It makes sense. You’ve heard that product managers are the “CEO of the product”, the “leader of the team”, the “ideas guy / gal”. Or maybe you just want to take a step forward in your career.

Well, after over 15 years in the role, I want to let you in on some truths:

• Product management is a hard role to break into. It’s typically not taught in school, and it requires a lot of self-driven learning.
• Product management can be an even harder role to succeed in. If something goes wrong, you’re ultimately accountable. If something goes right, your team gets most of the credit.
• And you’re definitely not the CEO. You have no hiring or firing authority. People listen (or don’t listen) to you based on your track record of making good decisions for the product.

BUT, product management can also be an incredibly fulfilling role. You get to take a strategic perspective on inventing the future. You get exposure to all sides of the business, making every day feel different. And while you have very little direct control, your ability to influence the direction of your team, org, or even company can feel a bit like using Jedi mind tricks.

I think the role’s a lot of fun, so let’s see if it’s right for you.

So what is a product manager anyway?

Product management is an art and science that I break into three parts:

• Strategy: Leading people to agree and commit to the choices they should make to build the best possible product to solve its target audience’s problems.
• Development: Driving the team’s ongoing efforts to identify the right product to build for its audience (ie., product discovery) and build the product right (ie., product delivery).
• People: Building high-performing cross-functional teams, continually improving the way they work together and with others, and cultivating strong culture.

A common definition you often hear is that a product manager (PM) sits at the intersection of the user experience, technology, and business, which is a good starting point. PMs do need to be able to understand and communicate across each of these parts of the business.

But I like Marty Cagan’s framework from his book Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love (great book btw, highly recommended!), which PMs are responsible for leading teams toward:

• Product value: PMs are responsible for deeply understanding the unmet needs of their target audience and identifying the product solutions that they’d pay for with their time and money.
• Experiential usability: PMs partner with product designers to discover product features through prototyping and deliver experiences that are intuitive, easy to use, and delightful.
• Technical feasibility: PMs partner with engineers to deliver product features that work reliably, run stably, utilize resources efficiently, and can be sustainably delivered through production code.
• Business viability: PMs partner across several stakeholder groups across the company including marketing, legal, finance, product support, and general management to make sure the product works for the business.

What skills do product managers need to succeed?

Like I said, product management isn’t typically taught in school (outside getting an MBA). Thankfully, everything you need to know can be learned elsewhere.

Empathy

Empathy is a crucial skill for product managers, and it shows up in two key ways.

First, you must champion your customer. This means stepping into their shoes to understand their needs, pain points, and motivations. Your role is to bring the customer's voice to your team and stakeholders, making sure their needs stay front and center. This requires building deep customer understanding through research, feedback, and data analysis.

Second, since product managers deliver results through others, you need to understand your team members, stakeholders, and partners. Success depends on effective communication, relationship building, and influence—all of which stem from emotional intelligence, active listening, and empathy.

Empathy builds the trust and understanding that drive strong relationships. As you develop this skill, you'll become more effective at delivering products that truly serve both customers and stakeholders.

Product Sensibility

Product sensibility goes beyond understanding what people say they want—it's about grasping what they mean, what they'll use, and how your product fits into their lives. This requires deep insight into customer needs, behaviors, and motivations. You need to look past feature novelty to see how people will use your product in the real world.

Success requires thinking at two levels: strategic and tactical. You must consider broad product opportunities and how they align with your strategy, while also zeroing in on the critical details that will determine success or failure. Finding this balance helps you create products that delight customers and drive results.

Written and Verbal Communication

Clear communication forms the bedrock of successful product management. Strong writing helps you convey strategy, vision, and requirements to stakeholders. A well-crafted document aligns your team and executives toward shared goals. Your writing must be clear, concise, and compelling.

Verbal skills are just as vital. You'll need to adapt your message for different audiences—whether you're meeting with engineers, presenting to executives, or talking with customers. Each group has unique needs and concerns that should shape how you communicate.

The best product managers excel at breaking down complex ideas into simple, intuitive language. This skill helps others understand and make decisions quickly, making you more influential in your role.

How can you get started in product management right now?

Think of your favorite product in your current life. Go on, I'll wait.

Now, ask yourself:

1. Why do you think the company that makes the product is investing in it? What does the product have to do with the company's mission?
2. Who is the product made for? How specific can you get about who this audience is? Are there multiple audiences it's targeting? If so, is one more important than the other?
3. What problems does the audience have that this product attempts to solve? Is it solving that problem well? Are there other problems it could be solving?
4. What new solutions can you think of for how it solves the customer's problem? Which would you build first? How would you know you were right?

These are the basic questions PMs think critically about as they're developing product strategy. And like I said, it doesn't require any formal education to learn. But it does take practice, so keep asking these questions for other products in your life.

Wrapping Up

As we've covered, product management is a challenging yet rewarding role that requires a unique blend of skills, including empathy, product sensibility, and effective communication. If you're still reading, maybe product management is the right role for you. Take some time to reflect on whether you're willing to put in the effort to develop these skills and take on the challenges that come with this role. It's not an easy journey, but if you're passionate about creating products that make a real difference in people's lives, it may be the right fit for you. I'll be writing more about product management in the future, so stay tuned for more insights and advice on how to succeed in this field.

In this post:

• So You Want to Be a Product Manager
• So what is a product manager anyway?
• What skills do product managers need to succeed?
• Empathy
• Product Sensibility
• Written and Verbal Communication
• How can you get started in product management right now?
• Wrapping Up