Watching the World Cup I couldn’t help but think about product management. I know, I know. Instead of relaxing and enjoying a good ol’ fashioned American win(!) I kept relating the game to work. I just thought about how the coach Jill Ellis was an excellent product manager.
Throughout the World Cup, the USA team was doing well, but not championship good. Ellis tweaked her team, until she found the perfect product. When she noticed that she had a product to launch, in this case Carli Lloyd, she let her launch and do well on the market.
What was most exciting to watch, was that Ellis kept playing competitive, which is what a good product manager should do. She kept tweaking her team throughout the World Cup until she found what ended up being a championship winning team. This is exactly what a product manager does, you keep working with your team until you find relationships that work.
Even when she found “the team” she didn’t stop. You should never find yourself feeling complacent. Keep searching for ways to score goals, and play until the very end. Even when you score an own goal, as Johnston did, you should keep your head up and continue which can lead to a goal just a minute later!