Product Management Manifesto

Drafted by me. Free for you to use.

Every company needs Product Management but Product Managers look different
at every company.

• I am dedicated to bringing great products to market.
• I am dedicated to steering the team towards a successful outcome.
• I will try my hardest to help make forward progress, even when things are
  hard.
• My effectiveness is the result of my ability to make good decisions.
• Judgment is everything.
• I am great at prioritizing.
• I am rational and pragmatic. I am not impulsive.
• I have a bias towards action.
• I am self-aware.
• I am the pacesetter.
• I know when it's my job to obsess over the details.
• I am caring. I care about our customers, partners, and co-workers.
• I am tough and persistent. Being a product manager is hard, everywhere. It's
  not glamorous but it can be a lot of fun depending on your outlook and goals.
• I have a Product Mindset. I start by trying to identify and understand
  problems, connecting those problems with others, and then think holistically
  about the impacts of potential solutions.
• I am a systems thinker. I recognize that our products are a system but also
  that the company itself is a system as well.
• I have authority over little but responsibility for a lot.
• I manage existing products and deliver new products. I do it by managing
  delivery teams and backlogs. These are two of the most important things a
  company can do to build value, therefore my role as a product manager is
  one of the most important in the company.
• I am a leader. It's my job to ensure every necessary function is represented
  when defining a capability or working through an issue. I know when I need to
  ensure program management, compliance, legal, design, ops, risk, finance, or
  others are to be roped in.
• I take pride in being one of the only employees who have the privilege of
  interfacing with more teams than anyone else. It can be overwhelming but I'm
  lucky to be in this position.
• I have a unique viewpoint that enables me to make decisions backed by
  information that most others don't have. I cannot assume others have as
  much information as I have when communicating decisions.
• I trust but verify.
• Experience and intuition go hand in hand. If I'm less experienced, then I
  recognize that I need to do a lot more research to make high-risk decisions
  than those who are more experienced.