Traits as learned @ pcampblr

India Product Management Association organized P-Camp at Bangalore recently. This event was hosted by Yahoo India and attained by over 100 enthusiasts from Product background and few stalwarts of the functional domain from reputed brands like Honeywell and Yahoo. This event will be remembered for long as it was first of its kind in India and was organized to perfection. Well done folks.

This is an well received attempt to build an ecosystem and facilitate exchange of ideas and promote entrepreneurship. About 12 tracks (topics) were covered by speakers from varied experience and skills. Group of product managers from yahoo ran through few key traits of a Product Management professional and here is a brief of what I could capture;

Traits of a Product Manager

1. Passionate of what they do

2. Business acumen

3. Understand product business

4. Understand customer (getting into customer shoe)

5. Good communication skill (verbal, written)

6. Decision making ability

7. Curiosity – always curios to know and learn more

8. IQ

9. Leadership qualities

10. Do what it takes to deliver (Attitude)

Good learning and networking opportunity.

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 - 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.

Traits that Creates a Success Manager - I

‘how high you go, depends upon how deep your roots are”

This one trait of going deep into the requirements, customer expectation & engineering process takes product manager & product to greater heights. As a success manager, you are expected take the bull by the horns. So how do you manage these expectations. The only way forward is to get deep into the expectation, neck deep, deeper than anyone’s imagination and then, hold your horses till such time that you are ready to bounce back on top of the market.

Inject this habit of digging deep in your character, this will rally round you with ample of opportunities, success and respect.

More traits, as I learn.