When leaving the company I worked for recently, I wanted to leave a few thoughts with my team as I departed. I knew they were capable to continue delivering value to the organization without me, but sometimes having reminders is critical to moving forward.

This really has been what my blog has been about. Reminders to myself. And much of what follows in this post you may have likely seen already. Essentially I coalesced thoughts from over the years into a single post covering these thoughts:

• Remember why you are here – a focus on process
• Focus on execution – understanding the lifecycle
• Pay attention to measurement – the numbers don’t lie
• Dream big – one of my favorite concepts

I hope this reminder serves you well.

Part 1 – Remember why you are here

Whether intentionally chosen, or inadvertently thrust upon them, Product Managers are called to be leaders. It may be a discussion about the three simple questions, or perhaps about the context of Vision, Execution, Measurement, or finally a view of Product Management from the lens of Interpret. Inform. Influence. Regardless, it is important to understand the role you play and the questions you should be asking.

Part 2 – A Focus on Execution

As Product Management leaders, we are measured on execution. The question is, how do you go about this? First off, remember The Importance of Portfolio Review & Governance. Understanding the end to end lifecycle & processes associated with Product Management Ideas > Planning > Roadmap > Launch cannot be understated.

Second, as it relates to the first two items in the lifecycle (Ideas > Planning), be intentional about The 5 Product Questions Leading Into PI Planning. The first two questions focus on Ideas: what is the universe of asks, and what are their priorities (e.g. – what value do they bring to the organization). The next two questions focus on Planning: what is the size/scope of the work, and does the team have the capacity to take it on. The last question is a sanity check: be realistic and ensure it all fits given the other intangibles going on within the organization or the team.

Third, be transparent as it relates to sharing the Product Roadmap and Status Reports. The primary focus should be what has been committed coming out of the quarterly PI planning. This is where status reports come in. Beyond the current quarter commitment, how you approach the roadmap can vary. I like to take this approach in representing the upcoming 12 months:

• Current quarter commitment – high degree of certainty
• Following quarter commitment – medium degree of certainty
• Next 2 quarters – low degree of certainty

Finally, don’t forget about launch … commercialization … go-to-market … etc. I’ve heard it called many things over the years. Be sure to understand how your organization refers to it, and what they really mean when they use the words. All too often people refer to the external facing portions (marketing, sales enablement, etc) and lose sight of the internal facing portions (legal, support, etc).

Part 3 – Pay Attention to Measurement

I’ll admit, measurement is not the sexiest part of the day-to-day role of a Product leader … but it is necessary! In The Numbers Don’t Lie post, I refer to a point about it taking courage to measure progress. The absence of data shouldn’t stop you from pursuing key metrics about your business so you a) understand your business and b) can act on what you learn from the data.

• when you are pursuing a new idea, vision or strategy … make sure it is compelling and supported by data … the numbers don’t lie.
• in the midst managing your product, make sure you understand key metrics about the health and trajectory of your product … the numbers don’t lie.
• when you are considering revenue for the upcoming/next planning cycle, make sure you can defend what you are going after with data … the numbers don’t lie.

Part 4 – Dream Big

I still love this perspective from the first Chief Data/Technology Specialist at the White House.

“This is the card that I kept in my notebook during my time in the White House … I kept it in my notebook because it was a daily reminder of what was needed to do my job: to make the country a bit better each day.”

Dream in years – I once heard if you want people to build you a boat, don’t just give them the plans and materials, make them yearn for the sea! As a product management leader, you’ll be most effective when your actions are aligned under the banner of an all consuming vision … something that either clearly speaks to the needs/pains of the marketplace, or imagines an even better way of doing something the market has never thought of before (think Ford and the first car … at the time, the typical person wouldn’t have said they needed a car, they would have said they needed more/better horses).

Plan in months – this is effectively the PI planning cycles!  Be intentional about them!

Evaluate in weeks – this is the status reporting.  How are you doing against what you said you were going to do?

Ship Daily – translated a different way, how can you deliver value daily?  What can you do for the team to ensure they progress each and every day?