Paul-Devin Kuettner’s Post

Starting a career in Product can be all exciting, nerve-racking, and intimidating at the same time. Impostor syndrome is something I have dealt with every first week at a new workplace. From my mere 5 years of experience in this field, here's what I think anyone can follow to make your first job in Product Management a smooth ride: 1. Talk Less and Listen More - Yes, your input might be valuable but it's more important for you at this stage to develop a level of understanding which will benefit you in the long run. You will become that person in a meeting who would not have anything to contribute right away, but your thoughtful insights will stand out once you have a deeper grasp of the team's dynamics and the product's nuances. Ask any follow-up questions that might help you in this process. 2. End-user thinking - Always put yourself in the shoes of the end-user. Understand their needs, pain points, and how they interact with your product. This perspective will guide you in making decisions that enhance user experience. If you are working with a mature product, your relationship with support and sales teams will be crucial as they will have multi-faceted PoVs of your end users. 3. Value over Metrics - A lot of companies come up creative ways to boost productivity and double down on operational efficiency by pushing metrics (SLA, Story Points, Velocity). While this is important, there's not much you can do at this stage to drastically improve these numbers - it's a slow and gradual process, which is why your focus on your first job should be to drive more value to clients and end-users in the form of delivering important features, continuously improving the quality of the product, and responding to and resolving pressing issues. 4. Decide what problems to solve and in what order - This one's from one of my favorite Product contributors on LinkedIn - Dr Bart Jaworski. While you might not have the autonomy to decide what to build in the product (except for feedback), you will identify what problems there are and you need to be able to prioritize these problems by urgency. Leave room for unplanned issues in your sprint/product iteration for fixing them. 5. Become an expert user - Thoroughly learn and use your product, understanding every feature and limitation. Engage with the product regularly, exploring various scenarios and use cases. Actively seek and listen to real user feedback. Document your findings and observations for future reference and team planning. #productmanagement #productmanager #productowner

𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿! Without sales? ---- No deals. Without engineering? ---- No product. Without support? ---- Customer riots. But without product managers? ---- Just chaos. Glorious chaos. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼? Think CEO but for a specific product. They own the: - Strategy: Guiding the product's direction. - Roadmap: Charting the development course. - Feature Development: Deciding what gets built. They might also dabble in: - Marketing: Sparking customer interest. - Forecasting: Predicting future needs. - P&L: Keeping the product profitable. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: There's a flow: - Define: Understand the problem and market. - Design: Create solutions for users. - Build: Work with engineers to make it happen. - Ship: Get it into the hands of your customers! 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗱: (The Fun Part!) - Analyzing customer data and behavior. - Championing customer needs in development. - Managing and communicating the product roadmap. - Collaborating with marketing and sales teams. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿? Anyone with a passion for building great things! It's a mix of skills: - Information Architect - Business Analyst - Designer - Coder - Operations whiz -Sales or Marketing pro - Pricing Analyst (and more!) 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: - Know your customers like BFFs. - Find the problems worth solving. - Lead, but by influence, not force. - Get everyone on board early. - Document decisions clearly. - Measure success, learn, adapt. - Find your PM style (there's a flavor for everyone!) 🔔 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ♻️ and share the wealth of knowledge with your fellow product warriors. Follow Ashok Saini for more product management insights and resources. PS:Rahul #productmanagement  #productmanagers  #product

𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿! Without sales? ---- No deals. Without engineering? ---- No product. Without support? ---- Customer riots. But without product managers? ---- Just chaos. Glorious chaos. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼? Think CEO but for a specific product. They own the: - Strategy: Guiding the product's direction. - Roadmap: Charting the development course. - Feature Development: Deciding what gets built. They might also dabble in: - Marketing: Sparking customer interest. - Forecasting: Predicting future needs. - P&L: Keeping the product profitable. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: There's a flow: - Define: Understand the problem and market. - Design: Create solutions for users. - Build: Work with engineers to make it happen. - Ship: Get it into the hands of your customers! 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗱: (The Fun Part!) - Analyzing customer data and behavior. - Championing customer needs in development. - Managing and communicating the product roadmap. - Collaborating with marketing and sales teams. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿? Anyone with a passion for building great things! It's a mix of skills: - Information Architect - Business Analyst - Designer - Coder - Operations whiz -Sales or Marketing pro - Pricing Analyst (and more!) 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: - Know your customers like BFFs. - Find the problems worth solving. - Lead, but by influence, not force. - Get everyone on board early. - Document decisions clearly. - Measure success, learn, adapt. - Find your PM style (there's a flavor for everyone!) 🔔 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ♻️ and share the wealth of knowledge with your fellow product warriors. Follow Rahul Rawat for more product management insights and resources. #productmanagement  #productmanagers  #product

Act like a product manager; think like a customer. A motto for every product manager Act like a product manager; think like a customer.  So as to better understand your users' needs. Act like a product manager; think like a customer. So that you can reduce the rate of product failures. Act like a product manager; think like a customer.  So that you can create the best product for your users. Act like a product manager; think like a customer.  To decrease the churn rate and increase the retention rate. Act like a product manager; think like a customer. So that your product can provide the best user experience. Act like a product manager; think like a customer. In order to make your product stand out from competitors. Act like a product manager; think like a customer.  To increase both customer value and business value. Act like a product manager; think like a customer. So that your users can joyfully turn to free marketers. Don't stop the fun. Ask yourself:  Who should you act like and who should you think like to achieve your career goals? The comment section is open. How can I start thinking like a consumer and acting like a product manager? 🤔 First things first: I need to know your needs, your difficulties, your desires, and your way of thinking. I wish to help you in the best manner possible, without making any assumptions. That is why we are conducting a research: In order to understand the issues and difficulties people encounter in their specific careers, we are presently conducting a research. We are working strategically to find the solutions to these challenges. We value your candid feedback. To participate, kindly click the link in the comments section and complete the survey. #productmanager #ceo #founders #productthinking #prroductstrategy

While being a product manager means potentially wearing a lot of hats in a day, some of the things we think we should do or get pulled into doing really shouldn't be the things we spend our time on. I appreciate how this article breaks it down and gives insight from various perspectives. #productmanagement #productmanager #productthinking

You may not agree with me but I still have to say this 🔹I don't care about feedback from customers I've got my findings 🔸As a PM, I represent the product I manage which should be my top priority 🔹I don't need to find opportunities for my product, rather I'm positive they must come to me 🔸I’m focused on building numerous features and products to generate my company more revenue 🔹I have to say yes to every request from my customers and executive stakeholders just to keep everyone happy ❌❌❌❌❌ These are one of the thousand ways to fail as a Product Manager Now you can agree with me while I show you how to succeed as a PM ✅ As a PM feedback from customers should be prioritized, they are crucial for improvement. It is also important to carefully analyze feedback before acting on them. ✅ As a PM you don’t just represent your product, you exist to best serve your customers and not the customers existing for you. ✅PM should be able to Identify and create opportunities in the sea of possibilities by using both data and intuition. ✅As a PM your focus should be building quality over quantity, know which feature will truly benefit your customers. ✅ A PM should be able to say no to numerous requests that don't align with customer’s needs. Sometimes customers don’t know what they want. PS: What do you think are other ways to fail and succeed as a PM or a brand owner PSS: I’ve been so overwhelmed lately, it's not been easy combining my Job, my business, and my studies hence I haven't been active here 😞 But I still showed up today 😊 Wishing you all a lovely weekend 💕💕 #productmanager #productowners #productmanagementteam #businessgrowth #linkedingrowth #connectwithme

Here’s why you may be prioritising wrongly as a product manager: A framework is not an end but a means to an end. If you rely on RICE or MOSCOW as the overall basis for your prioritisation, you will prioritise incorrectly. Let’s take “impact” for example, When we say measure impact, what exactly are we measuring? It’s easy to say “impact on customer needs and the business goals”. But think about it: are you objectively measuring it? Plus, that doesn’t account for other crucial things like your product strategy. Remember that it’s super easy for you to prioritise a feature more highly because 5 minutes ago, one customer left an angry, lengthy review about it. Forgetting that three weeks ago, ten other customers complained about a different feature. The former is fresh, so it’s likely to feel more urgent and can wrongly take a higher impact seat in your mind. It’s important to track how far "impact" goes objectively and holistically. ➡️ For customer needs: How many customers have requested this, and how often have the requests come in? ➡️ For business goals: What specific metric(s) would this impact? ➡️ For strategy: To what extent does this impact the product strategy, and what aspects does it impact? ➡️ For vision: Does it take us closer to the product vision? Objectively tracking things in prioritisation is how to prioritise well. Remember that while the frameworks are great, you have to use them well enough to get the right results. #productmanagement #prioritisation #productmanager #productgrowth Image credit: Freepik

As Product Managers, we are always told, don't jump to solutions. Identifying problem is more important that finding solution, here is how to keep a check on both - Problem-First Approach: Understanding and defining the core problem before finding solutions. Process: • Research: Conduct user interviews, analyze data, and map pain points. • Define the Problem: Use frameworks like “How Might We” or Jobs-to-be-Done to articulate the issue clearly. • Prioritize: Ensure you’re solving the right problem that aligns with user and business needs. • Explore Solutions: Brainstorm multiple ideas only after the problem is fully understood. Strengths: • Deep Understanding: Avoids superficial fixes; ensures the team tackles root causes. • Long-Term Value: Builds trust with users by solving real pain points. • Flexibility: Allows for multiple solution paths and experimentation. When to Use: • Early in the product lifecycle (discovery phase). • When the issue is complex or poorly understood. • When user or business needs are unclear. Solution-First Approach: Jumping directly to implementing a solution that seems feasible or obvious. Process: • Leverage Insights: Use existing knowledge, competitor analysis, or internal feedback to propose solutions. • Quick Decision Making: Prioritize the most viable option. • Execute Fast: Test and iterate the solution rapidly. Strengths: • Speed: Faster execution, especially for urgent needs or known problems. • Efficiency: Saves time and resources in low-risk or high-certainty scenarios. • Focus on Outcomes: Delivers immediate value in well-understood areas. When to Use: • When the problem is straightforward or previously validated. • In high-pressure situations with tight deadlines. • For incremental improvements or tactical changes. Balancing the Two Approaches Combine Both Approaches: • Start with problem-first thinking for strategic clarity. • Use solution-first for short-term execution when appropriate. Prioritize Impact: • Spend more time on problem-first for critical, ambiguous challenges. • Use solution-first for minor optimizations or well-defined issues. Leverage Data: • Use data and feedback to validate whether to take a solution-first shortcut. #ProductManager #ProblemSolving #ProductManagement

Product managers sometimes find it challenging to determine what to solve. I know I did early in my career. Luckily, #Amplitude has provided a starting point in their recent blog. Check out their insightful post on the benefits of product discovery: https://lnkd.in/gGK58Qxi. #ProductManagement #ProductDiscovery #ProductStrategy

Product management is demanding, but that's exactly why I love it. While working as a product support, I loved solving problems for customers, it gives me so much joy when a customer comes back to say thank you and also recommend our product. While at it, I discovered ways to address these challenges and sometimes attempted to solve them even when they were beyond my job description. This experience informed my decision to transition into product management, where I could build products that solves user problem and generate revenue for the company. For me, product management is more than a job—it’s a passion. I find pleasure in creating solutions that solve real-life problems across diverse teams. I love the continuous learning it demands and the constant evolving through learning. Also, I love the fact that decisions are informed by data gathered. I love the fact that it is not streamlined or a routine; every day presents a new challenge that requires critical thinking, creativity, and innovation. Every day brings new questions and unique opportunities. I enjoy collaborating with cross-functional teams, setting priorities, and developing unique value propositions that differentiate our products from competitors. Being customer-centric and user-focused is at the heart of what I do. It means always researching, listening, and aligning with stakeholders to ensure I deliver value! #CustomerCentric #ProblemSolving #DataDriven #Innovation #PassionForProduct #CriticalThinking #ValueDelivery #ContinousLearning