{"id":680,"date":"2019-05-03T10:45:03","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T15:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/?p=680"},"modified":"2019-06-08T09:23:05","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T14:23:05","slug":"expert-advice-for-product-managers-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/expert-advice-for-product-managers-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"The Product Manager Advice Dossier (Part Two)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Just as Clark Kent (Superman) and Kara Daniels (Supergirl) performed Herculean exploits behind the guise of mere humans, product managers are challenged to work behind-the-scenes to achieve product success. (Yes, it\u2019s a bit of a stretch. But don\u2019t you like being compared to superheroes?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a\nproduct bottleneck. Able to leap tall requirements in a single bound.\nMaintaining composure while working without direct authority. Surviving the\nkryptonite of firefighting and reactivity. It\u2019s tough. And good advice can\nhelp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of every chapter of The\nProduct Manager\u2019s Handbook<\/a>, I included an interview with a prominent\nbusiness expert or consultant. Each offered perspectives for different product\nmanagement challenges. Here are snippets of their words of wisdom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the second of a four-part series of The Product\nManager Advice Dossier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning with a Growth Playbook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brad Rogers<\/strong><\/a>, Chief Operations Officer and Chief of Staff, TIAA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my mind, a key measure of the effectiveness of\nproduct managers is their ability to attract, mobilize and motivate the\nresources to optimize their product. This requires an ability to (1) craft and\nsell compelling business cases (2) negotiate, collaborate and execute on plans,\nand (3) demonstrate leadership to gain followership.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking roles that build these experiences would\nhelp accumulate a strong, complementary product management skill set. I would\nadd that the ability to sell is not about flash but about credibility, which\ncan be built with aligned priorities, empathy for the customer and\nstakeholders, support of influencers, and confidence you can deliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Design Thinking to Harvest Untapped Potential<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Dave<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dave Franchino<\/strong><\/a>, President, Design Concepts, Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business landscape is certainly getting more\ncompetitive. More and more is expected of each business and each product\nmanager. Innovation is becoming a mandate rather than an approach. I believe\nthat while success for product managers will still involve managing the current\nportfolio and product roadmap, there will be an increased emphasis on new\nopportunities and spaces.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the basic tools in design thinking aren\u2019t standard\nparts of the skill set normally associated with product management. Traditional\nquantitative market research is an invaluable tool for most product managers\nbut not necessarily the most productive way of identifying breakthrough\nopportunities.  Ethnographic discovery\nresearch requires approaching the market without any preconceived notions or\nhypotheses\u2014looking for deep understanding of customers\u2019 needs and wants in\nareas that are often completely tangential to current product offerings. We\u2019ve\nfound that some product managers are so intimately connected with their current\ncustomers and current product offerings that looking at the market with a\ncompletely fresh set of eyes can be a challenge. Design thinking can help\nformalize a process for taking the time and effort to look at mature markets\nfrom a new perspective.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, the skills of team brainstorming, rapid\nprototyping and iteration can be leveraged in a broad range of business areas.\nDesign thinking makes it possible for product managers to break out of\ntraditional ruts and demystify the process of innovation.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from its role in new product development, we feel\ndesign thinking has applicability for product mangers across the entire product\nlifecycle. A challenge for many businesses is getting product managers\u2014who are\ngenerally on the front line of opportunity\u2014to look for and embrace new business\nopportunities and strategies that might not lie directly within the path of\ntheir current product line. Design thinking can be an important tool for\nharvesting untapped potential both within and adjacent to existing offerings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boost Your Ability to Build and Sell Business Cases<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kevin Booth<\/strong><\/a>, President, Hines Precision, Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five\nbehaviors come to mind that product managers should avoid [when building\nbusiness cases]:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.  Avoid \u201cmagical thinking.\u201d While it is useful\nto be in the optimistic about the potential for a new product, it is equally\nimportant to be the \u201cdevil\u2019s advocate\u201d and consider the many ways that the new\nproduct can fail. Usual areas to consider include: competitor reaction,\nresistance by sales channels, higher manufacturing costs, and slower market\nacceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.  Avoid reliance on market numbers<\/em> in lieu of market understanding<\/em>.\nMany product managers rely on estimates of market size, for example, as if the\nmarket is a homogeneous opportunity. It is a failure of convenience.\nUnderstanding the market is expensive. The Internet has accentuated the risk of\nusing publicly-available data to substitute for in-depth knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Don\u2019t rely on a single measure of performance\nto prove or disprove the value of a new product or line-of-business. Some\norganizations rely on a single measure (usually a financial measure), such as\nNPV, to rank opportunities. A healthy business case will report the many ways a\nproduct can provide value to the company, such as blocking a competitor,\nline-fill within the channel, entry into a new user segment, and utilization of\nexcess manufacturing capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.  Avoid the comfort of planning. Instead, think\nlike an owner. Planning should be difficult because it is essentially a series\nof tough decisions. Sweating the details of implementation\u2014before you need to\u2014will\nenrich the plan. When a planner begins to sweat like the person that will\nexecute the plan, he or she will better appreciate the many aspects of\nsuccessful product design, development, launch, and management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.  Unless proven otherwise, suspend faith<\/em> that the management team has a\nrigorous, deliberate method of making investment decisions. If a product\nmanager suspects that decisions are the slightest bit whimsical, it is\nessential that the product manager provide the management team the tools to\nhelp with their decision. That is, to help them say \u2018yes.\u2019 The easiest approach\nis to provide a list of criteria to evaluate the project (presuming the\nmanagers don\u2019t have their own). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few final words of advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apply the \u201csmell test\u201d regularly. One of the greatest attributes of a strong product manager is the ability to periodically pause and consider whether there are logical inconsistencies in the plan, or items completely forgotten. As examples, it is easy to forecast large revenue growth without budgeting sales channel costs; or plan for instant acceptance by the market when customers\u2019 engineers will take years to evaluate the product\u2019s value; or forecasting full market penetration for the new product in a year or two when the last five new products still have not met plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always keep an objective perspective about the business case. If a particular new product doesn\u2019t go, there will be another, so there should be no fear about killing an idea before it wastes resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Next month<\/strong>, on the first Friday, I will provide part three of the Product Manager Advice Dossier.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just as Clark Kent (Superman) and Kara Daniels (Supergirl) performed Herculean exploits behind the guise of mere humans, product managers are challenged to work behind-the-scenes to achieve product success. (Yes, it\u2019s a bit of a stretch. But don\u2019t you like… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-product-management"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Product Manager Advice Dossier (Part Two) - Linda Gorchels blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Product managers face both common and unique challenges. One-size does NOT fit all. Varied opinions are valuable. 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