The

Secrets

of Product Management

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This is the repository of the Secrets of Product Management email newsletters and other articles.

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A whimsical illustration of a person with a "cloud of ideas" above their head. The cloud contains icons representing tools like a mind map, sticky notes, and writing tools. This would tie in with the idea of switching modalities and sparking creativity.

Overcoming Creative Blocks As A Product Manager

You are a creator, even if you don’t think of yourself as one That means you have creative blocks. As a product manager, you face creative challenges every day – whether it’s crafting a compelling roadmap, solving a tricky customer problem, or aligning your team behind a vision. But what happens when the ideas won’t

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Overcoming Creative Blocks As A Product Manager
A screenshot of some of my stats from the 750words.com site. I've written more than 5.5m words on the site!

How To Start A Life-changing Writing Habit – And Why

For the new year, start a writing habit Writing is a good habit to build if you’re not already doing it. If you are like most people, you aren’t. (No judgment.) But you should at least give building a writing habit a try. Why? Lots of people talk about the benefits to your self-esteem and

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How To Start A Life-changing Writing Habit – And Why
An illustration of a PM doing a retrospective, with many misspelled words, since it was generated by an AI.

2024 Secrets of Product Management Newsletter Retrospective

Retrospective As you probably know, teams that do regular retrospectives tend to be a lot more productive and do a better job of achieving their missions. So, even though I’m a team of one (so far) I am hoping this will be true for me as well. The canonical retrospective structure is to answer three

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2024 Secrets of Product Management Newsletter Retrospective
An image of a figure at a split in the road, representing a choice. To the left is a hellscape, representing the loss of a job and livelihood. To the right is a friendly AI assistant, and that road leads to a paradise of success and happiness.

How AI Can Help Product Managers Drive Revenue Growth

Product Management and AI If I were sitting down with a group of product managers right now discussing the future of the discipline, I’d say this: I’m definitely worried about AI, but I’m worried about it in the opposite way from most people. I’m not worried it will take our job away, which it definitely

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How AI Can Help Product Managers Drive Revenue Growth
A list of problems worth solving. Every product manager has addressed these kinds of problems - but they often don't show up on their resume or in their success stories.

Turn This Year’s Achievements Into Career Gold

Turn This Year’s Achievements Into Career Gold Here we are at the end of the year—a perfect time to reflect on your achievements and think ahead. This isn’t just about self-reflection; it’s about uncovering your value, telling your career story, and setting yourself up for success in the future. In this newsletter, I’ll show you

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Turn This Year’s Achievements Into Career Gold

About Your Host

Nils Davis

Your host, and author of The Secret Product Manager Handbook

When I started in product management, there were no resources for learning product management.

To help new product managers avoid that struggle, for years I’ve been providing that “secret” information on my Secret Product Manager Handbook website, this podcast, and my YouTube channel.

(You can get a lot of my best material in the Kindle or paperback version of The Secret Product Manager Handbook - a real book! It’s crammed full of all the things I wish someone had told me when I started.)


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