How To Succeed In Product Management | Jeffrey Shulman, Red Russak & Soumeya Benghanem

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Herman Man (BlueVine) and Ambika Sharma (US Bank) to discuss how uniquely different financial services is from other products yet they share the same goal and that is to understand the what and why of a customer and then building a roadmap around that.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:24 As a FinTech product manager, how do you relate to other industries? 04:22 The nuance that comes with financial services 07:56 FinTech is a huge opportunity where you find something that works for the audience 09:55 FinTech and healthcare industries are parallel in a way that there should be trust, stable, and reliable 12:58 Start with understanding what it is that you can’t do 15:25 Influence without authority, prioritizing which experiments 19:42 Grit and intuition creates a good product manager 21:39 Figuring out whether or not the idea sticks 24:24 What is product innovation in the FinTech space? 28:16 The biggest issues with invoice factoring 29:39 Keeping an eye on the changing landscapes and finding opportunities to leverage 33:00 The impact of retail trading on different product areas 34:57 Business competition possibly affecting a PMs roadmap 38:12 Customers understand their problems but can’t express how to solve it 41:48 Coming up with the right solution is going to require intuition 45:23 Monthly cadence makes a formal process go smoother 48:35 Partnering closely with internal partners  50:26 Being a PM in FinTech making a financial difference to people's lives 52:25 There is no general rule that is always true 54:00 Always understand the what and the why of a customer 56:40 The success factors are always passion and curiosity

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Dontae Delgado (Compass) and Siddhartha Rabindran (Microsoft) to discuss managing assumptions and start ranking them from the top most important to the least important, and build a framework around it to help develop the product. Assumptions, when correctly utilized and tested in the right environment exponentially helps product leaders find success.    Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:42 The importance of managing assumptions and risk management 03:46 It’s easy to become comfortable with the flows of the product 05:11 Clarity plays an important role in managing assumptions 08:44 The different classifications of assumptions 10:45 Approach is the most important part of addressing assumptions 13:55 Assumption prompts to make assumptions explicit 15:52 The build versus buy evaluation 19:53 After generating assumptions, start ranking them 23:36 Critical path is about the solution and the framing 24:25 Proper documentation is key to effective communication 27:17 Situations that could happen when assumptions aren’t made 29:45 Reference books and resources for assumption management 37:04 How do you go about validating assumptions? 40:31 The product team considers four important things: product, market, channels, and business model 43:42 Producer and consumer framework in critical in managing expectations 47:31 Building a culture of domain empathy 50:28 Assumptions are an integral part of everything we do 54:13 Assumptions are linchpin to product success 55:29 Some assumptions, when utilized correctly or incorrectly, either hurt or help the products

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Kavita Kamani (Microsoft) and Howard Ro (Tesla) to discuss the life cycle of product development, where to focus your attention to in whichever product development phase, identifying what should be considered valuable and what’s not, and tackling product management while maintaining a work-life balance.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 02:27 The importance of the product development life cycle 06:29 Two points of view on the general concept of a product life cycle 09:09 Five D’s of a product life cycle 15:25 Asking a lot of questions help determine exactly where to focus on 17:57 Getting a clear idea if a problem is worth solving 19:47 Initial ideation and operating without boundaries 21:14 When there is tension and no easy answer 27:12 Different organizations have different structures and different expectations 31:11 Within the applications, what is truly valuable and what is not? 34:22 Focus on what's the core problem and what you're going after 39:26 Ensure that everybody is aligned to the common goals 43:16 Find a balance between the user outcome and stakeholder outcome 48:51 Bringing focus back to what you need to do 51:05 Work-life balance: assess or associate your happiness with impact 58:52 If you want to succeed as a PM, own the job 01:00:04 Don’t try to be everything for everyone

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Kevin Shah (T-Mobile) and Lisa Huang-North (Microsoft) to discuss why product managers need empathy when communicating with customers and while building their career, as well as finding the balance between being empathetic and product success.     Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 03:53 Empathy also matters in how you manage your career 07:36 Do you understand where you are in your personal journey? 10:13 We suffer from survivor bias 13:33 The lack of empathy to certain stakeholders or groups can show up in the execution 16:12 Don’t focus on the persona and characteristics, focus on the needs and problems 22:15 Data communication depends on the channels already established 24:48 What’s important to users vs what’s important to the company 27:16 Try to understand where the misalignment is happening 28:06 Come back to the pain points you’re trying to address 31:03 Feeling empowered and having an authentic PM mindset  34:10 An executive does not understand the customers as well as the PMs do 38:53 Myth: “I’m not a great sales person and that’s why I think I’ll be a great PM.” 43:02 Best relationship between sales and products are centered around culture 44:56 Product managers are artists and creators  49:19 Logically group your community and dedicate different efforts on each segment  56:17 Empathy is your superpower   57:49 Recommended resources for PMs to get better at being empathetic 01:01:16 Drawing a balance between empathy and profitability  01:04:23 Product management is a contact sport and also a team sport 01:09:45 Own the job and be resolute with your standards   01:11:34 You don’t have to love something, but you have to be really curious about it

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Josh Haftel (Adobe) and Ben Waddle (Expedia) to talk about creating a product out of an idea by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable ones for a faster turn around and quickly get customer feedback, and how product managers need to work with their team instead of managing it.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:10 A PMs job is finding clarity and then creating alignment 06:35 The Discovery and Framing framework 09:58 Always start at the fundamentals 15:01 Take the big things down and break them down 17:47 Fail quickly then go into future iterations 19:53 What kind of experimentation should you be doing? 25:31 Pick a problem that you might have some passion for   28:12 Come up with hypotheses about why something's going to work versus why it's not going to work 30:39 Look for skills that your team currently don’t have 33:34 Understand who you need to influence and tailor your work products accordingly 38:38 Start with what outcomes matter to the audience you’re speaking to 42:52 The fastest way to get something into the hands of the customers 45:30 Break down big assumptions into smaller ones 50:23 Partner with your team to arrive at the best solution 52:55 As a product manager, you don’t manage anybody

Today, in the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, Jeff and Red welcome our panel of experts on product management to talk about experimentation and how to test ideas before and after launch. They discuss how talking to the customers is a form of experimentation, the statistical significance of what the customers are telling you and how it reflects the different milestones and development of the product.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:10 This week’s topic: Experimentation 06:00 Why is experimentation an important process for PMs? 08:50 Talking to customers is another form of experimentation 13:00 Statistical significance is a big challenge for B2B product managers 16:50 Understand the audience and segment the data finely 19:42 Some customers do not understand the product and product offers 22:07 Learn from the outcomes when the product is launched  24:40 Every decision is different from the previous depending on the options available 29:23 How to go about web product management with less manpower and resources? 31:34 Product market fit is where most startups struggle with  35:28 PMs must have a vision and a really good understanding of where you’re going 36:49 Balance between understanding your customers and manage your stakeholders 40:04 Ask customers: now how they found you, what they like you and what they don’t like about you 43:46 PMs must know how things work but allow specialist to patch in their piece  45:36 Awareness who you’re talking to and what they need to know to be successful 49:00 Choose causation over correlation 50:21 You need both quantitative and qualitative data

Today, in the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, Jeff and Red welcome our panel of experts on product management to talk about becoming a product manager coming from a different background. The shift in interest from your educational background or career to becoming a customer-oriented problem solver opens a path to become a great PM. Listen in and join them as they share their minds, experiences, and expertise on what helps aspiring PMs to  successfully join this competitive ecosystem.     Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:20 PMs from non-traditional background bring in new thinking and perspectives 06:15 Learning product management from best practices from a global perspective 10:47 True or false: “If you don’t know how to code you can’t be a good PM.”  12:55 Coding may not matter in most environments, it could in smaller startups 16:03 Is being a scrum master a traditional path to becoming a PM? 18:35 Scrum masters tend to work inside of development chops 21:56 UX designers should have an artistic expertise 23:50 Try low resolution experimentation, don’t be afraid to try something that looks horrible 26:00 An example of low-res that works 31:26 The Product Management Life Cycle model 33:20 Educate yourself if you want to break into product management 34:37 Understand what’s required for the job and what do you have in terms of skills 36:54 The language we use differs in different ecosystems 39:19 Find out how does a product life cycle work 40:09 To connect with companies and industries, tap on the networking side 44:10 Managing physical, digital, and software products 47:16 Customer care and problem solving opens a path to product management 48:43 Stay curious and always ask questions 50:11 The person who understand the customers the most matters 51:16 Build site projects, invest in networking, and volunteering opportunities

Today, in the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, Jeff and Red welcome our panel of experts on product management to talk about mentoring new product managers. They discuss how domain expertise can help new PMs grow in the field, the qualities one must have to understand and build relationships with customers, improving problem solving skills and building frameworks to tackle problems, and the roles senior PMs play in honing younger leaders.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 00:43 Building empathy and understanding for new Product Managers 02:31 Taking ownership and being proactive early on 04:06 Understand your customers and build relationships 06:52 PM’s must be curious and empathetic 08:40 Spend time to learn your product domain 13:39 Multiple variables affect what you end up focusing on as a PM 16:26 PMs often focus on the solution but don’t spend much time understanding the problem 19:01 The most important skill for new PM’s: actively ask questions 23:00 Promising books new PMs should read 26:40 Tools to help communicate with customers and conduct market research 31:27 How do you make problems and their solutions meaningful to the market? 35:40 Find a good mentor to guide you along the way 36:28 Difference between a mentor and a sponsor 38:14 Help coming from a senior product leader 42:42 Creating a psychologically safe space for new PMs 46:54 Challenges transitioning from B2B to B2C role 50:37 Observe patterns and build frameworks to tackle problems 51:35 Be that go-to person for the team 54:18 Are you spending time listening to your customers?

Today, in the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, Jeff welcomes a panel of experts on Product Management to discuss enabling accessibility features across all platforms. Together with Keela Robison, Ambika Sharma, Sumantro Das, Dr. Hoby Wedler, and Soumeya Benghanem, the panel unpack the different challenges that product managers have to deal with when building accessibility features, and in making websites and products more accessible to all customers of different backgrounds.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:47 Join the Product Management Center Slack channel with Sarah Gallo   03:16 Soumeya talks about the need for accessibility  05:10 “We make sure that our product and service is working well for everyone.” Keela Robison, VP, Product Innovation at Netflix 08:07 Ambika Sharma on managing accessibility by tracking bugs and accessibility codes 09:51 “Support our shoppers in all backgrounds and implement inclusive design.” - Sumantro Das 12:09 “Accessibility is making life more enjoyable for all of us.” Dr. Hoby Wedler 17:56 Challenges for Product Managers as they try to get more accessible 21:09 Concerns related to accessibility features not included in websites 24:49 How does accessibility go into the overall product roadmap? 30:42 The different types of accessibility to consider when building features 37:46 Common challenges faced when building accessible product and how to overcome these challenges 45:12 How can Customer Success and Support Teams help and support Products Team and Product Managers in driving accessibility features

Today, in the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast; Jeff, Red, and Soumeya welcome a panel of experts on Product Management to discuss the importance of decision-making in the success of any product. The panel of experts, known and respected in their respective expertise, share valuable tips and insights on what it takes to come up with the right decision.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Soumeya Benghanem on the different styles of decision-making 03:44 “Understand the right process and structure to use to frame up decisions.” - Adam Grupp 05:37 “The expensive and scary are the ones where it's a long-term commitment you can’t change so easily.” - Greg Young 08:05 Sumathi Kadambi on the cost of failing to make a decision and the fear of decision-making. 12:17 “Create your own metrics for your own product.” Marily Nika 14:57 What’s your bold thought on decision-making?  16:37 Is data just confirming what you already know or do you have some wild changes based off of it? 20:02 Half of PM decisions are decisions they’re not even conscious of 21:26 Build an ecosystem of experts within the company to help make decisions 24:24 Favorite decision-making matrix regularly used 27:01 Go-to method for sourcing new ideas or iterating mature and new products 32:14 Hiring board at Mattress Firm, connect with Sumantro Das 34:23 Oftentimes, the best ideas come from unexpected places 37:15 Take what makes you successful but apply it in new places that can help make big changes 39:05 Be very clear on how everyone makes decisions 43:09 Decision-making takes time to build confidence on and to build the tool set 44:27 Some things are hard to let go but maybe they're not where our future is 46:24 Build a learning organization by understanding how decisions are made and documenting them