Jamil Valliani

A great product manager starts not by convincing people of value, but by listening and exploring problems faced by their customers and team members.  So, start with understanding what challenges your partners are facing - they can range from engineering-specific issues to business performance. Pick a few of these problems that seem approachable and explore them deeply, partnering closely with the people on the team responsible for them.  Then deliver an improvement. It does not have to be a comp ...Read More

Using a clear, published framework that aligns to the organizations broader goals or strategy is important to prioritizing any set of work. Without this, it will be difficult to build confidence with your team that decisions will hold up and they won’t have the context required to make sound decisions in their execution of the tasks they are assigned.   A prioritization framework doesn’t need to be complicated - in fact its often better if its so simple that it can be committed to memory. In man ...Read More

The “soft skills” are often what separate the good from great product managers. In particular: Curiosity - An insatiable curiosity about your customers, partners, fellow team members, technology and just about anything that comes your way helps add arrows in your quiver you can use when tackling the wide range of daily challenges product manager takes on. Story Telling - Central to a product manager’s success is the ability to influence key parties to deliver an outcome. Whether its influencing ...Read More

Setting a fast-paced rhythm and providing predictable touch points are the two practices that a product manager can heavily influence that can impact team velocity.  These two concepts are related: a rhythm gives teams in your organization a common pattern they can align to. Everyone knowing that the team operates on sprints of the same length, with a common calendar, how decisions are made and communicated in a common way, a clear way drivers, approvers, and contributors are determined and docu ...Read More

I find that there are 3 basic traits that a team looks for a product manager to provide in any project: Create Clarity - Does the product manager have the ability to disentangle the many signals a team may be sorting through and help everyone get aligned on a plan or point of view? Generate Energy - Can the product manager effectively create momentum the team needs to get a project done? In early career stages, this is often the daily mechanics like running the stand-ups, prioritizing the bugs i ...Read More