Experience > product books
My 19 Rules of Product Management
The rules of product management aren’t in any book.
You learn them up on the job, or not at all.
Years ago I was a Product Director, stuck between two execs who wanted different things.⠀
I spent weeks bouncing between them, trying to broker a compromise, without success.
Eventually I realised I didn’t need to find the solution.
I just needed to get them in the same room.
Once they were together I laid out where they disagreed.
A “robust discussion” followed as they thrashed it out...
But 30 mins later we had a decision.
The team was unblocked, and we were off.
And I had made it happen.
No book taught me that. The job did.
My 19 Rules of Product Management
Here are 19 rules that I learnt from experience:
0. 85% of product work isn’t needed.
1. Product management is R&D, not construction.
2. Don’t fiddle around the edges. Fix the hard problem.
3. There are no outcomes without output.
4. Nobody cares how good your ceremonies are.
5. More priorities = less progress.
6. A good strategy is a polite way of saying “no”.
7. Strategy is a balance of themes, not a sequence of features.
8. Product is a commercial function.
9. There are no prizes for doing product “right”.
10. Communication is the job.
11. Speak to your customers every week.
12. Decide at 70%. Too much discovery is self-indulgent.
13. Everything is a trade-off. There is no “best”.
14. Don’t fall in love with your features.
15. Visuals align faster than docs.
16. Indecision kills momentum. Force the call.
17. Whoever learns fastest wins.
18. Funding your team should not be a hard decision.
Follow these to succeed in your career.
