Philip Higdon’s Post

Product managers often find themselves in the "firefighter" role, putting out one issue after another to keep projects on track. While addressing immediate concerns is part of the job, excessive firefighting can prevent product managers from focusing on strategic, long-term goals. To shift from reactive to proactive product management, leaders must adopt strategies that prioritize planning, data-driven decision-making, and team empowerment. Here are five key approaches to facilitate this transition.

Celebrating an exciting milestone and career transition! The past six months have been an enriching and rewarding journey. I've discovered a passion for looking at projects and products through a business lens, avidly read every product book I could get my hands on, and successfully completed the Product Management Professional Certification Program at Cornell University with a score of 100%. This milestone is a testament to my dedication and interest in products and technology. What I have learned has not only humbled me, but also fueled my excitement to transition from a Project Manager to a Product Manager. I am eager to land a Product Management role where I can collaborate with direct and cross-functional teams to deliver value to customers and solve complex business problems. I am open to opportunities in any industry where I can use my skills, talents, and ability to listen and communicate effectively to make a meaningful impact and win as a team. If you are an experienced Product Manager, I would love to connect with you and learn from you. Your mentorship would be incredibly valuable as I embark on this new journey. If you are a recruiter looking for a passionate and driven Product Manager, I would love to connect with you and explore potential opportunities. Let's connect and create something amazing together! #ProductManagement #CareerTransition #CornellUniversity #ContinuousLearning #ProductManager #TechPassion #ValueCreation #Networking #BusinessSolutions

It's your favorite program manager back answering a question that absolutely no one asked. What's my favorite part about being a program manager? I like to solve problems ✅ I like that my position is frequently tied into to leadership which gives me a unique view into the business needs of the company. ✅I like that my position has me meet regularly with stakeholders from all over the company and I can share the wins my team has had and the way that impacts their departments as well. ✅I like that I'm involved in 80% of the day-to-day activities in my department. This allows me to make sure our smaller actions can be tied into the initiatives of the quarter or year and also, share updates with leadership or those cross functional partners. What does this all mean? This means I have a unique POV of roles, responsibilities, roadmaps, bandwidths, and skills internally. When a hiccup pops up, and they always do, I'm able to find a solution quickly, efficiently and in a way that doesn't always rock the boat. And that, is my favorite thing about what I do as a #programmanager

Levelling up from a Senior PM to an exec level (HoP, CPO, etc) is a big shift. You go from PM execution work, to team structure and strategy work. and it can be a messy transition. The skills and thinking you need are very different. If you've gone through, or are going through this transition - or even if you can see it coming - I'd love to hear from you. What did you struggle with, what surprised you, what do you think are the most important things to know or skills to have to make the transition?

Turning my comment into a post 😃 Here's what I have seen works: 👉 1. Understand the (most time non-obvious) interest/bias of the stakeholder (e.g their long-term picture of what the company/product should be, personal alignment, goals that are not communicated, fears and concerns) 👉 2. Acknowledge it, or ask thoughtful questions that lay it to bear 👉 3. Decide what position you want to take (do you want to tell them they are off point, do you want to tell them their concerns are already put into consideration, or do you want to meet in the middle etc) 👉 4. Get your facts right! Solid data and arguments that justify your position 👉 5. Drive the conversation in such a way that depicts that you are actively listening to them (and not just that you want to push your position) 👉 6. If possible, agree to a tiny experiment (I think we should go this route, if you think otherwise, let's deploy this for so so so time, or this section of the audience, or let's run a further user survey around this etc) 👉 7. If eventually, you don't win the 'argument', agree to an indemnification clause (e.g Based on my data, facts and projections, this is what we should be doing, but if you insist we go this route, I will do my best, but if results go south, I won't be held accountable for result) Possible outcome: 1. They agree to your approach fully 2. They agree to your approach sceptically 3. They agree to experimentation and revisit data after 4. They insist on their approach But in all, you need to know what you are doing and what you are saying, or else, if your approach fails, it becomes a lot harder to 'have your way' in the future.

5 fears new & transitioning product managers face in their first 90 days. 1. Fear of Failure 2. Imposter Syndrome 3. Managing stakeholder expectations 4. Decision-making pressure 5. Keeping up with market trends You'll solve these by: 1. Embracing a growth mindset 2. Continuous learning 3. Mentorship and feedback 4. Building a support network 5. Prioritizing and effectively delegating What were the fears in your first months as a PM? How did you deal with them? _________ P.S. Are you looking to build a career in product management? Repost and follow me for more insights from my 12+ years of experience. #ProductManagement #ProductManagers

Early in my career, I figured out I cannot be a specialist, probably because of my overwhelming curiosity for understanding how other functions of an organization and society work. That acknowledgement did me a great favor and till date, I have served in multiple roles including. - Developer and System Designer - Project Manager - Product Manager - Pre Sales - Sales - Technical Marketing - Strategy - Training - Technical Writing The best part is to be able to wear winner badges across functions. If I had nominations as a software engineer of the year, I also closed deals successfully, managed scrum teams, and delivered decent products as a product manager. Today, I feel the need to retire some of the functions I have been doing, and double down on the rest. I believe in having working knowledge of cross-functional departments necessary and mandatory for tomorrow's technology leadership! My observation is, countries like ours are conservative and repelling the roles of generalists even today, and counties like US, Europe, and some other regions are very open about it and welcome this with a positive mind. How do you think about the roles of a specialist vs generalist?

Thinking About Becoming a Product Manager? It’s Friday, so let’s keep it light. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a product manager? Maybe you’ve thought, “That sounds interesting, but can I really do it?” The answer is yes, you can! You don’t need a technical background or years of experience to start.  You just need the right strategy, a clear story, and the willingness to learn. If becoming a product manager has ever crossed your mind, I’ll love to hear from you. Like this post if you’ve ever thought about it! Let’s see how many future PMs are out there. #ProductManagement #CareerGoals #BreakIntoTech #FuturePM #TechCareers Michael ONYEMAH I don't bite! ..................................................................................................... 𝗛𝗶, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗢𝗻𝘆𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗵, 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗽. 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Ever wonder what a product manager does? They're the visionaries crafting the strategy, the conductors leading cross-functional teams, and the maestros tweaking the product to perfection! A PM's role is to ensure that when their product hits the stage, it gets a standing ovation. #ProductManagement #TechLeadership

How you lead matters or not.