Product managers are under pressure to drive results, but cannot wield direct power or authority to achieve their objectives. If you don't know how to influence people at all levels of the organization, how will you create the best possible product? In this talk, Ken Sandy shares ten techniques from The Influential Product Manager that product managers can immediately apply at each stage of the product life cycle to achieve the best outcome for the customer and their organization.

1. T O N I G H T ’ S S P E A K E R
Ken Sandy

3. What is influence?
How do you influence
your organization?

5. 10 STEPS
TO LEADING
THROUGH
INFLUENCE

6. 1. Own the Ideas
“Build the right product” not “Build the product right”.
Encourage and embrace ideas from everywhere
Relentlessly collect data and challenge assumptions
Ruthlessly prioritize and evangelize the best ideas

8. 2. Build Relationships Before You Need Them
Trust is frequency of quality interaction plus
follow-through… minus self-interest.
Identify stakeholders. Get out and talk to them.
Seek buy-in and practice a no-surprises policy
Come with recommendations and options

9. 3. Focus on the Problem, not the Solution
Don’t rush into defining solutions –
you don’t understand the problem well enough yet.
Define and validate from your customers’ viewpoint
Set hypotheses and seek to test possible solutions
Context is clarity; it motivates and empowers teams

11. 4. Collaborate to Set Priorities
Prioritization: the processes is the easy bit;
the people are the hard bit.
Saying “no” is unpleasant – but “yes” can be worse
Align on user and business goals/criteria first
Use available best-data, and revisit periodically

13. 5. Understand Customers, First-hand
Don’t outsource the most important part of your
role.
Build empathy and discover new opportunities
Frequent, informal and lightweight engagement
Partner with research and insight teams

14. 6. Context over PRDs
Much upfront requirements documentation goes
unread & holds little resemblance to what’s delivered.
Lightweight goal-driven, hypothesis-led specifications
Collaborate on solutions – allow them to emerge
Not an excuse to abandon process & documentation

15. 7. Partner with Engineering
Engineering Doesn’t Work For You.
Focus on why – encourage ownership of what & how
Involve Engineering early during discovery
Hold kick-offs to share context and retrospectives to
improve process and ways of working

16. 8. Proactively, Decisively Manage Trade-offs
Be ready to make tough calls early and throughout
execution to keep the team on-track.
No nice-to-haves – do the hard work to scope tightly
Sensitively navigate estimation and date-setting
Respect quality lest you set off a techdebt
timebomb

17. 9. Own Outcomes, Not Projects
A product release is not the finish-line,
it’s the start of the marathon.
Communicate and engage across stakeholder group
Disciplined management of post-launch issues
Iterate and optimize until delivery of outcomes

18. 10. Measure What Matters
Vanity metrics are distractions, irrelevant to your
product – and can mask severe fundamental issues.
What demonstrates customers value your product?
Viability: Customer-lifetime value > Revenue
Your responsibility to define, gather, analyze,
report

19. 10 STEPS
TO LEADING
THROUGH
INFLUENCE
1. Own the Ideas
2. Build Relationships Before You Need Them
3. Focus on the Problem, not the Solution
4. Collaborate to Set Priorities
5. Understand Customers, First-hand
6. Context over PRDs
7. Partner with Engineering
8. Proactively, Decisively Manage Trade-offs
9. Own Outcomes, Not Projects
10. Measure What Matters

20. linkedin/in/kensandy
kenjsandy@gmail.com
influentialpm.com
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