Product Coach Podcast

This podcast is inspired by the book 'Priniciples' from Ray Dalio. As i was reading through the book it struck a chord with me as it resonated with the trials and tribulations of what a product manager goes through, we experience a number of situations for which we don't have answers. In this episode we glean on a few nuggets of wisdom which can remarkably change the way in which you go about executing your job.

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As product managers we love using frameworks and we are so good at using frameworks in managing products but we are terrible at managing our own careers, we don't manage our careers with the same tenacity and vision as with how we manage our product roadmaps. In this podcast we are going to talk about how to plan for that next move and to build up your confidence to take the next step.

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We have all heard this statement that "Data is the new oil". Why has Data become so important? We are now at a point where every aspect of a transaction is now recorded and there are as fewer instances where we dont have data. There are some super apps out there which offer every thing possible under the sun from making a peer to peer payment, hiring a nanny, buying a coffee, investing, insurance and booking a taxi. These companies know everything about the person - all their spending habits, savings propensity, likely expenses for the month and the list goes on.

Product managers today are in at a unique advantage today to shape their product roadmap with ready access to massive data lakes and intelligent algorithms which provide valuable information. In this podcast we discuss the merits  of data driven design decisioning. 

This is the first part on this topic. Read our post on Personal data how much is enough

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We always have that someone who throws in a random unsolicited ideas and suggestions to your projects. While we are told to be open minded the reality is that's we have our biases and we do get annoyed and tend to respond too early. In this podcast we talk about how you can take a pause in your response and give yourself a bit of time to navigate through this. The product manager is put in an unfair situation when the meddler sends in their suggestion. By understanding the situation and taking a well thought out approach you can politely say NO if the idea doesn't make sense.

Commerce has always been about selling more and keeping customers happy. When customers come into the physical store the shopping experience and the ability to touch and feel the product before the sale is made, or even having a delightful conversation with the sales person drives the decision to purchase. So it should seem logical that if the physical store has been replaced by an App then that App needs to similarly wrap the customer with a blanket of affection, care and trust. This is where understanding the end user, empathising with their situation and then translating into good product design with simple, intuitive, connected and immersive user experiences will drive customer acquisition, sales and growth of e-commerce. 

Digital experiences should be all about freedom of choices, transparency and immersive user experiences. If one of these are compromised in the product design then expect to see lower user acceptance. In this podcast we travel back in time to 2000 where we share how design and experiences have evolved to where we are today. It's important to understand this context as many people in leadership roles today just don't understand why UX is important.

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A playbook puts together strategies, decision criteria, assumptions and inputs which are required to chart a way forward. It also serves as a compass to navigate through the obstacles to reach the desired goal. Playbooks are used in sports and there is merit in incorporating this approach in product management. A well documented playbook extends into incorporating your learnings and experiences being synthesised into a set of crisp notes which you can call on in the future. The playbook is influenced by your organisation, culture, people and the typical challenges that you would encounter in managing and launching products. The playbook is also your library of best practices, political toolkit and your battle card which will help you build a habit of thinking ahead and planning for the best execution outcomes.

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In our fast paced digital world how can a product manager stay relevant to customers and the business? Future proofing and solving the problems of tomorrow requires a different kind of thinking. One has to start by getting into a deep work flow of carefully analysing the visualising how the next couple of years will shape up. While there is no crystal ball for accuracy there are cues which can be taken into consideration to form a view of where society and business is heading.Think about how the future narrative of business will change in the next 5 years and how we must as product managers position ourselves for our own career growth and how we need to change the way we think and empower ourselves to continuously adapt. The products of the future will be smart, connected, decentralised, and immersive. If we limit our creativity and innovation to the problem statements that are driven from the events and systems that exist today, then we are not doing justice to our roles as product managers. We must ask ourselves "What will the problems of tomorrow be?"

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Product managers who are in the B2B space have their work cut out for them. B2B product delivery is complex. There is very little wiggle room to test a product concept and get direct user feedback. Products that are not of a "one size fits all". There are specific nuances across countries and industries. Companies selling into the B2B space have specialised sales managers who have domain knowledge and insights into how these companies operate - who their customers are, how they buy, how they in-turn sell their products and grow their business. Building a partnership with sales will enable better understanding of what problems needs solving and in turn influence the product design. Knowing your role and power of influence with the sales team is critical for win-win outcomes. Product plays the role of the manufacturer (the guy in the kitchen who cooks all the great food for everyone), the sales folks bring in the diners.

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The product manager role has picked up significant traction in the last five years. It's no longer seen as a job which gets piggy backed on the back of another role. Today the profession is getting a lot of attention and it is now recognised as a critical role, where the product manager is that go to person sitting at the intersection of business, customer, technology and user experience - driving business growth, manage execution risk and solving customer problems. This podcast gives insights for graduates and early career professionals who want to give product management a shot

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The new normal is accelerating the future of work and shaping a new outlook for product managers on what the future of work could look like. The Future of work prior to the pandemic was geared towards which jobs could be automated through artificial intelligence and robotic process automation. The OECD has now defined the future of work as : "The future of work is now. Digitalisation and globalisation have sparked radical shifts in how we live and work. The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has accelerated these beyond anything we could have imagined. These changes raise essential questions about the precarity of our jobs, the support available if we're unable to work or retire, the skills we need for current and future jobs, the quality of those jobs, and what voice we have in shaping these outcomes". 

In this podcast we  look into the near future and predict  what lies ahead for product managers. In the years ahead the role of a product manager will evolve  into a mash up of varied skillsets covering both business and technology and a convergence of roles. There are many factors which are pointing to this new world of product management. 

If you like more content like this subscribe to productcoach.net to get regular updates or click on our RSS stream and follow us on twitter to view our regular insightful tweets.