In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board member Red Russak welcome Ben Waddle (Expedia Group) and Shivam Goyal (Tellus) to talk about how PMs can properly set goals. A good PM must know how to set goals and be able to identify how the team can achieve it, whether it’s too ambitious or difficult to reach, and the right percentage goals the team should be hitting. Goal setting is a good skill for a PM because it motivates you towards your outcome and gives you clarity on what you want to achieve.

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What to Listen For:

00:00 Intro
04:46 Why is goal setting important?
05:55 What happens when you’re not effective at setting goals
06:43 Know the reason why you’re setting a goal
07:26 Goals should be outcome oriented
08:18 Making sure everyone is aligned on the goal
09:21 Being specific is important
11:05 Anti-goals
13:23 The problem with setting a super ambitious goal
15:54 What is the right percentage of goals you should be hitting?
23:03 Who should be involved in goal setting
26:00 Technology for goal setting
32:53 Use a system that you are comfortable with
35:41 Does remote work change how you communicate towards goals?
38:21 When to abandon a goal
43:22 A good goal before COVID
46:53 Final thoughts

57: Tips for Product Managers Setting Goals