A lot of knowledge has been shared on this topic on various forums. And, a significant body of literature has been created by world class experts and researchers on leadership and product management. And yet, I believe there is always something new to share, especially insights gained from my own struggles and failures in product management (summarized through recent reflections as I transition into a product management leadership role at a much larger global company).

And so, here we go…..I have come to realize the benefit of remembering and practicing the following key principles to succeed as a product manager aka product owner:

There is no such thing as a perfect product: First and foremost to remember is the hard truth that, no matter how well you define the functionality, build the product with a great UI, and deliver a great user experience, you will always fall short of 100% customer expectations. No matter how best you do, you will receive some negative feedback. First, customers’ product assessment can be influenced by various biases, including the Negativity Bias. Second, a single product can never solve hundred use cases from hundred different customers. So, the key is to take the feedback in stride, evaluate the requirements objectively, prioritize ruthlessly, and keep iterating to continuously enhance the product.

You need not and will not have all the answers by yourself: The one misconception I used to primarily suffer from in the early stages of my PM career was the need to go find all the answers by myself. And, that created a lot of self-induced pressure. The truth is, there is a reason the stakeholder ecosystem around you will have subject matter experts for each piece of the puzzle, called the product, that you eventually have to put together. It is not your job to always find the answer by yourself, but rather it is your job to gather the relevant experts into the room, huddle with them, foster-mediate-guide the debate among them to a conclusion. Be it the best technology component to use, or best UI design, or best pricing/subscription model, or best marketing/messaging for the product, always leverage the relevant experts.

Situational leadership: You will be tempted to drive all the meetings all the time. You want to drive every discussion on the technology architecture; you want to be front driving the UI discussions; and you want to be in control of everything. Yes, the PM owns the product, and in some organizations the PM is expected to drive and control everything related to the product. I disagree. My dictum is simple: “the more you try to control, the more you lose control”. You have to understand well your own as well as others’ core competencies, and realize how to leverage those differently depending on the context. So, as a PM you should sometimes let the other expert drive, while you can be the front seat passenger navigating the route. And, when you are in that front seat, relax somewhat, focus more on the navigation and speed and less on whether the driver is using one foot or two feet to control the brake and the accelerator!

If you have read this, then you must be a PM or an aspiring PM candidate. Share your experiences and arguments!