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- 3 High-Leverage Career Frameworks for PMs
3 High-Leverage Career Frameworks
Hello Product Leaders!
You're on your career journey, and it feels like a crazy maze. Been there, done that. I want to share some golden nuggets today – three high-leverage career frameworks that changed my game.
Today at a Glance
🤝 A Message from Ignition
Product Teams, Ditch the Spreadsheet Hellfire!
Launch products you love (and your users will too). Ignition's got your back with:
AI-powered roadmaps: Say goodbye to messy spreadsheets. Build data-driven roadmaps in minutes.
Insights at your fingertips: Uncover what users really want with automated customer & competitor intel.
Seamless handoffs: Bridge the gap between Product & GTM teams. Launch like a dream team.
P.S. Full Ignition tool review here! Learn like Obi-Wan, Launch like Luke.
In Case You Missed Them
👉️ Elevate Your PM Communication Game in 5 min (Link)
👉️ Build my Executive Presence as a Product Manager (Link)
👉️ 7 Hard Principles for Future Product Directors (Link)
The Stability-Growth Paradox
Why are we stuck in our product career path?
Seeking stability in our careers feels safe and secure, but too much stability can hold us back from growing.
On the flip side, aiming for growth often involves taking risks and stepping out of our comfort zones, which can feel unsettling but this is the ONLY way!
Finding the right balance between stability and growth is like walking a tightrope – it's about staying grounded while reaching for new heights in our careers.
Below are three frameworks that will help you get to leadership much faster!
1. Hard and Scary Things First
That sounds simple but hard to apply.
Imagine your week as a packed schedule – sprint meetings, design tasks, release deadlines. The trick is to be realistic about time and avoid overcommitting.
I tried this cool exercise from Sam Corus and Tim Ferris. List all your to-dos for the week, stack them up, and schedule them realistically like a sprint backlog. Then cut it in half.
Make sure to work on the hard stuff, those are usually the ones we fear and procrastinate on.
Ever heard of the Eisenhower Matrix? It's a superhero tool for decision-making. It helps you figure out what's urgent and important.
Perfect for those aiming for an increased impact and promotion!
Focus on what really matters based on your product North Stars goals and team KPIs.
Source: PB
2. Think in asymmetric bets
Thinking in asymmetric bets is all about prioritizing tasks where the rewards outweigh the risks big time. First coined in the financial world, this concept has spread across all areas of life.
Here’s a personal experience that transformed my career.
Realizing my communication skills needed work (Ok..quite poor), I took a bold step a few years back.
I switched gears to focus more on dealing with customers and mastering sales techniques. Yep, I left my comfy Product role to become a solution engineer. Crazy, right?
But I figured, if it didn't pan out, I could always go back to what I was good at as I was a high performer. Worst case, I learned new skills.
Despite the fear of messing up (ie I'd never dealt with clients before), I pushed through. And guess what? I got really good at positioning, managing stakeholders, convincing people, and handling tough situations.
Those three years as a principal solution engineer opened doors I never imagined.
Soon after, I was brought back to Product as a Product Director, leading our biggest product market. So yeah, taking that risk paid off big time.
It just shows, that optimizing for growth and learning, even if you're lacking in some areas (like my communication skills), is often a good asymmetric bet that can lead to big outcomes.
3. Over-communication is a superpower
Here you go, the most critical PM skills, ‘Communication’ which is our secret sauce for highly leveraged success.