Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

The essence of product management | Christian Idiodi (SVPG)

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Dec 21, 2023

Christian Idiodi, a partner at Silicon Valley Product Group with a rich background in product leadership, sheds light on the challenges facing product managers. He discusses the negative perceptions surrounding the role and how to overcome them. Christian emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs and the critical role of reference customers in product success. He also shares insights into high-volume hiring processes and the significance of effective coaching in building trust and fostering collaboration within teams.

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INSIGHT

Competency-Based PM

People dislike product managers due to inexperience with competent PMs.
True product management is competency-based, requiring deep customer, data, industry, business, and product knowledge.

ADVICE

Learning and Relationships

To become a better PM, embrace humility and actively learn from the most influential people in your organization.
Build relationships by offering to help or learn from them, gaining their trust and insights.

INSIGHT

Four Attributes of Product Management

A product manager’s job revolves around four key attributes: value, usability, viability, and feasibility.
PMs primarily drive value (will people use/buy it?) and viability (does it work for our business?).

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