PRODUCT LEARNINGS

Your failures will make you beyond successful if you follow this simple process.

Turning Losses into Triumph: The Power of Embracing Failure with this Key Principle.

Product & Leadership Playbook

Play 8/196 — Create a learning engine for yourself.

Embarrassment is a feeling we’ve all experienced at some point in our lives. Whether releasing a giant bug to production, missing a legal requirement, saying the wrong thing in front of Stakeholders, or simply feeling self-conscious, these moments can leave a lasting impact on our confidence and self-esteem. But the good news is, embarrassment can also serve as a powerful opportunity for growth and self-discovery.

A simple way of reframing the situation is if you switch your mindset and use this accident as an opportunity. If you can be really, really honest with yourself, and ask yourself why you ended up in the current situation, it will nearly immediately pop to you. It's just important, you can only be successful once you can drop your Ego for a short moment, please think it really through, and adjust. Anytime any of us is getting an insult, or negative feedback, the initial human feeling is to attack back. Those who understand, that getting negative feedback or being embarrassed is like a nugget of Gold, will in the long run succeed, here is why. Please go over the following quote, which is my absolute personal favorite:

The Definition Of Insanity Is Doing The Same Thing Over And Over And Expecting Different Results. — Albert Einstein

And the point is right there, whatever you have decided to do or act, it did lead you to fail at something. So it's very important to write down, and please write down, the steps you have taken to come to the results which were embarrassing. Focus on yourself, not on others, and take full responsibility for every action that happened, leading to failure in something.

Remember, that life is mainly a cause-and-effect game, doing one thing will lead to another, once you are able to map all the steps, you most likely can identify the root cause of your problem. Now, the fact that you work with digital products, implies that you have a computer. And if you have one, most likely you encountered an algorithm. So, the good news is, that you can create for yourself and for the actions/decisions you take a simple algorithm, which will escort you through your journey and help you to constantly make better decisions! And now we come back to the title of this article, since it's somewhat of a manual “human learning” model, the more failure you have, the better you can tweak your learning engine. Here is how you can already start your orientation:

1. Defining the problem: Identify the problem that needs to be solved and determine what kind of output is expected next time.
2. Gather data: Collect and organize the data that your Human Learning algorithm will use to learn and make predictions. Think of anything in between feedback loops to quantitative or qualitative research data points.
3. Supervised Learning: In supervised learning, the model is trained on a labeled dataset, which includes both input features and their corresponding outputs.
4. Train the model: Use the collected data or feedback to train your decision-making model. This involves feeding the model with input and corresponding expected output, and adjusting its parameters to minimize the difference between the predicted output and the actual output.
5. Evaluate the model: Assess the new outcomes of the model using validation techniques such as cross-validation or feedback loops to check if it generalizes well to new, unseen situations. A simple way of going back to the same person, telling you made an error and here is how now you would do it differently can help you to validate your assumptions and gather better feedback.
6. Fine-tune the model: Based on the evaluation results, make modifications to the model to improve its predictions.
7. Monitor and maintain the algorithm: Regularly monitor the performance of the Human Learning algorithm and make updates as needed to ensure that it continues to deliver accurate results.

Remember, everyone makes mistakes and experiences embarrassment at some point. By embracing these moments and viewing them as opportunities for growth, you can turn uncomfortable situations into positive ones. In the next session, I will speak about how to set up decision-making engines for hiring a new Product Team Member.

About the author:

Hi, I’m Lehel. I became a product manager to fuel my curiosity in technology and business management by creating digital products. My journey allowed me to dive deep into product design, user experience, business administration, and learning multiple programming languages. I have been fortunate to lead programs for successful Startups and Fortune 500 companies whereas a leader, my focus is on establishing a great product culture to help people strive by following servant leadership and radical candor principles. In my free time, I write about product management & leadership topics to document the learnings of my past 15 years in the field.

It starts with:

• How People Analytics helps to empower and manage tech teams?
• How to map business value with human capital?
• The 5 pillars of scaling cross-functional teams
• 12 Best Books to read in 2023 as a Product Leader
• How to set crystal clear goals as a Leader?
• How to Master the Art of Product Planning?
• The most important job of a Product Leader.
• Discovering the Right Course of Action: How to Make Tough Decisions
• 12 reasons, why successful product leaders regularly collaborate with their team members.
• Gather facts, not just opinions, to make informed decisions.

You can find me at lehelkakonyi.com as well.