Ten Years of How To Be a Good Product Manager

Ten Year Anniversary!
On December 4, 2006, I published my first post on this blog, where I wrote, “If you want to be a good product manager, share your knowledge. Realize that you have lessons to share but even more to learn. Know that you improve your own skills and expertise when you teach others. … So that’s why I’m starting this blog — to share what I’ve learned, to help me, to help you, and to maybe in some small way help everyone. ”

That’s certainly what I’ve tried to do here, on Twitter (as @jefflash), other places where I’ve written, given presentations and been interviewed, and, for the past four years, in my role at SiriusDecisions providing help and guidance to b-to-b product management leaders and their teams.

Looking back over the past ten years, I’m gratified to see that I’ve been able to follow through on that early vision (and quite frankly pretty surprised at how accurately, too). I wasn’t really sure where the blog would go from that first post, and I don’t think 10 years ago I could have predicted most of what’s happened since then.

One of the best things that’s come out of this blog is getting to hear from people who have benefited from this blog along the way. I’ve heard from people who’ve realized they wanted to go into product management in part by reading this blog. I’ve heard from people who’ve told me that this blog helped them get their first product management job (or a new product management job). I’ve heard from people who’ve sent a link to their boss or coworker because it did a great job articulating a point they were trying to get across or because it highlighted something they hadn’t ever thought of before. I’ve heard from people who took my ideas and built on them or connected my ideas to their own related ideas. I’ve heard from people who disagree with me, and they presented arguments that made me rethink (and even change) some of my positions. I’ve heard from people who translated my posts into other languages, allowing my words to reach whole new audiences. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of readers and other bloggers in person, and I can’t begin to quantify the value of the personal and professional connections I’ve made along the way.

The anniversary date snuck up on me, so I didn’t have a ton of time to put my thoughts together, but it seemed appropriate to share some high-level “numbers” as I start the second decade here:

  • Almost 700,000+ unique visitors
  • Nearly 850,000 sessions
  • Over 1.5 million pages viewed
  • 200+ posts
  • 900+ comments
  • 1 “spinoff” site: Ask A Good Product Manager (2008-2012)
  • 1 design (in need of an upgrade/overhaul, I know)

It’s amazing to think about how much has changed since this blog started in 2006 — on the web, of course, but also for me personally and professionally. I would be remiss if I didn’t say a big THANK YOU to everyone who’s been part of this journey along the way — readers, commenters, collaborators, colleagues, family, and friends. Without you, I never would have made it to 2016. I’m not sure what things will be like in 2026, but I’m looking forward to the next 10 years, and I’m glad you’re here to continue the journey with me.

Other things I’ve been working on
With the end of 2016 in sight, things aren’t slowing down at all. Here’s a few other things I’ve been working on:

  • I’ll be in San Francisco this Friday, December 9 to present a keynote on “Sorting out Product Marketing and Product Management” at the Product Marketing Community conference. Tickets are still available; use the discount code JEFFVIP (because if you’re reading this, you’re a VIP!) for $100 off.
  • I wrote a post for the SiriusDecisions Marketplace blog on “Going Agile” In Marketing – How Is It Different? — an interesting topic for me since my experience with clients who are implementing agile as a product development process has led to many conversations with companies looking to implement agile within marketing.

What’s Hot on Twitter
Here are a few of my tweets that have generated the most interest recently; to get these in real-time, join the 7400+ others who follow me at @jefflash:

2 thoughts on “Ten Years of How To Be a Good Product Manager

  1. Hi Jeff! Thanks a lot for your posts and for sharing everything you learn with us. As a rookie Product Manager, I find your posts very helpful in doing my work better and getting better at product management.

    Here is to the next 10 years of GoodProductManager.com! =).
    Cheers,
    Sherzod

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