Product Description

Product management is one of the most dynamic and exciting careers around. Yet many product managers find themselves frustrated because of the unique challenges it presents. There are many books on the mechanics and core principles of product management, such as how to gather and write requirements, build roadmaps and perform other tasks. But there is no book that tells you the rest of the story -- the strategies, tactics and techniques that will turn you into a great product manager.

'The Phenomenal Product Manager' goes beyond the basics and teaches you how to work more effectively with your teams, how to influence when you have no formal authority, how to get the most important work done in less time and how to manage and accelerate your career. Based on the author's twenty years of product management experience as well as perspectives from the world's leading product management experts, 'The Phenomenal Product Manager' is a must-read for every product manager who wants to be more successful and enjoy their job more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #178895 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 108 pages

Customer Reviews

A phenomenon...
I took delivery of The Phenomenal Product Manager, by Brian Lawley, on the strength of his excellent viral marketing and his previous work (which I have reviewed previously on a different review site). I wasn't to be disappointed.

What can I say - I really, really like this book - I would go as far as to call it an inspirational book.

You have to be a product manager, or aspire to be one, or be in some way involved with this professional discipline, in order to want to look at it; but if you do, you won't be disappointed.

Building on the success of and details within his earlier publication, "Expert Product Management", Lawley concisely and charmingly describes techniques and guidance in the realm of Product Management.

Lawley is a PM guru as head of the 280 Group, a Product Management consulting, training and services company. He knows his subject matter well, but instead of describing the role in terms of the nuts and bolts task-level, he takes a big step back and talks about the strategic value of the role, and what it takes to make a real success of the role. He rightly talks at a level that is nothing to do with the day-to-day, but more about its place in the organization, and how a truly gifted product manager can really make a difference to their stakeholders (including themselves).

As is Lawley's style (it is a style very much suited to the subject matter being presented), he keeps things simple, readable, fluid and compelling. Some of the pages turn at a fair old skip because you feel so in tune with the information being present its like an old song being played again after a long time. In fact, there are genuine spots where (I won't give the game away) you find yourself shouting back at the book, "Yes, yes!" in agreement, or where you find yourself thinking "oh yes, I remember the guy like that!"

I like some of the little nuggets of how the book is presented, not least the idea of a checklist for the big ticket items. I found Chapter 5 and 6, all about getting influence within the PM team and the wider management team both illuminating, insightful and frighteningly accurate. I even found the idea of the manifesto - and most of the words within - a little moment of inspiration.

The final section on the self-assessment is also a very, very useful perspective; we can all learn about ourselves by asking some truly testing questions. OK we Brits are always a little irked by shameless product placement and salesmanship and you get a bit of 280 Group flagwaving at the back - but this time I am going to forgive Mr. Lawley as he's earned it!

There are quite a few self-help guides out there. Characteristically, professional self-helps can lapse into sounding dry, dusty and may lose relevance as the years pass. Lawley's effort is a fresh, contemporary, insightful and actually highly enjoyable piece of prose which you will burn through in one sitting and be all the better for it.

Enjoy!

Common sense, mostly!
Not sure if the content is book-worthy. At 108 pages, it is mostly good "advice" from author's years of experiences. Write crisp emails, master Outlook, have coffee chats with important people, walk and talk like an expert - where is the meat? For the price, I definitely expected some real stuff.

A phenomenal book for product managers
The Phenomenal Product Manager could be also called, The Way of The Product Manager because of the gentle reminders this book offers to working product managers. This is a book on how product managers can successfully conduct themselves with teams, customers and most importantly upper management. There are now several good (even great) tactical guides to the role of product management, and now Brian Lawley gives a straightforward reference for those all-important soft skills not taught in school. The book leads the reader through the phases of managing themselves; managing the technical details; and managing people. I absolutely recommend this book for anyone new to product management or seeking tips on being more effective with the people in their organizations.