In the U.S. alone there are over 40,000 Product Managers. It's a growing field of professionals who work across-departmentally to help guide the process of developing a product (these days, typically tech hardware or an app) from design to successful sales. 


bullet

yMeMGd-image.png

photo-1531545514256-b1400bc00f31?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=MnwzMDI2NDl8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxNXx8Z2xvYmFsJTIwYnVzaW5lc3N8ZW58MHx8fHwxNjgxOTQyMTUz&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&q=80&w=1080

In the U.S. alone there are over 40,000 Product Managers. It's a growing field of professionals who work across-departmentally to help guide the process of developing a product (these days, typically tech hardware or an app) from design to successful sales.

The authors of the book Product Management's Sacred Seven interviewed 67 product leaders from 52 companies in 14 countries to determine was separates great Product Managers (PMs) from not-great ones, and what skills matter most. Here are their findings:

The authors of the book Product Management's Sacred Seven interviewed 67 product leaders from 52 companies in 14 countries to determine was separates great Product Managers (PMs) from not-great ones, and what skills matter most. Here are their findings:


1) Product Design: Successful product design requires testing assumptions. Great PM's replace the Minimum Viable Product concept with the Riskiest Assumption Test. Meaning before you build anything, find and test the most critical and least likely assumption required for success.

1) Product Design: Successful product design requires testing assumptions. Great PM's replace the Minimum Viable Product concept with the Riskiest Assumption Test. Meaning before you build anything, find and test the most critical and least likely assumption required for success.


2) Profit Model Selection: Great PMs understand the 3 main profit models are cost leadership (lowest possible price), product differentiation (competitive features), and blue ocean strategy (creating a new market). They know which is best for their product and lead accordingly.

2) Profit Model Selection: Great PMs understand the 3 main profit models are cost leadership (lowest possible price), product differentiation (competitive features), and blue ocean strategy (creating a new market). They know which is best for their product and lead accordingly.


3) Psychology: Knowing how the mind works to motivate people's actions is one of the most underrated but crucial skills that outstanding PMs possess. Decisions around setting prices, user experiences, marketing and much more all require knowledge of what moves people most.

3) Psychology: Knowing how the mind works to motivate people's actions is one of the most underrated but crucial skills that outstanding PMs possess. Decisions around setting prices, user experiences, marketing and much more all require knowledge of what moves people most.


4) UX Focus: Jakob's law is a vital concept for PMs to use when guiding product decisions. It is accepting that users spend most of their time on products other than yours, so they prefer if yours behaves like ones they're used to. Steep learning curves kill new products.

4) UX Focus: Jakob's law is a vital concept for PMs to use when guiding product decisions. It is accepting that users spend most of their time on products other than yours, so they prefer if yours behaves like ones they're used to. Steep learning curves kill new products.


5) Data Driving: One of the most important tasks a PM can do is source and utilize lots of good data and metrics. It's both about A/B testing as well as using deep knowledge of your product and users to make informed decisions that are not blindly tied to small experiments.

5) Data Driving: One of the most important tasks a PM can do is source and utilize lots of good data and metrics. It's both about A/B testing as well as using deep knowledge of your product and users to make informed decisions that are not blindly tied to small experiments.


6) Legal Savvy: Top PM's must understand the legal risks all companies face on a daily basis, and know how to pivot to mitigate them; such as avoiding antitrust violations, respecting intellectual property laws and being cautious of liabilities for user-generated content.

6) Legal Savvy: Top PM's must understand the legal risks all companies face on a daily basis, and know how to pivot to mitigate them; such as avoiding antitrust violations, respecting intellectual property laws and being cautious of liabilities for user-generated content.


7) Marketing: Crafting a consistent brand identity and delivering all it promises is what makes or breaks a company. World class PM's understand the brand, as well as how to use reciprocity, consistency, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity to sell the product.

7) Marketing: Crafting a consistent brand identity and delivering all it promises is what makes or breaks a company. World class PM's understand the brand, as well as how to use reciprocity, consistency, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity to sell the product.


World class PM's are hard to find (and hard to be!) but now you know the skills most required of this important role. Follow me <a class="ql-mention" title="jorgef" href="/jorgef">﻿@jorgef ﻿</a> for more and if you enjoyed this Memo, check out this similar Memo you'll love: <div contenteditable="false" class="memo-link-card"><memo-link-card memoid="617" displayname="MrBusiness" title="Hooked: This is what makes a product successful" slug="what-makes-a-product-successful" data-cover-image="https://cdn.memod.com/images/617.jpg" data-cover-orientation="landscape" coverimage="https://cdn.memod.com/images/617.jpg" coverorientation="landscape"></memo-link-card></div>

World class PM's are hard to find (and hard to be!) but now you know the skills most required of this important role. 




Follow me  for more and if you enjoyed this Memo, check out this similar Memo you'll love: 
 


7 Strengths of World Class Product Managers

Support this creator and gain access to exclusive content