3 Essential Skills Managers need to Succeed
Three essentials for every product manager, project manager, and people manager is to have business knowledge. What does every manager need to know? Read on.
The stuff they don’t teach in school (but you should know)
1. Choose the right Project Processes
All project managers know they need processes to get the job done. But savvy managers take a look at the needs of the project, the company, and the product they are building and ask:
What is the best fit for the situation?
What level of detail or complexity is required to meet the quality objectives?
Does my team know this process or tool, or is training required?
Have I socialized our process choices with the stakeholders to ensure effective and efficient steering meetings and stage gate sign-offs?
How do my processes support the communication and marketing of my project?
You choose a simplified process using word and excel documents. Or you may opt for the latest online collaborative technology. Understanding the processes you need (and what you don’t need) will be key to your success.
Sometimes Project Managers need the courage to face the stakeholders or clients and state that the process is not fit-for-purpose. While these moments can be challenging, addressing this point at the start of the project will likely lead to less stress, cost, rework, and a better outcome for the project and the product.
If you are looking for a simple process to get started check out this article with a free downloadable Project Bundle. Looking for software for your project? Check out this video.
2. Be Smart about Office Politics
While most of us don't like the thought of office politics, practical project managers know that behind stakeholder management are the projects, departments, and managers who can help or hurt your project. Managers who take time to get to know the political landscape will be prepared by knowing how to manage those moments when office politics get in the way of your project. Politics at the office or client can be leveraged to help you get what you want. Managers may feel doing a good job and keeping their heads down is the way to go. And that may work for some situations.
But getting caught out without strong backing by powerful people can leave you in the cold when a political play puts you, your team, or your project at risk. So keep your head up, not down, look around you, and figure out:
Who are the project or departments decision-makers you need to know?
Which key stakeholders do you need to cultivate a professional relationship with?
Are you controlling the messages about your project?
How are you countering negative messages?
Are you ready for an elevator pitch at any time? Keep a project dashboard on your phone to show your product benefits and progress.
Do you know your external project dependencies?
Is your project in the competition for funding or resources with another project?
Knowing how to market your project to executives is important—so is understanding how executives expect to be updated. Go to lunch, and walk around. Meet people. Working from your desk daily may make you an effective manager, but it does not help your leadership connections and, therefore, capabilities.
Have the courage to be real and a truth-teller, but use insights and tact. It is important to know how to communicate to achieve your goals. Storytelling is a great way to do this since it allows your audience, whoever you are speaking with, to be the focus or hero of your story. It also ensures your message is clear: start with a challenge and the action and end with a clear solution and result that meets the listener's goals. Learn how to be brief but engaging. You can learn how to map out a story for business in my video and free downloadable guide.
3. Understand the Business
Your project's goal is not stand-alone. It exists within the larger business context. While you may know the project budget, do you know the expected ROI (in other words, the profit or cost reductions expected in return for the cost of your project).
Do you know your project has a time-to-market goal? If your project is producing a product that will be sold at year's end, you need to know. If your project is delayed, that can mean a missed market opportunity. This may cause not only the end of your project but the end of the business.
Understand your customer base. Who does your product serve? Internal or external customers. If external, is this a growth play for new customers or working to retain an existing base? Is your project part of an innovation initiative to keep your company or client relevant in the marketplace? Do you understand and know the customers - does your team?
What is the project going to do for the company?
Increase profitability
Reduce costs
Improve Quality
Retain market share
Increase Client retention and satisfaction
If you don't know the answer to the above points, do some research and find out. Ask the sponsor and project owner their views. Read the Project Charter and Business Case. Make notes to ensure you have the correct facts at your fingertips. If it is important and public information, share it with the team. Ensure they understand their part in the outcome's success, not just the project.
In addition, as a Project Manager, you have a unique role within your company. You are working to create value for your business or client (or both). And as a business leader, you should know a few more things:
What is your company's projected profit or loss for the coming quarter and year?
How do your project and other work contribute to those projections?
Do you understand how the company makes money - it may be different from what you think (is selling something or generating cash or revenue from an unexpected source (see the Starbucks story in the box below).
What contracts and suppliers are required for your project? Have you read the agreements, and are you actively managing the relationships? If you want to know more, go to this link to read up and download the guide to get started. When you are ready to take the next step, check this link to get start activelymanaging your supplier governance.
Starbuck’s Surprising Money Spinner
They may sell coffee, but gift cards are yummier. Cards provide cash (essentially a no interest loan) for Starbucks to invest. Unlike food and beverages, prepaid cards cost little in terms of assets, staff, or risk. Gift cards are purchased in advance and then used later. Sometimes much later and sometimes never. Once purchased, the funds are guaranteed to be used at a Starbucks, so it is a win-win for the company. The impact is $1.6 billion in unredeemed gift card sales, representing almost 10% of their 2023 gross profit.
It pays to learn the language of business. This will help you discuss your project and work in the context of business outcomes. If your company is public, learn to read an annual report, including the notes in the back. If you want me to create a blog on how to do this, please let me know in the comments below.
If your company is not public, what metrics are used to run the business? These are not generally shared outside of the company, but the organization will expect managers to know and understand how their work plays a role in the company's overall success.
Being more savvy about the points above will help you be ready for promotion. Here are some actions you can take to educate and prepare yourself:
Start tracking your project's actual costs against the projected business case baseline.
Know what your project assets and liabilities are and how they impact the cost of your project.
Track project changes against the value proposition for those improvements. Understand where your company sits within the market and the competition.
Watch the earnings report and analyst conversations each quarter to understand how your company is perceived in the marketplace.
Set Google alerts for the stock value of your company and your competition.
Learn who your key clients and customers are and what impacts their business.
Becoming a leader of people, products, or projects has challenges, be ready by growing these essential skills for success.
