As with any vocation, there are many “tricks of the trade” that on develops as a Product Manager over time. Most of these tricks are pretty basic, and seem entirely too obvious on reflection, but before you come to the realization that they’re important, they elude you. One of the common problems that we run into as Product Managers is that our day-to-day jobs are so results-oriented and interrupt-driven that we often fail to take that very important time to reflect on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we’re doing it.
The thing is, that kind of introspection and reflection really doesn’t take a whole lot of time or effort. In fact, it’s something that every Product Manager should do as a brief exercise either before they start their day, when/if they’re taking a break for lunch, or when you’re just about to pack everything up and head home at the end of the day (or even on your commute in to or away from work!). Call it meditation, call it preparation, call it whatever you’d like, but every PM worth their salt should be asking themselves these three questions every single day!