What Running taught me about Product Management
A short story
This week I am taking a slightly different direction with my newsletter, and I want to talk about how my hobby has made me better at my job. Or so I think, ha!
Next Sunday, I am running my first-ever marathon - the Edinburgh Marathon. As my training slowed down, I had the opportunity to reflect on the last 18 months since I started running, and I realised, I brought some parts of my training into my role as a Product Manager.
Let me start by saying I wasn't by any means a runner. I remember vividly my first time running in 2021 and how I literally started crying after my first 600 m. I was ready to say NO WAY IN HELL and go back home. But something happened during that 600 m that usually doesn't happen to me: I was able to switch off my brain entirely and focus just on the effort. I fell in love with running there and then.
For many folks I know is playing music, painting, knitting, building legos, cooking, etc. For me, it's running!
So, here is what this sport has taught me about Product Management:
Iterative Improvements
Eighteen months ago, when I started this, my goal was to run 5k and still be able to breathe afterward. Later, 5k turned into 8k, which turned into 10k, which turned into 12k, and finally, me running a half marathon in October last year and now looking forward to a full marathon.
I didn't improve and increased my distance overnight but week by week.
I also started paying attention to other factors that impact my running, like sleep, diet, and listening to my body. I improved every element that I felt had an impact on my performance.
My roadmap from 0 to 26.2 miles wasn't linear, but I improved with every iteration of my running and every starting line. I learned something new about myself every time I ran.
Pick up any valuable Product Management book, and you will usually find a significant emphasis on the iterative process. This is great, but I believe iteration's true essence lies in improving the product.
Each release is an opportunity to incorporate user feedback, identify pain points, and enhance functionality. Unfortunately, I can name several products that have gone from great to bad to worse. It's easy for Product Managers to iterate just for the sake of iterating or to deliver something rather than delivering value to the end user.
I am now asking myself constantly at work and when I run - what am I improving? And does this (whatever this may be) have an actual impact on the long-term goal?
Building resilience and consistency
Two weeks ago, I was on one of my long runs, 27k, to be more precise. At 24k, my left leg decided it had enough and said see you later - it was entirely out of my long run. Naturally, this impacted my form, which broke completely because I started panicking, so I stopped. 3k away from my finish line. I was so sad, angry with myself, and frustrated.
Once my internal tantrum finished, I thought about everything that I had improved in the last 18 months and that it required dedication and showing up, especially during challenging moments. So the next day, I was back at the starting line for my recovery run.
Similarly, product management often involves facing obstacles and setbacks. For example, you may discover dependencies late, you can't convince senior stakeholders that their idea is terrible, or you need more data to validate your assumption. You will fail at one point in your PM career; if you don't fail, you aren't taking enough risks. This sounds like a fortune cookie quote, but it's true.
The ability to stay resilient as a PM, adapt to changes, and keep pushing forward is essential not only to be successful in the role but also to enjoy the role because there will be lots of times when things get complicated or messy.
If I was to pick one area of PM'ing that I have improved the most through running long distance and races, it is this - the ability to stay resilient.
Goal setting
As Nike Global Head Coach,
says:“This is about running, and this isn't about running."
Setting goals is sometimes crucial when running, especially when training for a race. Remember at the beginning of this story; I told you how my first ever running goal was to run 5k and be able to breathe afterward? That goal kept me focused, and I enjoyed achieving that because I wasn't training for anything in particular.
My next goal was to increase my running by 10% every week. I was extremely specific about my goal, which helped me!
Then I started training for races, and my goal settings became broader and centered around my training plan: complete speed runs, increase speed runs, do a hill run, improve my pace, etc.
Similarly, defining clear and measurable goals in product management helps guide your team and align efforts toward a common objective. I was in situations where I had these very high-level, complex objectives from execs, so I approached that with the same specificity I used to set out running goals and found it worked 99% of the time. That, 1% of the time, things happen outside your control. Setbacks, remember?
The most important thing is to try and set a measurable goal so you know something happened or didn't happen. That will keep you and the team extremely focused.
Data-driven = Qualitative data + Quantitative data
My go-to running app is Nike Running- a truly exceptional product. At the beginning of my running journey, I used to be obsessed with the numbers on that app. Then my husband got me a Garmin watch, and things got worse. I started to break down my pace, distances, heart rate, etc. I became way too focused on the metrics on my watch and less focused on the runs themselves. Or what my body was telling me. I ended up putting too much pressure on my legs and I had to do some physio as a result.
I am bringing this up because I think, as PMs, we can sometimes focus too much on the quantitative data rather than looking at the big picture.
Qualitative data enables, PMs to develop a deep understanding of user needs, motivations, and emotions. This empathy helps in building products that genuinely resonate with users, delight them, and create a positive user experience. It gives us a more nuanced understanding of customer needs. So, next time you see one of those metrics on the dashboard trending negatively, try reaching out to your customers and users before going into problem-solving mode.
Finally, I am not suggesting through this article that every Product Manager out there should lace up their shoes and go for a run, but rather advocating for a hobby that gives you time and space to be creative. It helps in the long run :)
See ya next Friday!