Why “CEO of the Product” Is So Last Year – Podcast Episode #3

How do you describe product management? Do you find yourself saying “I’m the CEO of the product?” Do you think anyone understands what you mean when you say that?

This week’s podcast talks about a better way to answer that question, one that puts the fundamental job of product management – solving problems for people who will pay for the solutions – front and center.

Missing from the podcast is this image (for obvious reasons):

The Product Management Framework

At the end of the podcast I mention three things you can do immediately to start putting this information to use:

1. Clearly articulate the problem your product is solving for your customer, and write that down so it becomes a corporate asset
2. Make sure you validate that this really is a problem that customers in the market will pay for a solution for
3. Start explaining how your product is better than its competitors at solving that problem – which is why customers should buy yours rather than theirs

I hope this framework will be helpful for you in thinking about what you do as a product manager. Let me know in the comments if you have additional thoughts or questions. You can subscribe the podcast via this feed, or via iTunes.

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