Author: cleverpm

Product Management

Five Things a Product Manager Should be Thankful For

In a time of recognition for the good things in life, and for the opportunities that life has presented us with, I thought it would be a good time to take a few moments and reflect on some of the things that all Product Managers should be thankful for.  So, on this Thanksgiving week, enjoy […]

Product Management

Leading Through Influence the Clever PM Way — Part 2: Effective Facilitation

In part one of this series, we discussed the concept of “social capital” and how important it is to build, manage, and spend it in the process of leading through influence.  In this installment, we’re going to extend the scope of the discussion to a highly effective way of building your social capital in an […]

Product Management

Forests or Trees – The Constant Tension of Product & Project Management

It’s a rather sad fact of life that many companies, hiring managers, and even supervisory managers commonly conflate the jobs of Product Management and Project Management.  I literally cannot count the number of times I’ve corrected people at a variety of companies, telling them that I’m a “Product Manager” and not a “Project Manager.”  In […]

Product Management

How Technical Does a Product Manager Really Have to Be?

There’s a strong trend in Product Management circles to insist that a good Product Manager must be strongly technical in addition to having strong marketing and communication skills.  And while this approach is well-meaning, it often results in a weak Product Management role that merely supports Development rather than challenge it. Now, that’s not to […]

Product Management

Tending Gardens & Herding Cats: Maintaining a Healthy Rapport with Your Development Teams

Several times in my career, I’ve joked to someone or another that my next job title will be “Senior Cat Herder” rather than “Senior Product Manager” — and for good reason.  Cats, for all of their cuddly cuteness, are independent problem solvers, much like most of the better developers that I’ve worked with. Add to […]

Product Management

What Exactly *IS* Product Management, Anyway?

Trying to come up with a single, global definition of what “Product Management” is and what it incorporates, often seems like a massive exercise in folly. Wikipedia describes Product Management as “an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning, forecasting, or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the […]

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