There’s no used to being a product manager on your own. I believe that product managers should stick together and I think it’s important to have a sense of community. That’s why I have this blog and share the top 5 blog posts that I read that I think are important for others to read as well.
This week there is a little history, a little advice and a lot about product. I’m going to take a small break from Agile and Waterfall and get back to the basics. Product management all starts with you, the manager. Otherwise, anyone can do it. What’s important is that you know who you are and how to stick up for yourself.
Evolution of the Product Manger
I’m a huge history buff. In order to understand what you’re doing today and how to influence the future you need to see what they used to do and how they improved on it. Ellen Chisa writes a great, concise history of product managers and how we came to be. There’s always something to learn from the greats.
Product Managers: The Fight’s Not Over Until It’s Over
One of my favorite Product Management blogs is at it again. This story reminds me to never stop fighting for a product you believe in. It reminds me to not give up on myself and my product. Moreover, it’s a nice morale booster also to fight for your features. While I may not agree with how it ended, I like the grit and determination he had.
The Product Manager Owns the Project Manager
I was already on a high of working hard and grit. This blog post let me do my little victory dance the second I saw the title. With no disrespect to Project Manager’s, who doesn’t love winning? While I agree with the premise, that have two people in very similar roles can cause issues and can cause a lot of distraction, depending on the size of the product/project you may need more people on board.
10 Things to Do to Appear Innovative
Product managers must always stay relevant. You need to be up to date on what customers want, what the newest trends are, technology, transportation, cell phones, everything. Really. This satiric article perfectly encapsulates how it feels sometimes when dealing with all the craziness.
Bad Product Management- How NOT to Build Product
Product Management 101. For starters, the gist of this article is a video, an entertaining one at that. Secondly, if you are a product manager and you haven’t seen this video you should be sent to a time-out. A lot of times people can tell you that you need to add XYZ to your product, and ABC, and LAX. When it comes down to it, pick and choose carefully how you want to build your product.