5 Things Product Managers Should Stop Doing
Slides Jordan Bergtraum recently used in his discussion w/ mentees of The Product Mentor. Synopsis: A successful Product Manager needs to be good at knowing which activities NOT to take on just as much as which activities they should. The PM role is broad enough to drown a whale, don't add more dead weight to your already difficult job and sink. You will learn 5 activities that you are likely doing on a weekly basis that you should STOP doing immediately. The Product Mentor is a program designed to pair Product Mentors and Mentees from around the World, across all industries, from start-up to enterprise, guided by the fundamental goals…Better Decisions. Better Products. Better Product People. Throughout the program, each mentor leads a conversation in an area of their expertise that is live streamed and available to both mentee and the broader product community. http://TheProductMentor.com
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5 Things Product Managers Should Stop Doing
- 1. 5 Things Product Managers Should Stop Doing Jordan Bergtraum Product Management Consultant March, 2018
- 2. 10+ years of B2B SaaS experience7 years leading Product Management teamsEducation, Pharma, Legal, and Facilities ManagementTwice introduced Product Management to an organizationOwned market research, product marketing, product design, product delivery Who is Jordan Bergtraum?
- 3. What to expect from this presentation? Why should you give up some activities? Which activities to give up (or reduce) Challenges Why this is a win
- 4. Reality check! Be a “team player” not a “people pleaser”Don’t ignore your prioritiesThe smaller the company the bigger the challengeIt’s a zero-sum gameDon’t expect to give up all 5, all the time
- 5. Why do I need to stop some activities? Product Management is broad No mortal can tackle all these activitiesMarket Research, Product Ideation, Prioritization, Design, Requirements, Engineering Support, QA, Project Management, Customer Support, Product Training, Demos, Messaging, Release Management… You get the point! Great PMs focus on key priorities Customer acquisition Upsell / Cross sell Retention Company growth Great PMs ALSO know what is NOT a priority
- 6. Give up… i.e. What does configuration option X do? # 1 product support i.e. How does feature Y work?
- 7. #1: Give up product support There are other ways to obtain product support Don’t do their job for them Ignore the first inquires… unless it’s someone “senior” Respond to follow-up inquiries Get cover from your leadership
- 8. Give up… i.e. Can you train client X on the new version? # 2 product training
- 9. 2#: Give up product training Let other people train PMs train the trainers Exceptions for A-list clients Training / Knowledge Development Client Success ImplementationDon’t dump work on them… EMPOWER them (Slippery slope)
- 10. Give up… i.e. Can you demo the product for prospect X? # 3 product demos
- 11. #3: Give up product demos Let other folks demo. PMs train the demo-ers Exceptions for large/key opportunities Sales Presales / Business consultants Client successDon’t dump work on them… EMPOWER them (Slippery slope) Who?
- 12. Give up… # 4 project management When is the release date for X?How would adding an engineer impact deliver timelines?How is QA progressing?
- 13. #4: Give up project management Project management is time consuming Project management will take priority Lean on engineering leadership
- 14. Give up… Are you serious?! # 5 roadmaps I Sure Am.i.e. X releases & features to release over the next 3 years Ridiculous!!! # 5 “traditional”
- 15. #5: Give up “traditional” roadmaps Who do your roadmaps benefit? Roadmaps help maintain discipline Use “Research roadmaps” externally Encourage other teams to use “Research Roadmaps” Engineering. How? Sales. How? Customers. How? Marketing. How?What is THAT? Sales. Marketing. Client Success. Leadership.
- 16. Summary You can’t do it all at a “Rock Star” level Rock Star PMs prioritize… Rock Star PMs limit… Don’t expect to prevent all 5… Product support Product training Product demos Project management Roadmaps Customer acquisition Upsell / Cross sell Retention Company growth
- 17. Questions? Jordan Bergtraum Product Management Consultant March, 2018 Thank You!