In no particular order some of the things that will be the difference between a good and a great PM are: ## Strategic Thinking & Vision - Strategic vision for long-term product success - Balances short-term wins with long-term strategy and builds foundation for the future - Focuses on **outcomes**, not just **outputs** - **Fall in love with the problem, not the solution** - Clearly understands (and challenges) the problem trying to solve - **Balances user needs with business goals** - Balances innovation with pragmatic execution - Anticipate market trends - Identifies and capitalizes on new opportunities even in risks ## Data & Decision-Making - Understand, calculate and knows how [[Product Metrics]] will reflect value - Champions and prioritizes actionable metrics over [[Vanity metrics- Misleading Indicators of Success]] - **Balances intuition and data** in decision-making - Analyzes data and gets insights - Knows the **difference between anecdotal data and a trend** - Knows **SQL** and can query their own data ## Execution & Prioritization - **Ruthless prioritization** of impactful initiatives and tasks - Continuously iterates and improves the product - **Balances bugs and technical debt with new features** - Crafts a clear and **actionable roadmap** - **Anticipates, mitigates, and adjusts for dependencies** - Has regular checkpoints with stakeholders - After every meeting clears up **what they decided, next steps and who should be informed?** - Follow up in meetings action items - Proactively handles changing priorities - **Knows when to say no** to distractions or scope creep - Knows how to say no in a positive way - Pushes back on unvalidated or pet projects (Even from leadership) - Balances planning with execution - Anticipates mistakes in the paper, during the planning - Understands the difference between [[Deep Work vs Shallow Work]] - Blocks distractions and leaves time for [[deep work]] ## Communication & Influence - **Builds trust and credibility** with stakeholders - Inspires confidence and a sense of *"Don't worry, I got this"*, *"I'm on top of it"*, *"everything is on my radar"*, and *"I won't drop the ball"* - **Communicates a compelling and cohesive product narrative** - Masters **storytelling** to gain buy-in, [[Story is always king]] - **Clearly communicate the "Why?"** behind the requests - **Communicate using smart brevity** - Has good presentation skills - **Asks thoughtful, impactful questions** - Document just enough to bring their point across - Leverages documentation for effective asynchronous communication - Gives visibility to all the internal teams that may be interested or affected in an initiative ## User-Centric Approach - **Deep user empathy and understanding**, behind every user there is a person using your product - **Creates products that delight users, not just work or ego cuddling** - Understands the *“why”* behind user behavior - [[Understanding the "Why" Behind Feature Requests]] - **Challenges with "Why?"** - Knows by heart *why* decisions were made and **the purpose of every element** in their product - Challenges risk mitigation asks (Legal, security...) and knows when to accept them - **Seeks user feedback beyond surface-level insights** ([[Survivorship bias]]) - **Advocates for accessibility and inclusion** in design - Knows that behind ever story and support interaction there is an insight in the raw ## Leadership & Team Collaboration - **Leads by influence, not authority** - Inspires others to share and execute the vision - Champions a **culture of collaboration, trust, and psychological safety** - **Navigates and resolves team and stakeholder conflicts effectively** - Proactively seeks diverse perspectives - **Celebrates team wins and contributions** - Holds themselves accountable for failures and successes ## Adaptability & Problem Solving - **Thrives in ambiguity and uncertainty** - **Stays calm under stress and even chaos** - **Proactively identifies and mitigates risks** - Encourages experimentation and learning - **Drives innovation through curiosity and learning** - Understands that [[Running the fastest only keeps you in the same place, to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that]] - Is able to change opinion when facts are presented - Challenges and balances last minute changes with [[opportunity cost]] ## Technical Acumen - **Builds strong technical credibility** and understands the technical requirements without being the expert - Give space, clear definitions, and trust the experts in their field to deliver solutions - Understands and can point to gaps in the deliverables - Knows that [[Product Documentation is a Map not the Territory]] ## Feedback & Continuous Improvement - **Provide effective and timely feedback** - **Have challenging conversations**