I am not a Product Manager…but I talk to them: the plot
I am not a Product Manager, nor a Product Owner. But, through the years, I have met and worked with many Product Managers and I am certain about one thing: most of them are passionate individuals eager to build and improve products that make customers happier. You could also argue Product Managers tend to be in love with his/her product…which sometimes makes them suffer, because as we all know, sometimes Love Hurts (Note: ‘Love Hurts’ is a song originally written by Felice Bryant and her husband Boudleaux Bryant. It was first recorded by The Everly Brothers, but I got to know the song thanks to Nazareth’s cover).
Product Managers are, oftentimes, the unsung heroes: taking the pain for the failures, not taking the credit for the successes. So, I decided to pay my little homage to them.
Initially, I thought I could write my own thoughts and share my perspective about Product Managers. However, I changed my mind and decided to talk to a group of Product Managers and ask them several questions: at the end they are the ones who know the job. The format I came up with was very simple: asking the same exact questions to a selected group of Product Managers. And I was lucky enough to convince eight smart product folks to take this challenge and share their views, expertise and know-how. They represent a variety of industries and profiles as they are working or have worked in companies such as N26, Adevinta, eDreams Odigeo, Ocado, Wallapop, Mango, Hubtype, King, New Relic or Qustodio.
Now, and after a few weeks of behind-the scene conversations, I have the answers from the eight Product Managers who accepted the challenge. And I have decided to publish their answers in an ephemeral format: every day (starting tomorrow) I will be sharing the answers from just one of the product managers I talked to. One day, one product manager. Eight consecutive days, then the series is over. So, in the next eight days you will have the chance to read what these Product Managers told me (no editing was done, so you will be reading “their own words”). Here is the list of all the participants:
- Alexander Hipp, Senior Product Manager at N26; co-founder at thepmlibrary.com
- Amaia Calvo-Fernández, Senior Product Manager at eDreams ODIGEO
- Candice Sandra Seenyen, Product Manager at Hubtype
- Emilio Sixto — Senior Product Manager at Wallapop
- Loïc Hersant — Senior Product Manager at New Relic; ProductTank Barcelona organizer
- Mercè Garcia — Product Director at Adevinta
- Sergio Morales — Product Manager at Qustodio
- Silvia De la Cruz Ripoll — Principal Product Manager at Ocado Technologies
So, lean back, relax and wait until tomorrow to read the first interview.