It started on a weekend. I suddenly started worrying about a new feature we were beginning to work on Monday.

All sorts of questions started to emerge. Did enough customers need this feature to justify building it? Had we understood the requirements enough? Did we have the right support from other teams? What if we were going to do a lot of work that would be worth nothing? What if?

I wish this story were atypical. I wish that I was hit with doubt and second-guessing myself less often.

Or do I?

Doubt serves like a set of brakes. They help you from running off the road, but in excess, they can slow you down tremendously.

So seek not to eliminate doubt but to optimize it.

There are five things you must do to optimize doubt:

1. Recognize when your sense of uncertainty causes you not to take shots that can change your life
2. Have empathy for yourself when you doubt yourself
3. Learn to step into roles
4. Own your successes
5. Build your support systems

Recognize when doubt causes you to miss...

Learn to Successfully Design Your Habits Easily

Previously, I’ve talked about building habits using pure willpower and the danger of anchoring on this alone to develop new habits.  Today is about the different ways with which you can start building really awesome habits. These tips are based on two books that truly inspired me: The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits.

First off, understand that your habits link to your identity.  How you see yourself will be reinforced by the habits that you adopt.  Full disclosure, I have for myself 8 statements that I read each morning in which I anchor my identity. The more reinforced the identity gets, the more improvement you will see over time.  This is fundamental in establishing habits.  

Make them obvious.  Implementation intention is the key here.  Identify a regular time, a place or a situation when you will do the new habits.  The easiest way is to tie a new habit with an...

That One Skill Every Product Manager Should Have

We are the voice of the customer and we cannot play this role unless we understand the customer. The most vital skill at play here is our listening skills. Engaging our customers, our teammates and anyone we are talking for any purpose cannot happen unless you get deeper in to the conversation.

I am going to share with you the framework I use to listen better and have those much needed deeper conversations so I can get the information that people don’t normally share.

I call this framework SOAR.

SOAR  will help you start to get better, and start to see that momentum where you’re building up your skills as a product manager.

Full Transcript

Hey this is Shobhit, founder of International Product Manager and today we are going to talk about how do you listen in a way, how do you engage your customer, your teammate, anyone who you’re talking to in a way such that you get more information, you get deeper into...

How do you focus even when distractions show up?

1. Realize that it's not just the pull of distractions that causes you to move towards them, but its that the thing you are trying to work on is uncomfortable. That discomfort pushed you towards the distractions. Next time, observe and pay attention to these feelings.
2. Note the distraction. Carry small sticky notes with you where you can note these distractions and come back to them later. Doing this activity enables your mind to compartmentalize these distractions
3. Use curiosity. Pay more attention to that particular thing what you are working on. Try to find something unique you have not noticed before and get curious about your work. That will enable you to get deeper into the job you are doing and help you keep away from distractions.

I encourage you to use these techniques in conjunction. I am confident that within one week, you can master them and start to see significant improvements in your ability to focus.

Recommended...

The Mom Test by is one of the best books I have read about customer interviews.

If you are a Product Manager or a UX designer or researcher, and you haven’t read it…..please just go and read it.

I just hope some of the nuggets I share here (with my own commentary) help convince you. Seriously its a short read, costs 10 bucks on Kindle and just so worth it.

Here are my main learnings from the book

1. Go into customer interviews with the right mindset
2. Talk about their life instead of your idea
3. Ask terrifying questions
4. Don’t assume that the problem space matters to them
5. Get commitment. Ignore compliments
6. Refine your customer segment until you get consistent problems and goals
7. Get clever on finding conversations

Go into customer interviews with the right mindset

“Deciding what to build is your job.……You aren’t allowed to tell them what their problem is, and in return, they aren’t allowed...

Summary

What’s your energy level as a product manager? 

When you go day to day, come into work, are you in to it?  Are you excited? Do you bring this high energy level or the appropriate energy level to your team, to the work that you do?  Are you intense in every activity that you do? 

Those things matter a lot, they can literally change how much you get done in a day, how excited your team feels. 

Let’s look at six different kinds of energy levels that you must demonstrate in order to make sure you're living up to your potential as a product manager. 

The first energy level is you need to be positive, energetic, give them a sense of an epic win possible and that the product will do well.  Align the team behind achieving the best possible thing for your product, for your customers.   

Second you need to vary your communication level.  You as a product manager must work on not just being at a high...