Alyssa Dver’s book, “Software Product Management Essentials” has sold over 10,000 copies worldwide. She is regularly interviewed as a product management and marketing expert and has been published in Forbes, BusinessWeek, and Entrepreneur.

Why would anyone want to be a Product Manager?

They are responsible without being accountable. They have no staff, and rarely have any budget.

They are the first to get the call when there is a product problem and usually last to be recognized for the success. Their email is stuffed with cc’s from every department. Their to-do list is well beyond realistic and because there is always another version being planned, they only see momentary light at the end of each release.

Anyone must be crazy to do this job!

Product Managers may not be “normal” in fact. They are a different breed. Both right- and left-brained, they need to understand technical information and be creative marketers – at the same time.

They are master communicators acting as evangelists and educators while digested huge amounts of financial and technical information. They have the confidence to be product champions and at the same time, need to be great listeners.

Great product managers gather regular honest feedback from colleagues and management. They know that effective communication in all forms (verbal, written, body language, etc.) is quite possibly the most important skill to being a great PM.

Product Managers need to be tough enough to withstand personal and product criticism. After all, they are perpetually showcasing and defending their ‘babies’ against internal and external competition.

Product Managers: Born or Made?

Finding good product managers isn’t easy – just ask hiring managers or recruiters. Product Managers don’t come out of college with majors in product management or resumes that state it as an objective.

Outstanding product managers want to know what’s new and cool so they read prolifically, watch a variety of TV and subscribe to all kinds of e-newsletters. Regardless of their product type, they expolore new consumer gadgets and technologies.

Product Managers are often taken from the internal ranks of engineering or pre-sales support. Whether sequestered because no one else wanted to do it or they simply have a knack with customers (i.e. “a personality”), product managers are often created by the organization that just can’t find someone otherwise.

As such, the biggest complaint among product managers and their executive bosses is that PMs don’t come prepared to manage the business. They lack financial skills as well as the ability to create and explain product visions or strategy. There is a long distance between ‘ifthen-else’ and product roadmaps.

Additionally, the multi-tasking challenges of product management easily overwhelm these types of people who are at their best when focused towards delivering a definable, measurable job. Product managers can never be perfectionists nor can they be flustered by constant interrupts.

The best Product Managers are liberal arts types. This doesn’t mean that they have liberal arts degrees, but rather they are well-rounded, intrigued individuals. They are interested in popular culture, people and new technology.

It may seem obvious that one must engage customers, prospects and internal personnel in the quest to be the best possible Product Manager. However, few Product Managers talk with these audiences in a planned and accomplished way.

Outstanding Product Managers want to know what’s new and cool so they read prolifically, watch a variety of TV and subscribe to all kinds of e-newsletters. Regardless of their product type, they explore new consumer gadgets and technologies. New product ideas are often triggered by or even borrowed from other innovations.

Because of the overwhelming amount of work and technical focus on many organizations, it can be hard for Product Managers to stay fresh and innovative. Great Product Managers know that creativity is enabled when they are constantly exposed to completely different, paradigm-breaking ideas.

How a PM should spend time

Ideally, Product Managers should spend 50-60% of their time interacting with outside people (customers, prospects, consultants, analysts, etc.) and 15-25% with internal personnel. This may vary depending on the product development phase but overall, if paperwork or other administration is taking more than 25% of a Product Manager’s time, they probably aren’t adding great value to the organization.

In fact, great Product Managers make it part of their job plans to take communications classes and gather regular honest feedback from colleagues and management. They know that effective communication in all forms (verbal, written, body language, etc.) is quite possibly the most important skill to being a great PM.

Needles and Product Haystacks

So how do you find great Product Managers? Here are some interview questions that may help identify a great PM:

Why did you select the education path you did?
An ideal answer illustrates someone’s interest in general learning. They may have a business or engineering degree, for example, but did they take other non-related electives?

Are they generally curious and interested in the world or are they simply interested in getting a lucrative job? Is this person a constant learner or someone who just checks the boxes to gain advancement?

Your company may not make iPods but knowing how they work might give your PM some good installation or interface ideas for your company’s product.

Are they open minded to learning new things or do they prefer to apply straightforward rules to problems that have absolute answers? Product Managers rarely obtain truly correct answers and rarely can apply proven decision making methods.

What TV shows do you watch?Despite what educators tell you, watching some TV can actually relax your mind and open it up to creativity. Being tuned into popular culture, no matter what product you support, is important. Not only does it help you to participate in relationship building small talk (the chit chat kind!), but it also clues you into ideas that clearly have already won mass acceptance.

What newsletters, magazines, etc. do you subscribe to (online and hard copy)?As part of constant learning, this highlights a person’s interest in knowing what’s going on beyond the obvious internal and industry news.

There is no right answer here but rather a collection of different and thought provoking media is ideal.

Knowing about new media and how hard/easy it is to use firsthand is great so a PM can evaluate whether it would be effective with his/her own audiences. Also knowing what one’s own audiences reads is helpful is so many ways including being better prepared to talk with/write for that press if the opportunity is available.

What do you do to remain innovative?
This is a tough question and relates to the above interest in staying abreast of news, innovation and a diversity of topics. However, few people do this deliberately. An ideal PM candidate will indicate that they are interested in a variety of things and make sure that they ingest all types of information to ensure their minds stay fit and flexible.

How well do you communicate?
A person who communicates well will know it from specific feedback and experience they have had. A great communicator works hard to constantly improve their craft by writing, presenting, and conscientiously interacting with people. Most importantly, the great communicator always seeks out feedback, quantitatively and qualitatively.

Do you like interacting with people? Why?
Many technical people will say that they are uncomfortable interacting with people. This is a red flag for PMs! To cull the well-rehearsed interview pitch from the genuinely interested PM, the answer to “Why” should include the ability to learn from other people, gain new ideas, and challenge their own communication skills – especially listening.

What is your ultimate goal as a PM?
Product Management is a great stepping stone to any other function within the organization. It is a great way to sample all the functions in order to determine one’s next career step. Often people enter Product Management to experience the heart of the business with aspirations towards being a CEO. Rarely people make PM their end goal which is not a bad thing.