Occasionally, out of ignorance and lack of touch with working product managers, someone describes a product manager as the CEO of their product. Unfortunately, they are grossly overstating the level of power and authority given to product managers. CEOs lead and command authority because they are the highest ranking individual in the entire organization. They have ultimate and supreme power. People obey them. They are the boss. A product manager, on the other hand, must persuade and motivate others without having any real power. The only tool the product manager has is the language they use, the spoken and written word. So how do you get people to understand why a particular course of action is warranted? And how do you get them to do what you need them to do without being able to wield any power or authority over them? You can’t just talk louder, or keep repeating your point or resort to nagging or a temper tantrum. You have to use a particular language that is more effective. Strategic language. The key is in using carefully chosen language that addresses their Motivation Type. Join our AIPMM Anthropologist, Paula Gray as she uncovers the key to more effective persuasion by understanding your audience’s Motivation Type. She will explain how to determine an individual’s motivation type and then how to strategically craft your language to address the core issues of each type. Topics covered will include: • What are Motivation Types and how people acquire them • How to determine an individual’s Motivation Type • How to speak to each Motivation Type to engage and persuade them • How to speak to a group that is a mix of Motivation Types About Paula Gray Paula Gray is an anthropologist and the Director of Knowledge Development at AIPMM. She has traveled the globe to work with companies throughout the US, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific to help them gain a deeper understanding of their customers. She is featured in Linda Gorchels' book The Product Manager's Handbook and has contributed to several books on product management including The Guide to the Product Management and Marketing Body of Knowledge (ProdBOK). She is also the author of numerous blog posts, articles, and papers including Business Anthropology and the Culture of Product Managers.

1. What Does a Product Manager
Do When They Aren’t the CEO of
Their Product?
They Master the
Art of Persuasion
AIPMM WEBINAR SERIES

2. Paula Gray
AIPMM Director of Research & Knowledge Development
Applied Anthropologist
Our Speaker

3. Management is nothing more than motivating
other people.
Lee Iacocca (Father of the Ford Mustang)

4. How do you persuade and motivate others without
having any real authority?

5. LANGUAGE: A
TREMENDOUSLY
VALUABLE TOOL
YOU HAVE IN
ABUNDANCE
Written
Spoken

6. LANGUAGE PERCEPTION

7. Deeply held belief
Prefrontal Cortex Amygdala
DEEPLY HELD BELIEF VERSUS ATTITUDE
Attitude

8. RHETORICAL APPEALS

9. Ethics
Three Methods of
Persuasion
Pathos -
Emotion
Ethos –
Character
Logos – Logic

10. USING FACTS AND OPINIONS
Facts OPINIONSCORE
DATA
Is it accurate? Is it up to date? Is it relevant? Opinions are personal
judgments
May be facts or
personal preferences
DATA DRIVEN APPROACH
CRITERIA DRIVEN APPROACH JUDGEMENT-ORIENTED APPROACH
1 2 3 1 2
© AIPMM, 2017

11. EXAMPLE
FACT
FACT/OPINION BASED ON
CRITERIA
OPINION
Michael Jordan holds six NBA championship wins.
Michael Jordan is one of the top NBA players.
Michael Jordan is the best NBA player.

12. MOTIVATION TYPES

13. •Research by Stanford
University and
Northwestern University
found individuals fall into
one of 2 Motivation
Types
•Specific language cues
resonate with each
Motivation Type

14. Humans are born with two basic needs:
•Nurturance
•Security/Safety

15. NURTURANCE
•Positive concepts such as
love, accomplishment,
validation or admiration
•Achievement = joyful,
excited or happy
•Goals - we ideally would
like to do
•Promotion Focused
Motivation

16. SECURITY/SAFETY
•Concepts about duty,
responsibility, doing
what’s right
•Achievement = feel at
peace, calm, relaxed, or
a sense of relief
•Goals - we know we
ought to do or should do
•Prevention Focused
motivation

17. Individuals operate under both of these motivators, but one
usually shows up as their dominant motivator
Upbringing and childhood influence dominant motivator

18. PROMOTION FOCUSED
•Rewarded for
achievements
• “Cold shoulder” when
they didn’t achieve

19. PREVENTION FOCUSED
•Excellence expected and
achievement keeps the
peace
•Punishment when they
didn’t achieve

20. •Culture of origin
contributes to dominant
motivator

21. RESEARCH FOUND
Western cultures stress
independence and
individualaccomplishment
tend to be more
Promotion Focused

22. RESEARCH FOUND
SE Asian cultures
generally place more
value on groups and
interdependence, tend to
be more Prevention
Focused

23. Determine their focus:
Listen to their objections
or their description of the
issue. What are their
goals?

24. Handout
Determining Promotion Focused or Prevention Focused

25. For each pair of characteristics circle the one that best describes you:
A. Creative B. Planner
A. Risk-taker B. Deliberate
A. Optimistic B. Cautious
A. Speedy B. Accurate
A. Spontaneous B. Analytical
A. Eager B. Careful

26. For the following circle the statement that is most true of you:
A. Work quickly B. Work slowly and deliberately
A.
Consider lots of alternatives and are great brain
Stormers
B. Tend to be accurate
A. Are open to new opportunities B. Are prepared for the worst
A. Are optimists B. Are stressed by short deadlines
A. Plan only for best case scenarios B. Stick to tried-and true ways of doing things
A. Seek positive feedback and lose steam without it B. Are uncomfortable with praise or optimism
A. Feel dejected or depressed when things go wrong B. Feel worried or anxious when things go wrong
A. Prone to mistakes B. Likely to miss an opportunity
A. Not likely to have a backup plan B. Likely to get bogged down with details
A. Make a decision that lands in hot water B. Tend to be overly anxious
A.
Does best work when thinking
about why something is worth doing
B.
Makes best decisions when thinking about how
something could be done.
A. Thinks about abstract concepts B.
Prefers to deal with the concrete and specific
details

27. Recap the results:
Now count the number of A’s and the number of B’s you
circled.
Number of A’s______________
Number of B’s______________
If you circled more A’s than B’s, a Promotion-Focused will
work best.
If you circled more B’s than A’s a Prevention-Focused will
work best.

28. Promotion Focused
Gain or Achieve
• Advance and grab
opportunities
• Eager, comfortable with risk
• Work quickly
• Prone to error, may not think
things through
• Can be unprepared
Prevention Focused
Prevent a Loss
• Goals are responsibilities
• Worry what might go wrong
• Work slowly, attention to detail
• Have good analytical and
problem-solving skills
• Can be uncreative and can miss
opportunity

29. •Determine your own
objective or goal for this
individual and then craft
your “messaging”
according to their focus.

30. Promotion Focused
Use more abstract words
Sounds like:
• These are the benefits of…
• We will gain ….
• We will achieve, make our mark,
gain fame, become the best…
• This will open doors for new
opportunity…
These answer “why”
Prevention Focused
Use more concrete words
Sounds like:
• Our obligation is to…
• Why you shouldn’t do…
• We will get rejected/lose funding
if we don’t…
• These techniques are needed in
order to prevent a loss of time,
money, resources…
These answer “how”

31. COMPARE RHETORICAL APPEAL
TO MOTIVATION TYPES

32. Ethics
Three Methods of
Persuasion
Pathos -
Emotion
Ethos –
Character
Logos – Logic
PROMOTION FOCUSED
PREVENTION FOCUSED
PREVENTION AND
PROMOTION FOCUSED

33. For groups, include BOTH
types of messaging in
order to appeal to each
type in the group

34. For Groups
•A major win will prevent
a loss
•Benefit of achievement
and critical penalty if we
don’t do X
•Include “why” and
“how”

35. Other Applications
•Hiring
•Assigning tasks
•Managing teams or
individuals
•Sales
•Managing and
motivating yourself
•Marketing and
advertising messaging

37. CEOs lead and command authority because
they are the highest ranking individual in
the entire organization. They have
ultimate and supreme power.
People obey them. They are the boss.
Paula Gray

38. Product managers have a tremendously
valuable tool in abundance: language.
Paula Gray

39. LANGUAGE IS
THE KEY
USE THESE STRATEGIES TO CRAFT YOUR LANGUAGE
SUMMARY
LANGUAGE
PERCEPTION
RHETORICAL
APPEALS
MOTIVATION
TYPES
COMPARE
RHETORICAL
APPEAL TO
MOTIVATION TYPES

40. References
• Amodio, D. M., & Devine, P. G. (2006). Stereotyping and evaluation in
implicit race bias: Evidence for independent constructs and unique effects
on behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(4), 652-661.
doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.4.652
• Forbes, C. E., & Schmader, T. (2010). Retraining attitudes and stereotypes
to affect motivation and cognitive capacity under stereotype threat.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(5), 740-754.
doi:10.1037/a0020971
• Halvorson, H. G., & Higgins, E. T. (2013). Do You Play to Win--or to Not
Lose?. Harvard Business Review, 91(3), 117-120.
• Halvorson, H. G., & Higgins, E. T. (2013). Focus : use different ways of seeing
the world for success and influence. New York : Hudson Street Press, 2013.

41. Q & A Session
Ask questions. Our team is standing by to help.
The webinar slides will be posted to our
website and our
http://www.Slideshare.net/aipmm
The webinar recording will be posted at
http://www.AIPMM.net
for members

42. Upcoming Webinars
How to Fire Up Your Sales People – A Product Manager’s Survival Guide
WWW.AIPMM.COM/webcast
AIPMM Webinar Series:
http://aipmm.com/webcasts
Topic Suggestions: support@aipmm.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/aipmm
Membership: http://www.aipmm.com/join
Certification: http://aipmm.com/certification/