"I don't believe your data...convince me"

This was another challenge question posed to me on Brainmates. Thanks Steve.

I love it because it cuts right to the heart of one of the most important weapons any Product Manager can wield - influence.

First though, I'd like to touch on how to avoid this question in the first place. A good place to start is by building effective relationships. Trust is vital in building influence, and without it, you might as well not bother.

Also, never forget to pre-wire every presentation. This probably deserves a post on it's own, but where possible, you should know the outcome of any meeting before it begins. Meetings can be a horrible way to make decisions, so I prefer not to rely on them to work out the way I expect. Talk to the important stakeholders beforehand. Understand not only their position, but their emotional perspective (see below). Remember habit 5 - seek first to understand, then to be understood. Knowing what to expect will mean you have covered as many of your bases as possible before your presentation begins. Then the meeting can be about allowing powerful people to feel like they are exercising their power.

When it comes to actually answering this challenge, I believe the answer lies in feelings not facts. As any salesperson will tell you, people buy with their emotions, then use the facts to justify the way they feel. What the asker is really saying is "I don't feel good about your idea, and I want to".

Through your pre-wiring, you should have an understanding of the emotional perspective of your stakeholders, but the best place to start will be your own passion (I know, reality TV has ruined that word, hasn't it?).

It's so easy to start a project full of enthusiasm and energy, and then create a presentation that strips away all that feeling, trying to win the day with hard numbers. If the data is good, but it's not convincing, then what's probably missing is the story. Tell the story of the product, it's users, it's market, and the big piles of money everyone in the room will be sitting on if they would just agree with you. You build your influence but sharing not just your ideas, but your emotions as well.

Let me know your thoughts. And feelings.

People make products

I've been asked a question about product management tools, so I've decided to write a post on the theme "Tools don't make products, people do".

You're thinking "That's all well and good for sheep, but what are we to do?"

 

I think this is incredibly useful and practical. I'm techy, so I have a natural inclination to think about systems. Particularly if they're shiny. And every time I do, I end up coming back to this. To explain how I make use of this insight, first I'd like to talk about power. Forget any negative connotations. I just mean the ability to affect outcomes. Power can come from:

Your role: In a traditional org chart, this can dominate, but as a product manager there is a very good chance you'll have no authority over team members you will need to rely on every day.

Your skills: As someone with a technical background, I often find this useful for breaking the ice with developers, but the chances are, everyone will have more skills in their chosen speciality than you. For me, my skills are the lever, but I need a fulcrum.

Your relationships: This is the gold, but it's not a quick win. There's no short cut. Relationships can only be built through constant and consistent communication. And this is fulcrum which gives my skills the leverage they need.

Here's an example. An update has been delivered, but there's a problem, and in order to honour a commitment, you need to ask a team to work back. They might do it because you have the authority to make them. They probably won't do it because they respect your skills. But they will stay, and give their best, if they trust that you know what you are asking them to sacrifice. Do you the names of the kids they will not be tucking in tonight, because they are writing code?

From my own experience, every time a product under delivers, it is never a tool that is to blame, but a relationship that has misfired.

Please share your thoughts.