I like to call low-level product management managing chaos and uncertainty at the same time. The only way to solve it is to use rules to solve. I'll discuss how to do this in subsequent chapters, but keep in mind that it's hard to follow the rules when you're being pulled in email list all possible directions.
A typical day for a product manager can be chaotic, forcing us to start work before the rest of the team and wrap up after most people’s work is done. If you don't have the right tools, or even the right framework, to deal with this mess, you're likely to drift along for nothing.
When I started product management, I had no product manager above me to guide me, I was at the mercy of my stakeholders and development team.
If none of them force me into meetings or make demands on me, I can focus on my work. My previous work hours started at 6am and ended at 8pm. Chaos is unpredictable, and the challenges are enormous.
The biggest mistake I make is letting other people control my time. This can happen anytime when you don't value your time. Learning to say "no" is the hardest part. You see, it's not the meeting or discussion that "kills" you, it's the situation switch. Constantly switching contexts consumes more energy than the content of the meeting/discussion itself.
That's what most product managers miss - controlling your time. Plan your day before anyone else asks. Learn to say "no" (more on that later).ur "always need to get it right" gets in the way of getting us in the right direction. Getting it right doesn't mean we're right. "Correct" means that you made the correct decision based on all the available information at the time. Verification of correctness only happens after the fact.
6. Build understanding through social media
You may have read the motto of product managers on Twitter. These well-crafted sets of information, while useful, often don't paint the right product management scenario (I'm not saying they're wrong), they're intended to be concise, and they're mostly relevant to the project at hand.
Don't expect to be enlightened by those well-crafted quotes and aphorisms written in the first few years of product management. If you see someone doing this, chances are they are standing on the shoulders of giants.
It is detrimental to build an understanding of the product stewardship function from these famous aphorisms alone.
So, how can you get better at product management?