Effective collaboration and stakeholder management are essential skills for product managers to possess, as they enable them to navigate complex relationships and build consensus around key decisions.

To foster collaboration and build strong partnerships with stakeholders, product managers can employ a variety of strategies. One effective technique is to establish clear communication channels and processes, such as regular check-ins and status updates. In addition, it’s important to actively listen to feedback and concerns from stakeholders, and to be open to incorporating their input into product decision-making.

Another key aspect of stakeholder management is understanding the motivations and goals of each stakeholder group. By identifying their needs and interests, product managers can tailor their communication and engagement strategies to build trust and establish productive working relationships.

Strategies for Collaboration and Stakeholder Management

Here are some key strategies for effective collaboration and stakeholder management:

• Establish clear communication channels: Regular check-ins and status updates can help keep stakeholders informed and engaged in the product development process.
• Listen actively: By actively listening to stakeholder feedback and concerns, product managers can build trust and demonstrate their commitment to delivering value.
• Understand stakeholder motivations: By understanding the motivations and goals of each stakeholder group, product managers can tailor their engagement strategies to build credibility and trust.
• Build consensus: By involving stakeholders in the decision-making process and incorporating their feedback, product managers can build consensus and establish productive working relationships.
• Be adaptable: Flexibility and adaptability are key traits for effective stakeholder management. Product managers should be open to new ideas and willing to adjust their plans and strategies to meet stakeholder needs.

By employing these strategies and focusing on effective collaboration and stakeholder management, product managers can build strong partnerships and deliver successful products that meet the needs of customers and stakeholders.

Balancing Priorities and Making Decisions

Product managers often face the challenge of balancing multiple priorities, from meeting customer needs to staying within budget constraints. To make effective decisions, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the goals and priorities of the project or product.

One technique for balancing priorities is the “weighted scoring” method. This involves assigning a numerical value to each priority based on its importance and then calculating the total score for each option. This method provides an objective way to evaluate options and make data-driven decisions.

Another approach is the “Eisenhower Matrix,” which categorizes tasks based on their urgency and importance. This technique helps product managers prioritize tasks based on their impact and urgency, allowing them to manage their time and resources effectively.

Effective decision-making also involves considering the potential risks and benefits of each option. Performing a risk analysis and evaluating the potential outcomes can help product managers make informed decisions and mitigate potential risks.

By effectively balancing priorities and making data-driven decisions, product managers can ensure the success of their projects and products.

Continuous Learning and Personal Development

Thinking like a product manager requires a commitment to continuous learning and personal development. With the industry constantly evolving, it is crucial to stay updated on the latest trends and technologies to remain competitive.

One way to expand knowledge and skills is through attending industry events such as conferences and workshops. These provide valuable opportunities to network with other professionals in the field and learn from industry experts. Additionally, seeking out feedback from colleagues and mentors can help identify areas for improvement and provide constructive guidance.

Another effective strategy for personal development is through self-directed learning, such as online courses and reading industry publications. Taking advantage of resources such as these can help build a deeper understanding of the industry and enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Finally, it is essential to maintain a growth mindset and embrace new challenges as opportunities for learning. By continuously seeking out new experiences and challenges, product managers can develop a more diverse skill set and remain adaptable to changing industry demands.

Navigating Challenges and Resilience

As a product manager, challenges are inevitable. However, the ability to overcome obstacles and remain resilient is key to long-term success.

One strategy for navigating challenges is to break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This allows for a clearer understanding of the problem and helps to identify potential solutions. Additionally, seeking input and advice from colleagues can provide valuable perspectives and insight.

It is important for product managers to manage stress effectively. This can be achieved through practices such as mindfulness, exercise, and time management techniques. Prioritization is also crucial in managing workload and avoiding burnout.

Maintaining a positive mindset is essential for resilience. Focusing on opportunities for growth and learning, rather than dwelling on setbacks, can help product managers to stay motivated and driven.

Developing a support network and seeking feedback can also aid in building resilience. Utilizing self-reflection and seeking constructive criticism can help to strengthen skills and improve overall performance.

By embracing challenges and remaining resilient, product managers can continue to make progress towards their goals and achieve success in their careers.

As a product manager, leadership skills are crucial for success. Being able to influence, motivate, and manage teams effectively can make all the difference in the quality and success of a product. Here are some tips for cultivating leadership skills:

• Lead by example: Set the standard for excellence and work ethic for your team to follow.
• Communicate effectively: Clear and open communication is essential in building trust and fostering relationships with team members.
• Be adaptable: As a leader, you should be able to pivot and adjust to changing circumstances.
• Empower your team: Encourage and empower team members to take ownership of their work and ideas.
• Provide feedback: Regular feedback and positive reinforcement can help motivate and improve team performance.

By developing these attributes, you can become a strong and effective leader, guiding your team towards success and achieving your product goals.

Embracing Innovation and Creativity

Innovation and creativity are essential components of a successful product management mindset. As a product manager, you must be willing to embrace new ideas and think outside of the box to develop innovative solutions for your customers.

To foster creativity, it’s important to create an environment that encourages experimentation and risk-taking. This can include setting aside dedicated time for brainstorming sessions or creating cross-functional teams to collaborate on projects.

It’s also important to stay up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies to identify new opportunities for innovation. Attending industry events, participating in online communities, and reading industry publications can help expand your knowledge and spark your creativity.

Finally, it’s important to foster a culture of innovation within your organization. This can involve encouraging and rewarding creativity, providing resources and support for experimentation, and promoting a mindset of continuous improvement.

Thinking like a product manager is a crucial skill for achieving success in your career. By developing a product management mindset, understanding the role of a product manager, and honing key skills such as problem-solving, communication, and leadership, you can become a valuable asset to any organization.

Adopting a customer-focused, outcome-oriented approach and enhancing your strategic thinking abilities can further elevate your effectiveness as a product manager. Staying up-to-date on industry insights and trends, fostering collaboration and stakeholder management, and cultivating resilience and leadership skills are also essential.

Remember to prioritize continuous learning and personal development, embrace innovation and creativity, and seek feedback. By following these guidelines, you can navigate challenges and achieve success as a product manager.

Q: How can I think like a product manager?

A: To think like a product manager, it is important to develop a product management mindset. This involves understanding the responsibilities and challenges of the role, as well as cultivating essential skills such as problem-solving, analysis, communication, and leadership.

Q: What is the role of a product manager?

A: The role of a product manager involves strategic thinking and decision-making. They are responsible for understanding customer needs, defining product strategies, and collaborating with stakeholders to drive product success.

Q: What are the key skills for product managers?

A: Product managers need a variety of skills, including problem-solving, analysis, communication, and leadership. These skills can be developed through techniques such as continuous learning, attending industry events, and seeking feedback.

Q: How can I adopt a product manager mindset?

A: Adopting a product manager mindset involves being customer-focused, outcome-oriented, and adaptable to change. It requires a willingness to embrace innovation and creativity, as well as cultivating leadership skills and managing stakeholders effectively.

Q: How can I enhance strategic thinking in product management?

A: To enhance strategic thinking in product management, it is important to conduct market research, analyze competitors, and engage in long-term planning. Developing a deep understanding of industry insights and trends can inform strategic decision-making.

Q: How can industry insights and trends inform my product manager thought process?

A: Staying updated on industry insights and trends can inform your product manager thought process by providing valuable information about market dynamics, customer preferences, and emerging technologies. Building thought leadership in the field can also enhance your ability to think like a product manager.

Q: How can I foster collaboration and manage stakeholders effectively?

A: Fostering collaboration and managing stakeholders effectively involves building strong relationships, maintaining open lines of communication, and establishing a shared vision. Strategies such as regular meetings, clear expectations, and active listening can help facilitate collaboration.

Q: How can I balance priorities and make effective decisions as a product manager?

A: Balancing priorities and making effective decisions as a product manager requires prioritization techniques, critical thinking skills, and the ability to evaluate trade-offs. Taking into account customer needs, business goals, and resource constraints can help guide decision-making.

Q: How can continuous learning and personal development contribute to thinking like a product manager?

A: Continuous learning and personal development are essential for thinking like a product manager. Expanding knowledge through books, courses, and industry events helps stay on top of industry trends and best practices. Seeking feedback and actively seeking opportunities for growth can also contribute to personal development.

Q: How can I navigate challenges and cultivate resilience as a product manager?

A: Navigating challenges and cultivating resilience as a product manager involves overcoming obstacles, managing stress, and maintaining a positive mindset. Techniques such as problem-solving, seeking support from peers, and practicing self-care can help build resilience.

Q: How can I cultivate leadership skills as a product manager?

A: Cultivating leadership skills as a product manager involves developing attributes such as influence, motivation, and team management. This can be achieved through continuous learning, seeking mentorship, and actively seeking opportunities to lead and contribute to cross-functional teams.

Q: How can I embrace innovation and creativity in my product manager thought process?

A: Embracing innovation and creativity in your product manager thought process involves fostering a culture of innovation, encouraging diverse perspectives, and creating space for experimentation. Techniques such as brainstorming, design thinking, and user research can help generate innovative ideas.

The Most Important Product Manager Skills to Know

Successful product managers need more than technical expertise and impressive communication skills (though both help). They require a “jack-of-all-trades” mentality, a collaborative nature, and a passion for the company’s product and mission. Good product managers understand the importance of time management and execution at a moment's notice.  Great  product managers are able to shift perspectives and understand the needs of users, as well as multiple stakeholders within a company. Aligning expectations cross-departmentally takes business acumen drawn from equal parts experience and empathy. 

Or as TopStep Trader Preya Patel said, “A good PM needs to be a strong problem solver and be able to balance business and user needs, while maintaining a healthy dose of empathy.” In short: What's going to be seamless from a user standpoint and in-line with business goals?

We talked to 19 product leaders from around the U.S. who took the time to define what skills they look for in a successful product managers. From character traits like empathy and curiosity to technical skills like front-end coding and data mining, the competencies required to level-up this role are as diverse as they are interconnected.

Important Product Manager Skills You Should Have

• Ability to balance business and user needs
• Attention to detail
• Curiosity to explore new ideas
• Ability to deliver factual data in-time
• Empathy for customers
• Ability to build strong relationships with other teams
• Informed about the technical implications of the platforms being used
• Ability to tailor communications to different stakeholders

REX Real Estate

What are the top three traits a person needs to be a good PM?

A prerequisite to being a good product manager is being a good project manager. You must be organized, attentive to detail, a good communicator and able to tie outcomes back to general business objectives. All of that falls under project management prowess. The ability to navigate project management is necessary but ultimately insufficient for product management success. 

In addition, a great consumer PM is empathetic and creative. They need to truly understand what motivates a customer. And more challengingly, they need to be able to layer on business needs and constraints to generate a vision for the product from that consumer insight.   

From a technical perspective, what skills have you found to be most important in your role, and what steps do you take to continue developing those skills?

Product managers without engineering experience can shy away from asking questions about technical details. Getting over that hesitancy was the best thing I’ve done for my technical knowledge. Asking questions is the fastest way to start understanding things. It also ends up being a good sanity check for engineering. 

Beyond that, an understanding of how data is structured and collected has been essential to accurately interpreting tests and metrics. I took some Codecademy SQL courses to get an elementary skillset. I ask analysts to walk me through the company-specific elements of any new dataset I’m using. 

MineralTree

MineralTree builds accounts payable and invoice automation software for mid-market businesses. Product Manager Jose Garcia said empathy and grit are necessary for anticipating the needs of users. 

The most important trait, and often the most challenging one for PMs, is empathy.

Empathy is a critical trait because it helps uncover the root problem your users face and becomes an effective tool in determining a solution. Empathy shouldn't stop with your users. It’s important to be mindful of your stakeholders too.

At its core, product management is a job of grit. This means being able to deal with pressure well. Product managers are commonly at the center of the organization, so when problems arise, you have to roll up your sleeves, persevere through the unknown and act to find solutions to sometimes difficult problems.

In order for organizations to grow past infancy, you must be more critical about what you will and won't do. You should consider your strategic direction and what data you have to support new features.

Critical thinking and detailed business analysis coupled with broad technical understanding are vital skills contributing to the success of any PM.  Product managers not only need to fully understand the market they serve and anticipate the needs of their end users, but must also be able to partner with engineering to ensure that collectively they are delivering true business value.  

Zaius  engages with customers across email, web and social to collect and connect data. With that information, Zaius creates a personalized roadmap to drive growth for marketers. Vice President of Product Greg Cypes explained how people skills like listening and patience are essential when working across different teams.

A good PM inspires through a shared vision of product.  Most product managers do not manage people, but they do manage a product. Many of the traits of a great leader are needed by product managers as well.

Another important trait is to be a great listener. Product managers interact with customers, engineering, sales, customer service and marketing on a daily basis. They share ideas, problems and opportunities. Having an empathetic ear helps reinforce your leadership skills.

Lastly, be cool under pressure. When times get rough, deadlines are approaching and user adoption isn't hitting projections, product managers need to keep calm, develop plans and instill confidence in the team.

Know how to learn and teach yourself new things. It makes a huge difference in being open to new ideas. Very few people start their careers in product management; they typically gravitate to it after working in marketing, engineering or customer success. Being able to learn on your own becomes very handy for someone making that transition.

By offering online courses from over 140 colleges and universities, edX aims to provide high-quality educational courses to everyone, everywhere. But sometimes the best learning happens outside the classroom. Senior Product Manager Shelby Quinn told us how a PM with a diverse background and lived experience is more open to solving business goals in new ways.

Stellar product managers have all sorts of different backgrounds, abilities and lived experiences. The best PMs are customer-centric, awesome at building relationships and most importantly, decisive. You’re responsible for ensuring that real problems are being solved in a way that aligns with the business’ goals and values without being married to a specific solution or a narrow framework. 

You need to both collaborate with and represent key stakeholders within the company, ensuring that all perspectives are taken into account. Once you’ve gathered the ideas and data from your stakeholders you have to quickly synthesize it in order to decide on the best path forward.

Though a technical or engineering background is not a requirement, it is crucial to understand the technical implications, challenges and opportunities of the underlying platforms you are working with. While I definitely recommend taking foundational classes to build up your knowledge of software engineering and data analysis, what’s more important is building strong relationships with your engineering teammates.

Ask someone to sketch out the platform architecture and ask their opinion of what the strengths and weaknesses are. Be willing to learn about the challenges, opportunities and tradeoffs of different technical approaches when you are collaborating on a new initiative.

Profitwell offers subscription companies business solutions that optimize monetization and customer retention. To bring these business solutions to market, Product Manager Neel Desai said that empathy is essential when serving as a liaison across departments.

At ProfitWell, Product Managers are responsible for successfully defining the problems that need to be solved and ensuring the team has what they need to deliver on the solutions. PMs have ownership over the ProfitWell Metrics, Retain and Recognized products, which help subscription companies with the hardest part of growth. This translates into improving existing products, as well as building entirely new ones. 

PMs need to have a high degree of empathy to deeply understand customer pain points. They need to be able to work cross-functionality and communicate at a high level, especially when serving as a liaison between the customer, design and engineering. Lastly, PMs need to be analytical in order to track and measure the results of their work.

Depending on the product they’re working on,  PMs don’t need to have technical backgrounds or have studied computer science to join the team. We are much more interested in learning how you think and work. Having said that, to succeed and thrive in a PM role, a solid understanding of the product development process and a foundation in data analysis (Excel, SQL, etc.) is critical. Learning from engineers and designers first hand, combined with a drive for self development and learning, will accelerate this learning curve.

We’re on our phones so much that we literally walk into poles and second-screen (a term used to describe how people scan Twitter and Instagram or text while simultaneously watching a film or show). It’s advantageous to many businesses to be within the confines of those handheld devices, which Vibes provides. They help clients keep their customers “in the know” with mobile-first campaigns, enrollment and outreach. 

Senior Product Manager Laura Puckett told us how she relies on her previous technical experience to make their products as beneficial as possible. 

Product managers should always be curious about what’s going on in the market, what’s impacting their customers and where the product could be going next. PMs live simultaneously in the present and the future. 

PMs need to collaborate with their teams, stakeholders and customers. They need to understand their problems and bring everyone to the table to work together to figure out a solution. PMs collaborate to identify the best ideas, develop them into even better ideas and then turn them into products. 

Great PMs are closers. If you can’t get it built, launched or sold, a brilliant idea doesn’t matter. Identify what the product needs to be successful, whether that’s a sales deck, demonstration video or technical documentation.

From a technical perspective, what skills have you found to be most important in your role, and what steps do you take to continue developing those skills?

I started out as a developer for six years, so I came from a technical role. I have used that experience and those skills extensively in my time as a PM. To deliver the best possible product, you need to understand the risk and scope from a technical perspective. So I make sure to pay attention to my engineering counterparts because the technical world changes every five minutes. My best products have been a result of brainstorming and effort from both the engineering and product teams. 

Topstep Trader

Preya Patel utilizes the resources at her disposal to consistently improve as a product manager. Those resources include her teammates, reliable online content and events in her community. 

She works at TopstepTrader , a platform where aspiring traders can learn to manage risk and ultimately successfully trade capital. Below, she told us how she’s evolved based on those efforts and what she recommends to others in the field. 

A good PM needs to be a strong problem solver and be able to balance business and user needs, while maintaining a healthy dose of empathy. Most often, people fall in love with ideas. But I like to take a step back and diagnose the problem. I do this by listening to our customers and trying to understand their core needs. And because PMs travel across the organization, it’s important to exude the same empathy internally. You need to actively listen past the surface to all perspectives in the process, so that you can use your problem solving and resource-juggling skills to arrive at a mutually beneficial solution.

I stay up on various testing methods and data analysis to help me make more informed product decisions. I spend at least 30 minutes of each day on Harvard Business Review, Medium and the Women in Product Facebook group, consuming case studies and learning from others. I am also active in the community and try to attend one or two events each month. In terms of “hard” technical skills, I read and listen to enough content to converse with developers and translate to stakeholders. But I rely on our strong technology team for their expertise and guidance.

Following a car accident, thinking straight is not on the shortlist of things most people are doing. Planning ahead is pretty much out of the question. That’s where Senior Director of Program Management Cynthia Pryor comes in. She works at CCC to ensure that the company provides their users with the most useful and helpful insurance products possible during a time when support is key. 

Open and direct communication with clear insights into objectives, commitments and risks is key to instilling confidence, managing expectations and maintaining alignment among the team and executives. A good PM should define technical and business problems and deliver difficult messages as well as timely fact-based data. This allows sponsors and stakeholders to make better business decisions.

Collaboration is necessary in an environment where teams are expected to deliver more, faster. PMs should be able to facilitate collaboration among teams and individuals with diverse personalities, competing priorities and pressures. It’s important to get past points of contention to ensure continual progression toward strategic goals. 

The foundation of a successful program and project manager is the ability to understand the company’s vision and objectives. PMs must define a plan to deliver on business outcomes despite unknowns and uncertainties. They should also be able to anticipate potential risks, conflicts and business impacts and quickly adapt and adjust. 

In addition to the above, understanding the business and technical strategies of the company is important in my role. I need the ability to influence internal and external stakeholders and build consensus. I continually develop by reading books and articles, taking classes and webinars and attending events and conferences. In addition, I learn and develop professionally by applying these skills to new and existing initiatives.

More On Product Managers Product Managers Versus Project Managers: We Need Some Clarity

GoSpotCheck

Just as  GoSpotCheck 's technology helps coordinate a mobile workforce, its Executive VP of Product and Engineering Laura Sellers coordinates among a myriad of stakeholders. According to Sellers, the day-in, day-out work of a product manager means listening to the (occasionally competing) needs of engineers, customer success, sales and users. 

The first trait is exemplary communication. Many new product managers believe the job is about having a vision and figuring out how to execute it. In reality, it is about the ability to understand requirements from within your organization and from customers. It is critical that a product manager is able to effectively communicate the trade-offs they are making with key stakeholders and keep them informed on the progress of the product roadmap. 

The second trait is empathy. It’s important that product managers are empathetic to both customers and co-workers. A product being built has an impact on everyone in the company. Therefore, the product manager must be empathetic to the hurdles faced by salespeople, customer operations and engineers. They need to help lead the engineering team with empathy for the users so they are building products and features users love.

The final trait is strategic thinking, which is often learned over time. Great product managers make products that are built to last and create long-term value for their customers; they don’t just add the latest feature request. It’s also important that product managers clearly understand the users that the product is serving. 

What technical skills are most important in your role and how do you continue developing those, or other, skills?

It’s critical that product managers are making decisions based on data and not just instincts. Along with that, product managers need to be decisive in their decisions. Sometimes there isn’t enough workable data and the product manager needs to make a call and be willing to fail fast if necessary.

It’s important to have a core understanding of product complexity from a code perspective. Product managers that don’t have a technical background should be willing to learn about the architecture of a product and new trends in technology. There are also great training programs for product management and numerous PM podcasts and blogs available to help refine skills.

AdAction Interactive

When you’re a product manager at a company that builds mobile marketing solutions for Fortune 100 companies, there can be a lot of pressure to address every piece of feedback.

Meghan Quirk said this is the norm in her role as a product manager at AdAction Interactive , so prioritization is key. Quirk said product managers have to be able to hone in on what’s most important for products in development to make it over the finish line.  

Being empathetic is invaluable to a product manager’s success. Understanding the emotions, motivations and goals of others is useful in many aspects, from deciding what to solve for and build, to selling ideas and features to various people or teams. 

Curiosity is essential because it drives the data collection processes that are necessary for PMs to build successful products. Relentlessly probing for more details and data points enables a PM to understand problems and constraints, then effectively strategize and formulate a solution. 

Being focused is also fundamental to a PM’s success because we are constantly getting new information, requests and feedback that need assessment, filtering and prioritization. Prioritization becomes easier when you can stay focused on the challenges you’re solving. 

The most important technical skills for my role have been learning SQL and data analysis. They have been core to understanding product performance and identifying product optimization and growth opportunities. I continually work on developing these skills by putting them into practice everyday.

Inspire ’s VP of Product Chris Brereton said successful product managers should give their engineering teams direction and autonomy in equal measure. 

What are the top three traits a person needs to be a good PM? 

If I had to boil it down to three traits, they would be customer knowledge, business knowledge and market knowledge. You can’t make strong decisions if you don’t have the foundation of understanding your customers, your business and the market you compete in. 

The gap in the answer above, however, misses the soft skills that strong leaders need to coordinate across talented cross-functional groups. Soft skills help teams move in unison and deliver the highest quality outcomes for both the customer and the business. 

Product people need to be able to lead and have incredible time management skills. They should be able to see the forest for the trees, but also able to zoom into the bark-level detail. They should evangelize their vision and progress, and manage multiple time horizons at the same time.

I think the ability to understand the principles of how software or hardware development work are important. And not just front-end versus back-end or specific languages. It’s about understanding the whole stack and how it works together to enable the outcomes you seek to produce in an efficient way. 

The best way to learn those things is to be close with your engineering counterparts and understand that how they build something is their decision. It’s your job to decide what your engineering partners build and why they’re building it, but when you get into the how, be endlessly curious, listen and learn from them. 

Within ’s Senior Product Manager Eric Silverman said interviewing users of the company’s augmented reality technology is beneficial for gaining deep insight into how the product is working. And the user discoveries he uncovers are made even more impactful when their combined with data born from his use of SQL.

PMs need to be user-centric. A great product person ensures that their features focus on the most important problems and opportunities for their customer base. 

Secondly, the ability to collaborate across multiple departments allows PMs to refine, surface and advocate for the best ideas. 

Finally, product managers need to be able to clearly articulate the business outcomes driven by their roadmaps and overall product strategy. Also, a good sense of humor doesn’t hurt.

There are two functional areas that I’m continuously investing in as a product manager, and the first is conducting effective user interviews. Good interviewers are able to uncover insights that mountains of Excel sheets can’t. Any time I can participate in a usability study or sit down with a customer, I will. 

The second is on the other end of the spectrum: SQL. The ability to query data often surfaces fruitful areas for exploration and clear benchmarks for product features. Ultimately, when product managers can marry insights from big data with the deeper learning that comes from user interviews, they can create incredibly impactful roadmaps. 

Senior Director of Product Management Cliff Barrett doesn’t think product managers need to know how engineers are coding a product line-for-line. 

However, he did say they should have the desire to “understand every aspect of the technology” engineers are using. The product leader at food ordering platform ChowNow  shared the importance of communication between developers and PMs. 

Good product managers are great leaders. They have leadership skills that inspire their teams. Successful PMs lead through partnership and collaboration. The best product managers I know also have an ability to articulate a clear vision and direction for the product. 

Product managers should be able to understand how things are getting done; they do not necessarily need to understand every aspect of the technology. However, a successful PM should be able to have an informed conversation about the feasibility of a solution. 

Product managers that partner with their engineering team to learn more about the technologies being utilized in their product are able to stay current.   

Cockroach Labs

A quality that Lakshmi Kannan sees in the best product managers again and again? Resourcefulness. 

With the internet making information-sourcing so simple, current and aspiring PMs have no excuse not to hone their skills, she said. Kannan, who manages CockroachCloud, a cloud-native database and one of Cockroach Lab ’s business-friendly applications, looks to social sites like YouTube for the latest technical development intel. 

As a PM, one of your primary responsibilities is ensuring that your stakeholders, department leaders and senior management are aligned on the problems you're solving and the strategy and implementation path to get there. A good PM can tailor their communication to the audience and is willing to do so as often as required.

We talk a lot about empathy to customer problems. I like to think of it as being able to understand the true problem a user is facing and being able to solve for that problem. Often, users complain about one thing but the underlying cause is something else. A great PM is able to get to the root cause of the customer problem and use a first-principles approach to address it.

As a PM, many people demand your time and attention. You can easily spend a week just in meetings and working through email backlog. A great PM is ruthless about prioritizing their time and calendar and then actually follows up on what they said they would do.

I read a lot for work, whether it’s academic papers, books, or essays on my Twitter feed. Find your people on the internet. YouTube, Twitter and Medium are all good places to start. Follow their work and engage with them. I have learned the most this way.

Nothing is better than getting your hands dirty. Identify good documentation for your favorite technical product and start using it. Many people write about their experience using specific software. Consider them resources.

As a PM building a cloud product, I also took certification programs that the cloud providers offer. While the precise certificate doesn't really matter, I found those courses to be the best broad exposure to topics such as networking, computing, storage challenges and security.

While  Stash 's Catherine Cornell helps clients see a clear path to success using their product, she wants her team to feel comfortable with ambiguity. We discovered why the director of product said good PMs need to be bold enough to work in environments “where there is no clear path to success.”

While hard skills like organization and technical understanding are important, I place greater emphasis on soft skills. We all know a good product manager needs to be empathetic. A good PM is also curious. Instead of blindly fulfilling customer requests, they question users until they find the “why” behind it. Lastly, a good PM needs to be bold enough to work in an environment where there is no clear path to success. At Stash, we see each failure as a learning opportunity. A PM’s boldness helps them embrace risk. 

Familiarity with SQL or analytics tools are table-stakes for product managers. Feeling comfortable writing regular expressions helps track down bugs or create monitors from logs. The most valuable technical skill a PM can have is the ability to use resources like Stack Overflow or YouTube to self-learn new skills. Languages and tools are constantly evolving. Being empowered to teach yourself is invaluable. 

Disclaimer:  BuiltinNYC is a paid partner of Stash. Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. This information is for educational purpose only, and is not intended as investment, legal, accounting or tax advice.

While there might be no such thing as a stupid question, some are more beneficial to the management process than others –– an important distinction when time restrictions and client expectations are involved. 

Candid CIO Lilla Cosgrove told us that thoughtful investigation is a top priority when it comes to getting product work done at the orthodontic aligner company.  

Great product managers are one-part business thinker, one-part technical thinker and one-part customer thinker. 

To me, the top three traits for success include the ability to zoom in or out at a moment's notice: One of the more difficult aspects of a product manager's job is that in one moment they may have to give the CEO a high-level rundown of their team's quarterly roadmap and in the next, they may have to help an engineer understand a specific feature requirement. They need to be able to zoom out, inspire vision and tell a narrative story while diving into the details to ensure flawless execution.

They also need to be able to prioritize systematically: Feature ideas are always being thrown their way. PMs need to help the business prioritize them objectively with a back-of-the-envelope impact analysis or by diving deep into customer research. 

PMs also must execute with grace, inspiring excellence across both their team and their stakeholders through stellar communication and no-excuses results.

Though this might not obviously pop out as a technical skill, I've found asking the right questions to be most important trait in a product role. 

Being able to dig into data and understand technical architecture tradeoffs are in many ways table-stakes. But getting a misleading answer from that data or pointing your engineering lead in the wrong direction because you asked the wrong question can really sink a product over time. Developing this is really a matter of practice, so I'm constantly looking for new frameworks for evaluating problems and trying them on for size. 

Expedia Group

If you've ever wanted a lower-priced plane ticket, you’ve probably used Expedia Group, which works with over 10 brands to provide travel discounts. Senior Director of Product and Technology Deepthi Kondapalli said a curious and open mind is essential for product managers helping customers discover the world.

The first top trait is customer empathy. PMs need to take away the cognitive load from customers. They have to do this by working with cross-functional teams and building cohesive systems. Great customer experiences tend to be the ones that have a long-lasting impact on users. We put our customers and partners at the center of our product and service innovation and decision-making. PMs need to be the spearhead of this principle.

The second trait is to think big and small. A core expectation from any PM is to be the visionary in the room. PMs should invest time to comprehend the business landscape, do a thorough competitive analysis and have a point of view. Their judgment should drive product roadmap prioritization and ultimately guide teams iteratively toward their North star vision.

The third trait it being able to inspire. I am fortunate to be working with very talented PMs. Every day, I am inspired by the experiences they are dreaming up. They are making things magical for the traveler in me. PMs have to work with cross-functional stakeholders. It is imperative to be able to tailor their communications and be a common thread that brings them together. A PM has to understand today’s technology not just from a high level but also at the code- and system-design level. 

From a technical perspective, what skills have you found to be most important in your role, and what steps do you take to continue developing those (or other) skills?

From a technical perspective, my background is in computer science and engineering. Over the years, I have carefully made my way by learning what it takes to build a durable business with technical solutions at its core. Along the way, great mentors at Expedia have helped me uncover gaps and provided opportunities to build these new muscles.

I humbly believe that there is always more to learn and strive to keep an open mind. It is exciting to see the rapid progress in technology even just in the last decade. Not long ago, there was a time when AJAX was the new thing. Now, we have full-duplex connections that most modern browsers support. This changes what we imagine as possible product experiences. It allows us to make our offerings just a little bit more magical.

Frequent business travelers shouldn’t have to wait for racked-up miles to get discounts. Yapta provides discounted airfare options for corporate travel so flights don’t take a big bite out of budgets. Chief Product Officer Valerie Layman said that successful product managers must work with all departments to understand and solve for business needs.

The traits I look for are curiosity, inquisitiveness and inclusivity. They must also be passionate about their domain and the long-term success of their products. They should focus on the big picture and break down walls.  

A good product manager is always looking at how they can work with all departments in the organization to ensure the success of the products.

PMs must use business intelligence tools, such as Tableau, to mine the data for product performance. Data-driven decisions are key to focusing on the right priorities and understanding where strengths and deficiencies exist.   

A good PM is also proficient at monitoring and communicating in Slack channels. This allows them to listen to conversations about their products across the organization to ensure success: from engineering and sales to marketing and customer success. Addressing issues, answering questions or solving a need upfront helps us drive better products. This can be super complex in an organization with prolific Slack usage.

With corporate travel, it's extremely important for product managers to understand the back-end airline and hotel global distribution systems. This allows them to have an upfront understanding of the complexity of the features they are asking to be delivered, as well as ensure the technical decisions align with the business goals.

Mythical Games

Mythical Games , a next-generation technology studio run on blockchain, is hoping to make futuristic gaming products a reality. Director of Product Liwen Kao told us that their product managers need to be self-sufficient in order to bring Mythical Games’ latest releases to market.

Product managers need to have a variety of traits to succeed. In my experience, three of the most important are problem-solving, collaboration and willingness to learn. At their core, PMs are problem-solvers. Whether it's tackling a user pain point or improving a process that's hindering a team's effectiveness, good PMs strive to make things better for their product and its user base. 

As PMs need to work with a variety of disciplines inside their company and externally, they also need to collaborate to get the most out of their team and other stakeholders. 

As I've worked in smaller startups in recent years, I've learned to be self-sufficient when it comes to keeping myself informed about my product and creating internal work products. For example, I do my own big data queries and analyses, draft low-fidelity UI and UX mock-ups, test API calls and sometimes do some light front-end coding for prototypes. 

From my perspective, doing is the best way to keep these skills sharp, and so I try to incorporate these activities into my normal routine whenever I can. 

Up Next How to Absolutely Kill Your Product Manager Interview

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Product Management

Top 10 product management skills every product manager should own.

April 6, 2023

Product Managers (PMs) need to master a lot of key areas to build products customers love. People who want to transition into a product role are drowning in a sea of articles trying to answer really basic questions like:

• Is product management for you?
• How can you say product management is for you?
• If it is for you, how can you transition from your current role to that of a product manager?

Finding the answer to these questions can be difficult with so much conflicting information out there. How do you know which piece of information will help you get answers to these questions? 

After spending some time online, you will discover that product managers need multiple skills to succeed in their jobs. It’s a little overwhelming and intimidating.

How do you even know if you have these skills and can be a product manager? Follow along as we break down 10 important product management skills you need to succeed in your role!

What Are the Most Important Product Management Skills?

1. product sense, 2. technical understanding, 3. interpersonal skills, 4. problem-solving, 5. data-driven and strategic thinking, 6. result oriented, 7. user-centric mindset, 8. delegation, 9. critical thinking, 10. continuous learning, how do you know product management is for you, how to develop product management skills.

You may be thinking, what skills do you need to start a career in product management? Or what are hiring managers really looking for? 🤔

To answer this question, our team from Upraised analyzed more than 200 product manager job descriptions (JDs) and identified 300 of the most common skills. We then clustered them into ten skills that are really the core of an entry product manager role.

We also consulted experts in the product management field, which helped us gather the key skills employers want when they shortlist candidates early in their careers.

The most important six skills that can help you transition into a product manager role are: 

• Product sense
• Communication skill
• Technical understanding
• Problem-solving
• Data-driven and strategic thinking 
• Result oriented 

Here’s how the proficiency in these ten PM skills differs between top product managers from average product managers:

Here’s a product management glossary for you to know everything about product management before you read further.

Top 10 Product Management Skills

Hard skills for product managers.

Hard skills are acquired via formal education, training programs, or on the job. These are the hard skill needed to be a successful product manager:

Product sense is a product manager’s ability to understand the problem and identify all possible solutions and know which solutions to pick given the constraints like time, resources, budget, and user segment.

This is especially critical for technical expertise product managers. The deeper the domain knowledge, the better you can understand the universe of solution space for a given problem statement . It’s a skill that one can pick up and hone with time.

Check out these no-code tools for product managers !

As a product manager, you don’t need to learn to code, but you do need a basic knowledge of how products are built. It’s why you also should understand how to take care of your projects as they move through the product life cycle.

Additionally, know how to conduct market research to learn the market or industry trends. Conducting market research will help you write product requirements, define edge cases, and effectively work with the engineering team.

This lets you understand which requests are feasible and the amount of effort needed to build a feature for better prioritization. As a product manager, it’s critical to familiarize yourself with several product management tools like ClickUp .

Learning specific processes within these tools allow you to define product requirements and understand their shortcomings. 

Soft skills for product managers

Soft skills are an individual’s ability to interact and relate with other people. Successful product managers possess the following core product management skills:

A product manager needs to get stakeholder buy-in for plans and projects. Having strong communication skills lets you influence and better communicate with others—including the sales team.

It also helps you manage and streamline product documentation. Communicating critical information allows all stakeholders to know the product development process is on track .

Problem-solving is the ability to break a complex problem into chunks and help identify the root cause.

As a product manager, you need to identify the right problem to solve before jumping into the solution. More often than not, you’ll deal with confusing and complex issues.

That’s why problem-solving skills are sought after for this type of role. Product managers are often in charge of transforming the problem into a clear problem statement that the rest of the business can understand.

Data is the new oil that fuels a customer-centric approach in every organization. Given how everything revolves around data, this skill allows you to regularly be open to new learnings.

This lets you know what’s working and what’s not. It is one of the important skills for product managers because data helps you answer questions like:

• Who is your customer?
• Why do they use your product?
• What do they think about it?

Being data-driven makes for a better trade-off between urgent and non-urgent tasks. This skill allows you to fine-tune your strategic thinking and prioritization skills.

And in the meantime, you become more confident with actual informed decisions with your data.

At the end of the day, it’s the result that matters.

Being result-oriented helps prioritize tasks that add the most value for the amount of time invested in completing them. You need to make the best use of available resources and complete tasks within the stipulated time, indicating you are result oriented.

Bonus: Learn how AI tools can help product managers !

4 Bonus Product Management Skills

The ability to empathize with users and have a user-centric mindset is critical for product managers to create products that deliver value and meet user needs, resulting in higher user satisfaction and adoption rates.

Effective delegation leads to building trust within the team and fosters teamwork, product managers can focus on strategic tasks and lead the overall product development process, resulting in more efficient and effective product development.

Critical thinking is a vital part of product management. Product managers use critical thinking to analyze data, evaluate options, make decisions and solve problems.

They must be able to identify potential risks and opportunities, generate creative solutions to complex challenges and think critically in order to develop the best product strategies . Product managers also need to be able to take calculated risks without sacrificing the quality of the product or endangering users’ safety.

Continuous learning helps product managers stay up-to-date with new technologies, market trends, and user behavior, enabling them to make data-driven decisions, create innovative products and deliver real value, and establish themselves as a strong product leader.

Start by learning a new product management tool like ClickUp!

How do these skills help increase your chances of getting hired?

Product management is a fascinating career path . To be a successful product manager, you need to develop skills to help you lead cross-functional collaborations between engineers , marketing and sales teams , firm executives, and users.

Now let’s understand how these skills contribute to making you a better product manager. The two types of skills that product managers need to excel in this field:

• Hard skills (i.e., technical skills)
• Soft skills (i.e., analytical skills, interpersonal skills)

Both hard and soft skills are important when looking for a job. As a potential job seeker, know there will be certain soft skills and hard skills needed that you acquired in past experience.

These skills are called transferable skills . They indicate your ability to do the job, even if your profile does not match the job description 100%. Such skills make you an invaluable asset to any company. 

The first step is to understand your proficiency level in each of these skills.

Start out by using the KYS (Know Your Self) test to see if you could become a product manager. This competency test reveals your behavioral and attitude traits based on a set of 49 questions. It will help you learn more about your strengths and blind spots across these ten core product manager skills!

If you score above 50 without any product background—that’s great! This means you have some of the skills in your current role to succeed as a product manager. But for those who score below 50, no worries!

That score simply means you need to work on your skills and the test will tell you about your blind spots to help. So how can you develop your skills to become a successful and competent product manager?

Whether you are someone who hails from a non-technical or technical background, there’s a course that can help you develop these skills. Career Accelerator Program by Upraised is curated just for aspiring product managers like you who dream of working in product-first companies.  

This is a 16-week curriculum that gives you practical training and prepares you for the role of a product manager. Here’s how Upraised course preps you for a product manager role:

• Organized learning journey
• Case studies and assignments
• Interview readiness

Once you’ve learned more about product management, use a project management tool like ClickUp to help you map your product vision, build product roadmaps , align team resources , and so much more.

ClickUp offers hundreds of features and a fully customizable platform to help you manage your work more efficiently and become a seasoned product manager. You can also take advantage of the learning tools and resources they offer, including product management blogs , a ClickUp guide for product managers , and webinars to help you manage your product lifecycle .

And if you’d like to get a solid framework to start with, ClickUp has product management templates ready for you to use.

So whether you’re looking into transitioning into a product management role internally, or starting a junior role for you, taking the time to level your skills and using the right tools like ClickUp and Upraised can help give you the edge you need to become a successful and competitive product manager.

Best of luck!

Guest Writer:

Janvee Menghrajani is a Content and SEO Specialist at Upraised.

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16 Product Manager Skills For SaaS Product Management

To be a kick-ass product manager , you need a very diverse skill set.

This article explores both hard and soft skills that product managers need in their everyday work, so if you’re curious to learn more, dive right in.

• Hard skills, like technical knowledge, are job-specific and enable product managers to perform their core responsibilities.
• Soft skills, like communication or leadership , are more general and can be used in different contexts. They enable PMs to apply their hard skills effectively.
• Extensive market research is essential to assess the competitive landscape, identify opportunities, and shape the product vision.
• Data analysis is vital for informed decision-making. PMs need to know how to use product analytics tools to gain actionable insights.
• Product management involves analyzing user experience , so a product manager needs to be able to use a range of techniques to do it effectively.
• Identifying the key touchpoints and mapping out the user journey at all stages of the customer lifecycle is another essential skill.
• Thanks to prioritization skills, product managers make sure that the time and resources are allocated to the initiatives that deliver the biggest impact .
• User onboarding is key for users to realize the product value , so PMs need to be skilled at creating and optimizing onboarding experiences.
• To validate ideas , choose the most effective versions, or improve the product , a product manager needs to know how to run experiments .
• Agile is the most common development methodology, so PMs need to be well-versed in its principles.
• As roadmapping is a key part of the job, good PMs are competent users of product management applications that streamline the process.
• Among the soft skills, critical and strategic thinking, analytical skills, and a problem-solving mindset stand out. They’re essential for PMs to be able to make decisions and identify new opportunities for future growth.
• Robust leadership and communication skills combined with emotional intelligence are vital for PMs to navigate complex organizational landscapes and get stuff done.
• Want to learn how Userpilot can help you develop your PM skills? Book the demo!

Hard skills vs soft skills for product managers

To be successful, product managers require a combination of hard and soft skills.

What’s the difference?

Hard skills are the job-specific skills and technical expertise product managers need to perform the core responsibilities, like developing technical product specs, research , or project management skills.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are interpersonal or people skills that enhance a product manager’s ability to lead, communicate, and collaborate. They aren’t specific to product management and are equally important across various roles and industries.

Must have skills for a successful product manager

What are the skills that product managers need to build products that satisfy user needs, solve their problems, and delight them?

Here’s the breakdown of the key hard and soft skills.

Hard product management skills

Let’s start with the hard skills. These are the ones you can acquire through education and experience.

1. Conducting market research

As a product manager, your job is to shape the product vision and strategy .

To be able to do so, you need to have a good awareness of the industry trends and the competitive landscape and understand customer needs and wants . You also need to be able to recognize shifts in the market and identify new opportunities when they arise.

What research techniques should you be familiar with?

Formal research techniques include customer surveys , interviews, focus groups, and prototype testing. You can also gain a wealth of knowledge from secondary sources like industry reports and benchmarks.

Sometimes the most valuable insights come from informal sources, like review websites, forums, social media groups, or communities.

2. Data analysis and decision-making

It’s difficult to imagine the work of a SaaS PM without product analytics.

Analyzing product usage and customer behavior is vital to making informed product decisions and avoiding bias while tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential to measure progress accurately.

Product managers are very lucky in this respect.

First, all user interactions with the product take place in the digital space, so it’s easy to track them.

Second, there are brilliant analytics tools available that enable you to track and analyze user behavior and extract actionable insights.

Platforms like Userpilot are very user-friendly and require no technical skills , but you still need to be familiar with analytics and statistics theory to apply them adequately.

3. Analyzing user experience

One area where product analytics can help you massively is analyzing user experience, which is a big part of the job.

What exactly does it involve?

You have to collect granular insights about user interactions with the product to make the product more inclusive and intuitive . For example, you may have to conduct funnel analysis to identify touchpoints where users experience friction and then watch session recordings to pinpoint its root causes.

Most of the time, the analytics data needs to be paired with user interviews and surveys, for example, CES to obtain qualitative data on why users act in particular ways and how to make it easier for them to achieve their goals.

4. Understanding of user lifecycle concepts

Product managers need to be familiar with user lifecycle concepts.

For example, they need to understand the different stages a user goes through when interacting with a product, from awareness and acquisition to activation, retention , and referral, and what strategies to use to engage users at each of them.

What’s more, PMs need to know how to create user journey maps to visualize the path the user takes when interacting with a product.

This helps you and other stakeholders to better empathize with your users, identify their motivations, experiences, and pain points , and find opportunities for improvement.

5. Prioritization skills to drive product strategy

As a product manager, you get flooded with stakeholder and customer requests. On top of that, your team has got lots of brilliant ideas, too, and you’ve got to take care of technical debt in the meantime.

That’s why you need to know how to prioritize product initiatives effectively.

This involves filtering out ideas that aren’t in line with your product vision and using prioritization frameworks to identify ones that have the greatest impact.

A big part of effective prioritization is being able to choose the right techniques and frameworks as this depends on the stage of the product life cycle , your development methodology (Agile vs Waterfall), and organizational goals.

6. User onboarding and experience optimization skills

Product management is not only about building new products but enabling users to realize their value.

That’s why PMs need to be skilled in developing onboarding experiences to drive user activation and product adoption.

You’re in luck again because with adoption tools like Userpilot , it’s easy to design onboarding experiences and drive user engagement inside products.

Such tools not only allow you to create onboarding flows but also track their performance so that you can optimize them for better results.

7. A/B testing and product experimentation

One way to optimize your user onboarding – or any other aspect of the user experience, for that matter, is through testing and experimentation .

In fact, product managers run hundreds of tests at all stages of the product development process.

For example, early on you may need to run experiments with low-fi prototypes to validate ideas, and later you could be running A/B tests to improve your onboarding flows.

Hence, knowing how to set up different kinds of experiments to obtain valid insights is a key asset for a PM.

8. Understanding of the Agile Methodology

Although there are software companies that still use the Waterfall approach, Agile project management dominates the SaaS space. As product managers are in charge of the development efforts, they need to be familiar with the core Agile principles.

It’s easy to get a Scrum Master or Product Owner qualification. You can get certified over the weekend without much experience (like yours truly).

Does it mean you will know how to apply the framework consistently, coach your teams on how to use it, and persuade the key stakeholders that this is the best way to build the product?

Hell no! This comes with a lot of experience.

9. Product management and product roadmap software

Product managers own the roadmap : they need to create it and keep it up-to-date.

A lot goes into that, like prioritization or managing the interdependencies between features.

There are, however, product management and roadmapping tools that can make it a little bit easier.

Such tools improve speed and efficiency in creating product roadmaps by eliminating the need for manual reformatting or design work.

They also make it easier to share the roadmap with other teams across the organization to improve their alignment and avoid version control issues.

Soft product management skills

Soft skills are more subjective and linked to your personality. They are sometimes very difficult to define or identify in people. Yet, you will see immediately when somebody lacks them.

10. Critical thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally and understand links between ideas.

Why is important for PMs?

It allows them to question assumptions, determine the relevance and importance of evidence and ideas, and identify biases and errors. Thanks to critical thinking, product managers are able to assess situations accurately and make consistent decisions.

11. Analytical skills and strategic thinking

Analytical skills enable product managers to analyze and interpret data, identify patterns, and understand cause-and-effect relationships.

They are essential to understanding the competitive landscape, analyzing user behavior, and making data-driven decisions.

In simple terms, strategic thinking is the ability to assess the current situation, identify opportunities, and plan for the future.

PMs need it to develop a compelling product vision and product strategy.

12. Communication skills

Product managers collaborate closely with stakeholders and teams from across the organization, like the marketing team , engineering team, or sales team. All of them look at the product from a different perspective and speak a different ‘language’.

For example, senior leadership may speak mostly in terms of business success and show little appreciation of other aspects like the impact on users or technical feasibility.

To get things done, product managers need excellent communication skills to build bridges between the different domains and help them gain a shared understanding of their goals. This is essential to secure their buy-in and ensure they’re all pulling in the same direction.

13. Problem-solving mindset

The work of product managers involves a fair bit of problem-solving.

They need to be able to identify and define the problem, generate solutions, and implement the most effective ones.

But there’s much more to having a problem-solving mindset than mechanically going through the motions. It’s the willingness and ability to view challenges as opportunities for growth and improvement, rather than as obstacles.

14. Leadership skills

Product managers work with colleagues from other departments who may not directly report to them. Without direct authority, you can’t simply strong-arm someone to do stuff for you.

Even if you’re managing your own team, being able to inspire them and rally them behind the product vision is way more effective than simply pulling rank.

On top of that, PMs need to be skilled at organizing and managing the work of their teams. This includes assigning tasks and allocating resources.

15. Emotional intelligence

Product managers require superior emotional intelligence.

For example, you need this to empathize with customers to better understand their needs and pain points or put yourself in the shoes of senior stakeholders to get a grasp of their priorities.

It is also essential to lead teams effectively and maximize their performance. That’s because it helps you understand your team members and their motivations, and resolve conflicts when they arise.

16. Time management skills

Product managers have got plenty on their plates. To avoid distractions and get the important stuff done, they need excellent time management skills.

This involves prioritizing their tasks, categorizing their time, and allocating it to high-leverage activities while delegating the less important jobs to others.

A successful PM needs a balanced set of hard and soft skills. Some of them can be acquired in a formal way, through education and training, while others come with experience.

If you’d like to learn how Userpilot can help you develop your data analysis and customer research skills, book the demo!

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How to Think Like a Product Manager?

• September 9, 2023
• product management

In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving business landscape, product managers emerge as one of the most critical and dynamic roles within organizations across various industries. Product managers are the visionary leaders responsible for guiding products from conception to market success. Hence for them to excel in this multifaceted role, they must do more than merely manage tasks and teams, and learn how to think like a product manager.

This blog will dive deep into the intricate world of product management, exploring the core principles, philosophies, and thought processes that define the mindset of successful product managers. Whether you’re an aspiring product manager eager to understand the profession or an experienced practitioner looking to hone your skills, this blog will provide invaluable insights and strategies.

Key Takeaways:

• Thinking like a product manager is essential in the dynamic business landscape, emphasizing innovation, problem-solving, and decision-making skills .
• This blog will delve into the thirteen fundamental principles, from cultivating curiosity to embracing conflict that shapes the mindset of successful product managers.
• Here we will explore the principles that guide product managers to think deeply, prioritize, make informed decisions, and continuously improve, ultimately driving product success and innovation.

Fundamental Principles to Think Like a Product Manager

The thirteen fundamental principles integral to shaping the thought process of individuals aspiring to think like a product manager include:

1. Wonder About Everything

For you to truly think like a product manager , you must cultivate an insatiable curiosity that extends to every aspect of your work and life. Wondering about everything means not only asking questions but also actively seeking answers. It involves exploring the “what if” scenarios and looking for opportunities for improvement in unexpected places.

When you wonder about everything, you develop a mindset that constantly seeks out new challenges and innovative solutions. You’ll find yourself questioning existing processes, products, and ideas. 

For example, if you’re working on a software product, you might wonder if there’s a better way to streamline the user interface or if a different technology stack could lead to improved performance.

2. Think Deeper

Thinking deeply is about going beyond the surface level of understanding. It means investing the time and effort to gain a comprehensive grasp of the subject matter and to bridge between superficial understanding and profound insight. This often involves delving into data analysis to discern patterns, conducting thorough user research to identify trends, and acquiring a deep understanding of the underlying technologies and systems to ensure optimal product performance.

Thinking deeper empowers product managers to make informed decisions. It enables product managers to uncover opportunities, solve complex problems, and create products that resonate deeply with users.

For instance, if you’re managing a mobile app, thinking deeply might involve analyzing user engagement metrics to identify patterns and opportunities for improvement. It may also require understanding the intricacies of mobile operating systems and how they impact your app’s performance.

3. Think About Incremental Improvement

Incremental improvement is the cornerstone of sustainable progress in the world of product management . Embracing this philosophy, you break down long-term ambitious goals into manageable, bite-sized steps, making progress attainable and risks more controllable.

Incremental improvement encourages continuous learning and adaptation. They iterate on existing features, enhance user experiences, and fine-tune processes, all while minimizing disruptions. This principle embodies the “Kaizen” philosophy, a Japanese term for continuous improvement, and champions the idea that small, consistent steps can lead to significant advancements over time.

For instance, consider a scenario where you’re responsible for a website’s conversion rate. Instead of aiming for an immediate 50% increase in conversions, you may opt for a series of incremental improvements. This might involve optimizing the checkout process, improving website load times, and enhancing the user experience step by step.

4. Ask “Why” and “How”

Asking “Why” and “How” is the compass that guides product managers through the process of decision-making and problem-solving. “Why” delves into the motivations and underlying reasons behind actions, decisions, or challenges. It’s the product management tool for uncovering the root causes, shedding light on the “what” and “who” behind a situation.

On the other hand, “How” ventures into the mechanics, processes, and feasibility of potential solutions. It seeks to understand the steps, resources, and technologies required to address a problem or implement an idea effectively.

For instance, imagine you’re working on a project, and it’s not progressing as expected. Instead of accepting the delays at face value, you ask “Why.” This might lead you to discover that a key team member lacks the necessary resources or that the project scope was poorly defined. By asking “How,” you can then explore various strategies to address these issues and get the project back on track.

5. Have an Opinion

Having an opinion as a product manager is not about being inflexible or dogmatic. Instead, it’s about having a clear vision and direction for your product. Your opinion serves as a valuable compass that guides decision-making and provides a reference point for evaluating ideas and feedback.

Your opinion is rooted in your understanding of the market, user needs, and the product’s long-term goals. It helps you make choices that align with the product’s strategic vision. When you have a strong opinion, it becomes easier to communicate your vision to stakeholders and rally your team behind a common goal.

6. Embrace Conflict

Conflict is an inherent part of any creative and problem-solving process. In the context of product and brand management, conflict often arises when team members have differing opinions, priorities clash, or external pressures exert influence. Rather than fearing or avoiding conflict, product managers embrace it as an opportunity for growth and innovation.

Effective conflict management involves creating a safe space for open and constructive discussions. It encourages team members to voice their concerns, challenge assumptions, and explore alternative viewpoints. When managed well, conflict can lead to better decision-making, more robust solutions, and a stronger team dynamic.

7. Develop Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of others. For product managers, developing empathy is not just one of the product management skills but a fundamental mindset. It’s about putting yourself in the shoes of your users and stakeholders to gain a deep understanding of their needs and pain points.

To develop empathy, product managers engage in user research, user testing, and direct user interactions. They actively listen to feedback, conduct surveys, and analyze user behavior data. By seeing the product through the eyes of the users, product managers can create solutions that resonate on a personal level, leading to increased user satisfaction and loyalty.

8. Actively Listen

Listening is a foundational communication skill, but for product managers, it’s elevated to a strategic art. Active listening involves not just hearing words but truly comprehending the underlying messages and emotions. It’s about being fully present in conversations and giving your undivided attention to the speaker.

As a product manager, you actively listen to stakeholders, customers, and team members to gather insights, feedback, and ideas. Active listening helps you identify pain points, uncover opportunities, and build strong relationships based on trust and respect. By fostering open and meaningful dialogues, you create an environment where collaboration and innovation thrive.

9. Prioritize

Effective prioritization is the cornerstone of successful product lifecycle management . Product managers are constantly faced with a multitude of tasks, features, and projects competing for limited resources. Prioritization ensures that you allocate these resources strategically, focusing on the most critical initiatives that align with your product’s goals and vision.

Prioritization frameworks like the MoSCoW method (Must-haves, Should-haves, Could-haves, and Won’t-haves) provide a systematic approach to decision-making. They help you categorize and rank features and projects based on their importance and impact. Prioritization also requires ongoing evaluation and adjustment as market conditions, user feedback, and business objectives evolve.

10. Consider Alternatives

Product managers are not confined to a single solution or approach. Instead, they explore a range of alternatives and assess the advantages and disadvantages of each. This flexibility and willingness to consider multiple options are crucial for informed decision-making.

For instance, when deciding on a new feature for a software product, you might explore different design approaches, technology stacks, or implementation methods. Evaluating alternatives allows you to weigh factors like product development time, resource requirements, user experience, and potential risks. By carefully considering your options, you can choose the most suitable path forward.

11. Make Decisions

Decision-making is one of the essential product management technical skills . Product managers gather data, analyze information, consult with stakeholders, and ultimately make choices that impact the product’s direction. Decisiveness is a valuable trait because it drives progress and ensures that projects move forward.

Decisions come in various forms, from strategic choices about the product management roadmap to tactical decisions about project timelines and resource allocation. While it’s crucial to make informed decisions, it’s equally important to acknowledge that not all decisions will be perfect. Embrace the concept of “good enough” decisions, recognizing that they can be refined and improved as you gather more information and feedback.

12. Everything Is an Experiment

Experimentation is at the heart of the product management toolkit. It involves approaching tasks, projects, and ideas with the mindset that they are experiments to be tested and refined. This outlook encourages you to be open to failure and learn from it.

Consider a scenario where you’re launching a new feature in a mobile app. Instead of assuming that you know exactly how users will react, you treat it as an experiment. You might introduce the feature to a small group of users, gather feedback, and monitor their interactions. This iterative approach allows you to make adjustments based on real-world usage, ensuring that the feature evolves to meet user needs and expectations.

Furthermore, the mindset that “everything is an experiment” extends beyond product features. It applies to various aspects of product management, including marketing strategies, pricing models, and user acquisition tactics. By treating these elements as ongoing experiments, you remain agile and adaptable, ready to pivot when necessary and capitalize on opportunities as they arise.

13. See Things to Completion

Seeing things through to completion is a vital characteristic of successful product managers . It involves not only starting projects but also ensuring they reach their intended conclusion. This commitment to closure is essential for delivering value to users and stakeholders.

For product managers, completion can take many forms:

a. Product Releases: Ensuring that product releases are well-executed, tested, and meet quality standards.

b. Project Delivery: Managing projects from initiation to delivery, ensuring that they stay on schedule and within scope.

c. User Feedback: Closing the loop by responding to user feedback and implementing improvements.

d. Market Research: Completing market research initiatives, analyzing findings, and using insights to inform product decisions.

e. Cross-functional Collaboration: Bringing together teams from different departments to achieve a common goal, such as launching a new product or feature.

By prioritizing completion, product managers demonstrate their dedication to delivering value to users and achieving organizational objectives. They also contribute to a sense of accomplishment and closure within their teams, fostering a culture of accountability and reliability.

Thinking like a product manager is about adopting a mindset that prioritizes curiosity, empathy, and strategic thinking. It’s a journey of continuous learning and growth, characterized by a willingness to ask questions, make decisions, and embrace both success and failure. At the Institute of Product Leadership , we understand that the broadness of your thinking patterns plays a vital role in your decision-making process. Hence we have designed our Executive MBA in Product Leadership tailor-made to help you excel in the field of product data management, and drive meaningful innovation in your products and organizations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Thinking like a product manager is essential in today's business environment since by thinking like a product manager, individuals can gain valuable insights into problem-solving, decision-making, and innovation, which are highly sought-after product management skills in modern organizations.

Cultivating curiosity and wondering about everything encourages you to question the status quo, explore new ideas, and seek opportunities for improvement. Hence fostering creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability.

In product management, this approach minimizes risks, allows for continuous learning, and ensures that the product evolves based on user feedback. It's a fundamental strategy for achieving sustainable growth and enhancing user satisfaction.

Asking "Why" helps product managers uncover the root causes of challenges and decisions, facilitating a deeper understanding of the context. Asking "How" delves into the mechanics of potential solutions, guiding effective problem-solving.

Embracing conflict as an opportunity for growth and innovation encourages open dialogue, diverse perspectives, and better decision-making. It fosters a culture of collaboration and adaptability within product teams.

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3 Step Problem solving approach for Product Managers

• Post author By admin
• Post date August 27, 2020
• No Comments on 3 Step Problem solving approach for Product Managers

Problem Solving for Product Managers

As a product manager, your most important why is the customer problem that your product is trying to solve. Include your team and other stakeholders in understanding the customer problem and selecting the right goal metric to grow. This way, everyone can contribute, feel ownership, and stay motivated to solve the problem even if the product changes.

A problem well defined is a problem half-solved — Charles Kettering

Concept of problem-solving

Today’s businesses want employees who can adapt to new situations rapidly and effectively.

• The ideal product manager is a master of basic skills such as reading, writing, and numeracy.
• Product Manager is also a master of learning, communication, critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem-solving.
• The ideal product manager can respond to a problem quickly, correctly, and with little or no supervision.

If you can solve problems, you can write your own ticket to whatever job you want.

Defining Problem Solving

Problems can be classified into puzzle problems, well-structured problems, and ill-structured problems.

Simple Problems

• Many games contain puzzle problems and are not “serious” in nature, nor is there any real-life consequence for failing to solve them.

Well-structured Problems

• Some problems which are simple and well-defined are called well-structured problems and include a set number of possible solutions – solutions are either 100% right or 100% wrong. An example of a well-structured problem is a typical mathematical (2 + 2 = 4) question. This question has a definitive correct answer.

Ill-structured Problems

• In contrast to well-structured problems are ill-structured problems. In these cases, problems may have many possible answers because they are complex and poorly defined. The “best” solutions to ill-defined problems depend on the priorities underlying the situation. What is “best” today may not be “best” tomorrow. Ill-structured problems, because they are more difficult to “solve,” require the development of higher-order thinking skills and the ability to construct a convincing argument for a particular solution as opposed to all other possible solutions.

To summarize ill-structured problems:

• ill-structured problems are complex and poorly defined.
• They have many possible answers.
• They do not have one best answer.

Here is an example of an ill-structured problem:

The population of your community is growing. Your water supply will not support many new people.

What do you do?

This is a complex problem. It affects the people, the environment, and the quality of life itself. To arrive at a good solution, you need to use math, science, political science, psychology, and probably more!

This problem actually occurs frequently in areas with a growing population. In one community facing this problem, more than 20 possible solutions were presented to the public. A solution was then chosen upon which the majority of the public agreed. It wasn’t the “right” solution because all of the 20 possible solutions had strengths and weaknesses.

The lesson here is that ill-structured problems usually have several workable solutions. Each solution has advantages and disadvantages that depend on who is affected by the solution. The solution chosen is often the one that has the best argument for it.

Problem-solving strategies

• Abstraction : solving the problem in a model of the system before applying it to the real system
• Analogy : using a solution that solves an analogous problem
• Brainstorming : (especially among groups of people) suggesting a large number of solutions or ideas and combining and developing them until an optimum solution is found
• Divide and conquer : breaking down a large, complex problem into smaller, solvable problems
• Hypothesis testing : assuming a possible explanation to the problem and trying to prove (or, in some contexts, disprove) the assumption
• Lateral thinking : approaching solutions indirectly and creatively
• Means-ends analysis : choosing an action at each step to move closer to the goal
• Method of focal objects : synthesizing seemingly non-matching characteristics of different objects into something new
• Morphological analysis : assessing the output and interactions of an entire system
• Proof : try to prove that the problem cannot be solved. The point where the proof fails will be the starting point for solving it
• Reduction : transforming the problem into another problem for which solutions exist
• Research : employing existing ideas or adapting existing solutions to similar problems
• Root cause analysis : identifying the cause of a problem
• Trial-and-error : testing possible solutions until the right one is found
• Tags problem solving , Product Management

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