The document discusses how to deal with ambiguity as a product manager. It outlines the core responsibilities of a PM as defining what to build, defining success, and driving clarity and consensus. When facing ambiguity, a PM should tell a compelling product story focused on customers, ask clarifying questions, and simplify communication and decision making. A PM should also identify and manage stakeholders by bringing them into the process, building trust through empathy and accountability, and owning mistakes. The overall message is that focusing on customers and clarity will help PMs navigate ambiguity.

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How to Deal with Ambiguous
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6. How to deal with ambiguity as a
Product Manager
Manisha Sharma
Disclaimer: The content in this presentation is solely for educational purposes and does not include any specific facts of products or
companies the presenter worked for. The opinions expressed in this presentation are solely those of the presenter based on personal
PM experience.

7. Agenda
● Core responsibilities of a Product Manager
● Key traits of a successful Product Manager
● Dealing with ambiguity
● Driving Clarity and Consensus
● Parting Thoughts

8. Core responsibilities of a Product Manager

9. Core responsibilities
of a Product
Manager
● Define what to build
● Define success
● Drive clarity and consensus
while building the product

10. Key traits of successful Product managers

11. Dealing with Ambiguity
Think Big
Communication
Focus on the customer
Influence without authority

12. Dealing with Ambiguity

13. Who is going to work on this?
What are we building?
Why do need this?
Are we sure we need this?
But we already started
building product X which is
quite similar?
So how does this interact
with feature X?
Haven’t we already tried
this before?
How do we know this is the
right solution?
What will happen to the
other project we were
working on?
Who approved this?
When are we launching this?

14. Driving Clarity and Consensus

15. #1 Tell your product story

16. How can you tell a
compelling story?
Write down your narrative!
1. Always start with the customer!
2. Share it with key stakeholders: Make it a
painkiller vs a vitamin.
3. Iterate - it does take time!
Example: Customers are not able to watch their favorite
shows using our streaming service easily. The user
experience for our recommendations is not optimal. Our
recommendation engine is completely decoupled from the
past watch history of a user. On an average, a customer
spends 5-8 minutes to search for something to watch
compared to 2-4 minutes on other platforms. The drop off
rate after first week for new customers is X compared to
(benchmarks). We have also received customer feedback
about poor recommendations about what to watch.
Therefore, we propose to build XYZ...
Humans are storytellers and love having
narratives.

17. Ask Questions to
drive clarity
1. Don’t be afraid to ask the
obvious questions
2. Be clear on what you are
building and why
3. How will you measure success. :
#Align your product goals with
org/company goals.“Vague understanding of your
product mission will produce vague
results”

18. #2 Simplify#2 Simplify

19. Simplify Simplify
Simplify!
1. Simplify your Story
2. Simplify your Communication
3. Simplify your Decision Making

20. Simplify Your Story
1. Always start with the customer.
2. Have clarity on Northstar.
3. Define what success looks like.
Tip: Keep your narrative simple and
avoid using jargon, buzz-words.

21. Simplify
Communication
1. Know your audience: Teams and
orgs may have specific styles.
2. Know when to zoom-in and
zoom-out (example: your design
and engineering leads may care
about more details than your
VP).
3. Don’t attempt to answer all the
questions rather get the right
person for each question.

22. Simplify decision
making
When your team gets stuck on a
decision
1. Is this a one way door?
2. Can you fail fast and learn?
3. Opinions vs Facts: Is there data
or evidence to back a certain
direction or are we debating
upon feelings and opinions?

23. #3 Manage your Stakeholders

24. Identify your key
stakeholders
1. Who are the right people to
partner with and who will be
affected/impacted with your
product. Overall, who would care
if you build this product.
2. Start with a simple introductory
meeting.
3. Discuss your goals.

25. Bring them along
for the journey!
1. Co-create ideas and narrative
with your stakeholders.
2. Make them part of your plan and
hold them accountable for their
work.
3. Understand their constraints and
establish mutual goals.

26. Earn trust and build
relationships
1. Influence without authority:
“Keep the customer focus”.
2. Be empathetic towards people.
3. Own your mistakes: Be vocally
self-critical.

27. Parting Thoughts

28. Things to remember
1. Deciding to not go after a
product idea is an equally
important decision.
2. Keep your focus on customer
and clarity: It is okay to be
misunderstood a few times.
3. Journey is more fun than the
destination: Enjoy the ride!

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