The essence of product management | Christian Idiodi (SVPG)

Dec 21, 2023 1h 33m 13 insights Episode Page ↗
Christian Idioti, Partner at Silicon Valley Product Group, discusses why product management is often disliked and how PMs can build trust and competence. He shares his top discovery method for building products people love and offers insights on effective coaching and leadership development, drawing from his work in Africa.
Actionable Insights

1. Build Trust with Influencers

To accelerate trust and relationships, introduce new hires to the loudest, most influential person in the company and ask that person to teach them or allow them to observe for a week. This extends the influential person’s trust, builds a relationship, and makes them accountable for the new hire’s growth, making them an advocate.

2. Master Reference Customer Discovery

To figure out what to build, find 6-8 (B2B) or 15-25 (B2C) ‘reference customers’ who have the problem. Immerse yourself with them, and don’t leave until you discover and deliver a solution they love enough to tell others about, effectively putting their reputation on the line for your product.

3. Practice Leadership Before Promotion

To prepare for a leadership role (e.g., VP), start ‘doing the job’ before you get the title. This allows you to practice, make mistakes, and receive feedback in a safe environment, ensuring you are competent and ready when officially promoted.

4. Elevate PM Competence

As a product manager, earn trust and respect by becoming the expert in customers, data, industry, business, and the product itself. Your role is to represent the customer best and drive decisions based on this deep competence.

5. Accelerate PM Learning & Trust

To become a more trusted and successful product manager, identify the loudest, most influential person in your organization and ask them to teach you, or volunteer to help them. This builds relationships, extends their trust to you, and helps you learn what drives their influence.

6. Focus on Value & Viability

The product manager’s core competency is to drive value (will people buy/use it?) and viability (does it work for our business?). Prioritize solving these risks, as they are often overlooked but critical for product success.

7. Market with Customer Language

When marketing a product, use the exact language and descriptions that customers use to describe their love for it. This ensures expectations are matched and avoids disappointment from misaligned messaging.

8. Coaching is Manager’s Job

Managers should understand that their primary daily role is coaching their reports to get better at their jobs. This involves creating space for practice and providing regular feedback, similar to a coach on a sports sideline.

9. Create Practice Arenas for Skills

To improve skills like product management or leadership, find ‘practice arenas’ such as volunteering for a non-profit or community events. These low-risk environments allow for collaborative problem-solving and skill development.

10. Seek Good Coaching Examples

If you don’t have a direct coach, actively seek environments where you can observe good coaching and product work happening, such as winning teams or successful product initiatives. Learn by watching and then practicing those observed behaviors.

11. Interview for Problem-Solving & Curiosity

When interviewing candidates, give them a unique problem to solve live (e.g., an alarm clock for a deaf friend) to assess their thinking process, problem-solving approach, intellectual curiosity, empathy, and humility, rather than just their knowledge.

12. Show Up with a Plan and Smile

Adopt the life motto: ‘Show up, show up on time, show up on time with a plan, and if somehow you have the guts to put that plan to action with a smile, then you probably will have a great chance of success.’ Repeat this for consistent positive outcomes.

13. Support African Product Community

Consider supporting the Innovate Africa Foundation (InnovateAfricaFoundation.org) or the upcoming Paid Africa Fund, which aims to empower African talent with technology, product mindset, and skills to solve local problems and achieve product-market fit.