225 days of product management

One of the most sought after role in the recent times of internet boom is that of Product Manager. The world lacks good product leaders. Normally the role is looked as a very strategic and important in technology companies.

In brief the role of a product manager is to take decisions related to product that the company is selling.

I would just like to share with you the lessons I learned while I was a product manager. No big deal.

1. Make everyday count

Every day that you spent in those role is an investment in the betterment of the product. Try to take everything day wise and make everyday count.

2. Take data driven decisions

Before developing anything ensure there is a traction, you don`t want to develop something that no-one is going to use. Learn from mistake of other people.

3. Invest time on things which are not working

I learned it the hard way, avoid working on things which are working, rather focus energy on making things and decisions related to products which are not working.

4. Don`t rush

There will be times when you will be under pressure to deliver, but avoid the thoughts that come with the pressure and focus on doing right, it may seem that you are not working and people will complain about you, but focus on what is right for the product in the long run.

5. Know your customer

Understand your true customers and look things from their end. Love the customer who is shouting at you, they are giving the golden feedback which non-active users are not telling.

6. Learn to say no, without being rude

The normal advice is to just say no, but instead of taking such a route, try to ask the person who is giving the suggestion — which metric will it move? Through this single question, I have been able to avoid development.

7. Have a product strategy

Get your team on the same page for the product, in case they are not first develop one and start making efforts towards the same, it is very important to know what the product stands for and what it should do.

8. Decide on metrics at the earliest

First time product managers should discuss with their peers and stakeholders on how their performance will be measured, in case they are not able to tell you, come up with one for yourself and inform stakeholders, this helps them to know where are you going to put efforts.

9. Talk

Be part of various communities, tech, operations, HR etc, what this will give you is to understand the overall picture of how they think and act.

10. Breathe

Take care of yourself first. Regular breaks from work and be mentally ready to take the challenges

Last but not the least

11. Tip — have a game for product team

Once we grew a team of 4 members in product team, everyday we used to randomly select one product from ProductHunt and then dissect it — understand why are doing it the way they are doing? What’s their story, what can we learn from them? This will help team in making decisions faster and also keep them updated as to what is new in market.

Vishal worked as Senior Product Manager at AppitSimple and looked after Product SoftwareSuggest and CallHippo. He is focussed on developing products that makes people reach home to their loved ones on time. Reach out to him, many people say he is nice and approachable.