Trait that creates a success manager – VI

Trait – build what customer like and not just what you prefer

A typical business challenge that a product manager is expected answer is “What will make my product most desirable by its target customers?”

Answer to this question is simple. solve customer problem, and they will love it. A straight question, with a simple answer yet we don’t get there.

Why do we struggle to offer customer what they value? Probably we as product owners at times get lost in our desires & dreams of our product so much that we forget that our prime responsibility is to build what customer will value. Bring value to your customer, either by helping him earn more or by saving his cost. Usability aspects like look and feel, easy to install, fast application etc are default requirements, you cannot sell your product just on these points

Build your product on values, categorize each feature that you add in one of the two categories mentioned below, and if it does not fit in either than drop it happily, there is always next time for those features;

1.    Features that increase revenue, this includes aspects like newer revenue opportunity, increase in usage, selling supplementary services, cross selling etc

2.    Features that save cost, this includes simplifying SOPs, improving productivity, reducing or eliminating third party license fee, saving on infrastructure / manpower etc

A success manager will always be focused on adding features that falls in one of the mentioned two categories. As @annua rightly mentioned in her May blog @productmantra “are you going feature crazy?” adding feature is not equal to improving product, it is important for you keep your product simple & lightweight and refrain from adding what you can live without.

@mathurabhay

Traits that Creates a Success Manager - V

Trait V - Be up-to-date, the control system


How often do you re-visit the product plan? What's your control system that helps you correct the course that you have decided to take your product on.


As a product champion you are responsible for the result, responsible for effectiveness of the team that works on your course and responsible for ROI that investors expect from you. Being a Product Champion is a tough responsibility and how you manage it demonstrate your maturity. While there is no escape to being up-to-date with customers and partners on requirements, there are four critical areas that a success manager is always up-to-date with. 


I suggest you monitor these four corners on continuously to ensure that your control system has right set of inputs required to take a bold decision;


Regulations: keep track of regulatory compliance that governs key design and feature implementation of your product or service.


Technology trends: Keep an eye on emerging trends in technology that my impact (adversely or positively) need of your product / service.


Competition announcements: Your competition is the greatest reason why your company needs you - to stay ahead of competition, that right. Always remember your competition is your bread and butter - focus, focus and focus on your competitors.


Executive vision: Most CEO are entrepreneurs, they have more pair of arms than octopus - more eyes than Ravana and a brain that's larger than that of a white whale. Be up-to-date with their ever evolving thought process.

Traits that Creates a Success Manager - IV

'To Err is human, To repeat it is idiotic'

This is true. We are human and so is success manager. We all are bound to make some mistakes in our decisions but what would distinguished a success manager from rest is that he takes his learning from mistakes and move forward while others might cry, some would find excuse and some start playing a blame game.

Understanding the situation and reason of your mistake so that you would not repeat it again is the imperative for success manager. You cannot effort to make same mistake twice, remember only idiots do that.

To ensure that you understand this correctly, first thing you must learn to do is that never try and get in defending or refusal mode. Accept what happen, you are success manager you own the situation and it's you who is responsible for failure / mistakes or success. So always accept the situation first and then evaluate it to understand where you went wrong. Step by step a complete retrospection of incidents that created the failure should be looked into. Ask yourself at least 2 question at each step;

1. Was the out come here was as per my expectation?
2. Was there anything that I could have done to ensure a better result at this junction?

Practice this, you know the answer which I am sure of. More as I learn.

Traits that Creates a Success Manager - III

"Success Manager is truly a social animal"

In the very first post of my blog, I mentioned that one of the characteristics of a success manager is that he concentrates and advocates customer needs and opportunities. Now how and when do a success manager do it, in board rooms? No way...... board rooms for me are meant for sign-up and not for decision making.

Decision making requires a lot of offline efforts where you go all out to build conviction on any subject matter. You meet people and talk to them over coffee, in cubicle or cabin or in aisle. At times pool a van back home is also a good idea. Not once or twice but meet regularly, talk about your experience of customer meetings, your understanding of the market, and your idea of addressing available opportunity. Conviction are build when you talk opportunity at right opportunity. One cannot effort to leave everything to chance and start steps 1 2 3 in board rooms. It is always 9 10 and close in the board room.

If you are not getting social then you are not playing with a full deck. And who knows what you are missing on, may be an ace. And when do you think that people will start believing you or take you on face value? it's when you have an image of being accessible, acceptable and applicable. All these means lots of socializing, within company, within the delivery modules and within the market place. In the corporate jungle, Social animal services longer than any other know beast.

Start socializing before you extinct.

Traits that Creates a Success Manager - II

Winners make it happen and Losers let it happen

The trait of making things happen is tightly coupled with being proactive, and taking initiatives at right time. A success manager drives product, people and organization. His job is to take initiative, build conviction and then drive the initiative to a logical closure. Waiting for things to happen will only allow others to make it happen, it's like the teacher letting a student have his stick.

If you ever happen to read the article, "who drives your organization" you will better understand what I am saying here. Success manager must earn the stick to drive, and the only way to earn this stick is to instigate the habit of making things happen in his nature. It is this habit which will help him in driving the organization and makes him best fit to take on the competition in the market place. The trait of making things happen is a trait of success.

Remember, for Success Manager, losing is no option.