Unsolicited Advice for Product Managers

A Product Manager's job is never done.

It's not straight forward. The job is more like a one woman variety show, prompting you to use a medley of skills, in often new and innovative ways, day after day. Though you may be consistently talking about technical considerations, making analytical observations, thinking through fine tuning processes and assessing tools, metrics, KPIs, OKRs, goals goals goals... don't be fooled.

It's first and foremost a creative role.

It's cloaked in left brain but its' spirit is right brain. Focusing too much on the left brain tasks is unsustainable. It will drain you and, without a consistent practice of refilling the well, your inner reserves will turn to sand. Which is bad for business and also bad for you: the flesh and blood flawed human that wants to feel capable, strong, safe and inspired. If this doesn't apply to you, congratulations, feel free to drop.

When you're sensitive to the full requirements of your job, and this pretty much applies to anyone that's devoting their work life to the pursuit of any complex skill, you're not just aware of what you know you don't know, but you're aware of what you don't know you don't know. Meta I know.

This post is for those that find themselves pulled in multiple directions, that want to keep themselves from getting lost in the forest and want to build strategies that help them create sustainability in their work life as a PM.

Eat. Sleep. WALK. Laugh. Drink water.

This is a requirement. It's non negotiable. I have notoriously been a person that disregards the basic requirements of being a human because I like to think I can sustain myself on duty and inspiration alone. I can't. I work from home and if I don't have good boundaries on these basic human requirements my brain will turn to mush by 3 PM and then my husband has to come home to a useless house gremlin. Seriously I can't overstate this. Health is wealth. Nothing is more important than this. Your career is not more important than this. You won't be a good PM if you're not taking care of yourself.

Get to know the humans you'll be working with before you do anything.

Yes all of them. To be effective as a PM you have to be deeply trusted by everyone you'll be working with. You often have to speak for them. You often have to represent them both internally and externally. Establishing trust is crucial. You can't fake it. You have to really get to know everyone, what motivates them, what their goals are and what their desires for the product are. This takes time and it should. We all relate to others differently and we all have varying levels of agreeableness and openness. If you're a new PM invest in the time required to really get to know your team. PM is not the job for you if you don't identify as a people person. If you're someone that delights in the varying personalities and interests of others, this will be easy.

Think in terms of systems.

Systems are a way for the analog brain to automate areas of our lives. I have systems for everything. When I do x I also do y and z. They are automatic muscle memory collections of tasks that I just do. They override the part of my brain that has to decide whether or not it likes something. A system is not there for when I'm up for it. A system just is. I just do it. Break down all areas of Product Management (capital PM) and tell yourself you're going to have a system of how you engage marketing, customer success, sales, engineering and leadership.

Make a system for how you write, track and communicate your notes and thoughts. Make a system for when you will check your emails and when you will have focus time. Make a system for how you will organize your release schedule and how you will update your roadmap. Make it your own and don't deviate from it. The less time you spend on "deciding" what to do, the more you automate your work day the more you will get done in less time. Working 80 hour weeks is a sign that you're not doing this well enough yet. It's also insane no matter what Elon Musk thinks.

“You can do a series of non-routine tasks, that require Social Intelligence, complex critical thinking, and creative problem solving… That’s what you’re going to do in the future.” -John Oliver

Intentionally seek out joy.

Nothing worthwhile is created when it springs from misery, when it's forced. This is a creative job remember. Creativity is forged in inspiration. It can be a very lonely journey being a PM. Particularly if you're the only PM. Find peers online and offline. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Get excited. This is a fun job that offers endless challenge and growth for those that are able and willing. PM is a craft, a multidisciplinary mix of complex problem solving, business acumen, communication and social intelligence. A while back John Oliver had an episode on automation. It's one of those looming societal trends that I'm constantly brooding over in the background because the humanitarian in me cares deeply about my fellow country brethren falling into poverty and chaos. The more fun you have with it, the better you'll be and the more job security you'll have.

There are so many beautiful aspects to product. The storytelling. The making. The doing. The high of reaching that business goal. The solidarity of everyone coming together to make something a reality and you, at the nexus of it all. The corpus coliseum of your business. I find myself often fantasizing about what it would feel like to get to that next big milestone and this is the very heart of PM and business for that matter: The pursuit and realization of bigger and ever more worthy goals. I subscribe to Nietzsche's concept of The Last Man, the idea that people shouldn't just pursue happiness because it will make for a dull existence.

You can only have so much alcohol, food and indulge in life's pleasures to some degree before it becomes a problem. You can minimize pain and struggle only so much until you come at the crossroads of being so unbelievably bored (and, as a result, become so boring) that you don't have much to offer anyone. Lots of meaning, value, joy and happiness can be derived from the pursuit and realization of difficult goals. Especially when you do them together with lots of other people.

It's fun.

I deeply urge you to have fun.

???'We have invented happiness,' say the last men, and they blink." -Friedrich Nietzsche