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Overcoming the 20% feature usage challenge

Product Management

Three product leaders to learn from at #mtpcon inside Pendomonium

I've been in the digital industry for over 10 years and have worked across small and large charities, as well as my own freelance projects. I am now Director of Digital at the sector leading creative agency William Joseph. 

Having been at Cancer Research UK for the last four years, I have been able to work on high volume, high profile campaigns such as Race for Life, Dryathlon and the much-quoted #nomakeupselfie. 

In that time I helped drive forward the charity’s digital product and marketing capabilities to be some of the most respected and successful in the sector. 

I'm always excited to work with other organisations, share expertise and swap cat gifs. Give me a shout!

James Gadsby Peet

<p>In this keynote from <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/mtpcon/london/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">#mtpcon London</a>, VP Product Management at <a href="https://www.procore.com/en-gb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Procore Technologies</a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezinne/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ezinne Udezue</a> explains that it&#8217;s vital for product managers to create the right conditions for their teams to be successful. She examines the ways in which this can be achieved.</p>
<h4>Key Points</h4>
<ul>
<li><i>Product managers must create the conditions for their teams to be successful</i></li>
<li><span style="font-style: italic;">We need to value people, relentlessly focus on impact and develop continuous empathy for our customers by respecting the craft of product management</span></li>
</ul>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-18305 size-full" src="//wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London.jpg" alt="Mind the Product London 2019" width="799" height="533" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London.jpg 799w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London-300x200.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" />Ezinne begins her talk by saying that the product manager&#8217;s job is to &#8220;create the right conditions for the team to solve the right customer problem with the right solution, delivered at the right time to drive the right business value&#8221;.</p>
<p>Many break this down into six core competencies:</p>
<ol>
<li>Strategic thinking</li>
<li>Communication</li>
<li>Collaboration</li>
<li>Details and quality</li>
<li>User empathy and science</li>
<li>Management</li>
</ol>
<p>But what does it take to get to that next level of competence?</p>
<h2>Invest in Understanding People</h2>
<p>First, Ezinne highlights the importance of taking time to find out more about the people who you work with. The better you understand people, she explains, the more you can empathise, trust, and work with them. This has been the core approach which has moved product development forward &#8211; bringing <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/category/user-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UX</a>, product and engineering together. Next comes greater perspectives into the design processes &#8211; including disciplines such as marketing, QA or Customer success teams.</p>
<h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18307" src="//wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London-2019..jpg" alt="Ezinne Udezue speaking at mtpcon London 2019." width="799" height="534" /></h2>
<h2>Relentlessly Focus on Impact</h2>
<p>We all know that outcomes are better than outputs. But impacts should be prioritised above all else. These are the long term, often indirect effects of your outcomes. They are hard to measure &#8211; but they are what we hope for or intend our efforts to accomplish. To focus on impact, we have to keep asking if there was a better or quicker way to achieve the same goal.</p>
<p>In the end, we have to ask if it was all worth it. Your teams should be able to illustrate the return on investment that they are responsible for. If you don’t, you’ll always be seen as a cost centre rather than an asset for the business to leverage to drive impact.</p>
<h2>Develop Empathy for Your Customers</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/why-listening-is-crucial-to-product-and-how-to-do-it-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listening</a> is not empathy, says Ezinne. She says that to be truly empathetic, you have to be able to imagine what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes. The best way to do this is to experience their day-to-day alongside them.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18306" src="//wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London-2019.jpg" alt="Ezinne Udezue speaking at mtpcon London 2019" width="799" height="534" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London-2019.jpg 799w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London-2019-300x201.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ezinne-Udezue-speaking-at-mtpcon-London-2019-768x513.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" />Users often don’t talk about what they do before and after they use your product. You have to explore with them the full picture of what they&#8217;re trying to achieve. There are many different data points to help you understand this &#8211; and more importantly get ahead of what people need now, to see what they will want in the future.</p>
<p>In addition, you need to <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/want-to-be-a-more-effective-product-manager-interview-your-customers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">speak to people who aren’t yet your customers</a>. People you couldn’t recruit are an incredible source of information for what your next set of product features could and should be.</p>
<h2>Curate Frameworks and Systems for the Craft</h2>
<p>Finally, Ezinne tells us that there are lots of different tools at our disposal as product managers. We need to take an interest in them, respect the craft and studiously decide which ones to use and which to ignore. Read the books, but go ahead and use the tools and practice.</p>
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core/freeform

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Mastering perspective – zoom in, zoom out as a product leader by Navya Rehani Gupta

Modern-day leadership by Janice Fraser

Master the art of leading through influence by Shyvee Shi

Is your innovation project on track? by Tendayi Viki

Finding your frosting as a product leader by Jeff Birkeland

Learnings from London: The secret sauce to hiring great product people by Kate Leto

Helping Teams to be Successful by Ezinne Udezue

James Gadsby Peet