Product Management in Practice: A Practical, Tactical Guide for Your First Day and Every Day After, 2nd Edition

Foreword
Author’s Foreword to the Second Edition
Preface
    Why I Wrote This Book: My First Day as a Product Manager
    Who This Book Is For
    How This Book Is Organized
        Stories from Working Product Managers
        “Your Checklist”
    O’Reilly Online Learning
    How to Contact Us
    Acknowledgments
1. The Practice of Product Management
    What Is Product Management?
    What Is Not Product Management?
    What Is the Profile of a Great Product Manager?
    What Is the Profile of a Bad Product Manager?
    No, You Don’t Have to Work 60 Hours a Week to Be a Product Manager
    What About Program Managers? Product Owners?
    Summary: Sailing the Seas of Ambiguity
    Your Checklist
2. The CORE Skills of Product Management
    The Hybrid Model: UX/Tech/Business
    The CORE Skills of Product Management: Communication, Organization, Research, and Execution
        Communication
        Organization
        Research
        Execution
    ...But What About Hard Skills?
    Summary: Changing the Conversation About Product Management
    Your Checklist
3. Showing Up Curious
    Taking a Genuine Interest
    Cultivating a Growth Mindset
    The Gift of Being Wrong
    Staying Off the Defensive
    Asking Why Without Asking “Why”
    Spreading Curiosity
    Summary: Curiosity Is Key
    Your Checklist
4. The Art of Egregious Overcommunication
    Asking the Obvious
    Don’t Deflect, Be Direct
    Not Everything Is Your Fault, and Outcomes Matter More Than Intentions
    The Two Most Dangerous Words in Product Management: “Looks Fine”
    A Tactical Approach to Move Past “Looks Fine”: Disagree and Commit
    Accounting for Different Communication Styles
    Communication Is Your Job—Don’t Apologize for Doing Your Job
    Egregious Overcommunication in Practice: Three Common Communication Scenarios for Product Managers
        Scenario One
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
        Scenario Two
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
            ...And a bonus question
        Scenario Three
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
    Summary: When in Doubt, Communicate!
    Your Checklist
5. Working with Senior Stakeholders (or, Throwing the Poker Game)
    From “Influence” to Information
    An Answer You Don’t Like Is Still an Answer
    “Our Boss Is an Idiot,” or, Congratulations—You’ve Ruined Your Team
    No Alarms and No Surprises
    Staying User Centric in a World of Company Politics
    Senior Stakeholders Are People Too
    Throwing the Poker Game in Practice: Three Common Scenarios for Senior Stakeholder Management
        Scenario One
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
        Scenario Two
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
        Scenario Three
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
    Summary: This Is Part of Your Job, Not an Impediment to Your Job
    Your Checklist
6. Talking to Users (or, “What’s a Poker Game?”)
    Stakeholders and Users Are Different
    Yes, You Need to Learn How to Talk to Users
    Personae Non Grata
    Product and Research: From Frenemies to BFFs
    Summary: No, Seriously, You Need to Learn How to Talk to Users
    Your Checklist
7. The Worst Thing About “Best Practices”
    Don’t Believe the Hype
    Falling in Love with Reality
    Frameworks and Models as Useful Fictions
    You Are Here
    What Are You Solving For?
    “But This Worked at the Last Place!”
    Working with the “Process Averse”
    The Best Thing About Best Practices
    Summary: A Place to Start, Not a Guarantee
    Your Checklist
8. The Wonderful, Horrible Truth About Agile
    Debunking Three Common Myths About Agile
    Turning to the Agile Manifesto
    From Manifesto to Monster
    Rediscovering Alistair Cockburn’s “Heart of Agile”
    Agile and the “Proprietization of Common Sense”
    When Doing Agile “Right” Makes Things Worse
    When Doing Agile “Wrong” Makes Things Better
    Seven Conversations About Agile I Never Want to Have Ever Again
    Summary: Ambiguity Lives Here Too
    Your Checklist
9. The Infinite Time Suck of Documentation (and Yes, Roadmaps Are Documentation)
    “The Product Manager Owns the Roadmap!”
    It’s Not the Roadmap, It’s How You Use the Roadmap
    You Gantt Always Get What You Want
    Your Product Spec Is Not Your Product
    The Best Documentation Is Incomplete
        No First Draft Should Ever Be More Than One Page and One Hour of Effort
    If You’ve Got It, Template
    A Quick Note on Proprietary Roadmapping and Knowledge Management Tools
    Summary: The Menu Is Not the Meal
    Your Checklist
10. Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategy, and Other Fancy Words
    The Outcomes and Output Seesaw
    SMART Goals, CLEAR Goals, OKRs, and So On
    Good Strategy Is Inexorably Tied to Execution
    Good Strategy Is Simple and Obvious
    If You’re Not Sure, Ask for an Example
    Summary: Keep It Simple, Make It Useful
    Your Checklist
11. “Data, Take the Wheel!”
    The Trouble with the “D” Word
    Start with the Decision, Then Find the Data
    Focusing on Metrics That Matter
    Using Survival Metrics to Set Clear Expectations
    Experimentation and Its Discontents
    From “Accountability” to Action
    Summary: No Shortcuts!
    Your Checklist
12. Prioritization: Where It All Comes Together
    Taking a Bite of the Layer Cake
        Every Decision Is a Trade-Off
        Keeping the Entire Experience in Mind
        From Shiny Objects to Jewels of Understanding
    But This Is an Emergency!
    Prioritization in Practice: Same Options, Different Goals and Strategies
    Summary: Think Big, Start Small
    Your Checklist
13. Try This at Home: The Trials and Tribulations of Remote Work
    Building Trust from Far Away
    Simple Communication Agreements Create Meaningful Trust
    Navigating Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication
    Synchronous Communication for Distributed Teams: Choreographing Time and Space
    Asynchronous Communication for Distributed Teams: Setting Specific Expectations
    Making a “Synchronous Sandwich”
    Creating and Protecting Space for Informal Communication
    Hybrid Moments: Balancing In-Person and Remote Work
    Summary: Strength Training for Your Communication Practice
    Your Checklist
14. A Manager Among Product Managers (The Product Leadership Chapter)
    Climbing the Ladder
    Surprise! Everything You’re Doing Is Wrong
    The Standard You Set for Yourself Is the Standard You Set for Your Team
    The Limits of Autonomy
    Clear Goals, Clear Guardrails, Short Feedback Loops
    Externalizing Yourself
    Product Leadership in Practice
        Scenario One
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
        Scenario Two
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
        Scenario Three
            What’s really going on
            What you might do
            Patterns and traps to avoid
    Summary: Stepping Into Your Best Self
    Your Checklist
15. In Good Times and Bad
    The Soothing Lull of an Organization on Autopilot
    The Good Times Aren’t (Always) the Easy Times
    Carrying the Weight of the World
    Imagine You Work for the Best Company in the World
    Summary: It’s Hard Work, but It’s Worth It
    Your Checklist
Whatever It Takes
A. A Reading List for Expanding Your Product Management Practice
B. Articles, Videos, Newsletters and Blog Posts Cited in This Book
Index