29 indicators someone is a great person

Crap on the internet is endless.

I mean all the below points add up to being purely awesome. Therefore only awesome people can be talented product managers.

  1. Has shipped software. More than twice.
    – because he is either an awesome employee for several years or is an awesome failed serial entrepreneur who wants back to 9 to 5
  2. Has worked collaboratively with small teams.
    – an awesome social mingler who can assimilate and is assimilated into cultures and makes instant fit
  3. Has delivered value iteratively.
    – is an awesome organised and visionary professional
  4. Has made data-driven product decisions.
    – meaning has worked in awesome data driven environments, in awesome companies that valued data driven decisions, which means he or she is awesome for being hired there in the first place
  5. Strong focus on the user first and foremost.
    – but not a stubborn square head, just be an awesome empathetic person who can have out of body experiences as the target market average persona, and awesome
  6. Can communicate easily with engineers, but does not need to possess the skills to implement technical solutions
    – which means he has a “gut” feeling on what the engineers mean, gut feelings are awesome
  7. Can quickly get up to speed on a new domain.
    – has a great sharp and awesome mind capable of quickly grasping foreign concepts and just be awesome and find what that domain has to do with the product anyway
  8. Can build consensus with the product team and support consensus building with a broader group of stakeholders.
    – because he or she is an awesome mediator, a maker of peace disguised in a tech middle manager
  9. Steps up and owns product decisions and the process to get there (even, or especially, when consensus is not achievable).
    – because by being awesome of course he owns everything from decisions, to responsibility, especially when the others have no clue what they want or need
  10. Can identify alternative solutions to a problem; the high level pros and cons of each; and communicate this along with a recommendation.
    – because his or her creativity is awesome and limitless, spawning alternatives by the minute in clear and articulate ways
  11. Can explain what success looks like and how to measure it.
    – sure, he is an awesome visionary (see pct. 3)
  12. Creates opportunities to learn and validate early on.
    – and because he or she is awesome the opportunities will turn to testable results
  13. Has strong opinions, loosely held.
    – yes like the awesome friend we all secretly want
  14. Adapts to change and new information (even, or especially, when it means a product or business assumption was wrong).
    – because talented product managers are actually heroes, being awesome at springing back from ashes like that fereakin’ bird
  15. Believes in tight feedback loops and transparency.
    – God, are we there yet? No, apparently his awesomeness reflects in being constantly on and connected so that knowing everything and communicating everything in real time is easy for our hero
  16. Empathizes with others’ perspective (users, clients and team members).
    – we covered that at pct 5
  17. Demonstrates passion.
    – passion and awesomeness come hand in hand
  18. Fosters a culture of learning and sharing.
    – awesome dude or gal what can I say, sharing and learning are awesome, of course
  19. Confident but not cocky: demonstrates humility.
    – ah our imaginary friend again, the one who is so awesome that it lets us win
  20. Explains complex things in an easy to understand way.
    – 9 to go! Our awesome guy or girl is an awesome teacher, Richard Feynman class great explainer.
  21. Is engaging and interesting to speak with.
    – sure being awesome is nothing if you are not the most interesting person in the world at the same time, travels a lot I bet
  22. Can adapt communication style to the situation.
    – didn’t we mention that already, i mean our talented product manager is double empathetic, of course he is awesome in adapting communication
  23. Breaks down work that needs to be done into small pieces.
    – our awesome candidate is also a natively talented project manager too
  24. Can prioritize based on what the most valuable thing to do next is.
    – ah, a real product management aptitude, but only the talented one is awesome in doing this proper in his or her entire life
  25. Designs systems that are simple and effective.
    – yes, a product project manager who is also a system architect and product designer, godlike awesome by now
  26. Can share a compelling narrative about a product: what problem it solves, for whom, how and why solving this problem matters in the first place.
    – the second real product management skill, but the talented product manager is the perfect story teller too and constantly delivers flawless elevator pitches
  27. Can build trust with clients.
    – what do we need customer support for, we have the most awesome person in the world right here, of course clients trust us
  28. Is self-sufficient and creates momentum on their own.
    – this is how awesome we’d all like to be, but are not, yet surely the talented product manager is
  29. Coachable and takes guidance.
    – an awesome personality that excels at everything but it is not tainted by success and keeps getting platitudes, obvious truths, “advice” and dated theory from coaches and mentors.

What can I say, a talented product manager is the most awesome person in the world. Damn!

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